Where do cartographers get the data used for making modern digital maps? In many cases, the data comes directly from older maps, using encoding techniques that make this information readable by a computer processing system. The poster to the left diagrams the process of creating geospatial data, beginning with the surveying of a coastline hundreds of years ago and ending with an analytical question about property value that impacts us to this very day.
As you peruse the rest of the exhibition, bear in mind that the digital files cartographers use for making maps always come from somewhere, and carry a history and context with them into the final map product.