Inform Quarterly

              From the
Reference Desk
This issue of Inform Quarterly begins the
New Year with a mix of items, from
Reference staff promoting its services
to other state agencies, to accessing
government documents through the
State Library’s online catalogue, to find-ing
valuable information through old
fire insurance maps, to a link to ALA’s
top 21 reference Web sites.
The Reference staff encourages you to
contact them when you need informa-tion
for that special report, analysis, his-torical
perspective or other project.
The staff can steer you in the right
direction to a wealth of resources,
including online databases, books, refer-ence
materials and more. Save time and
energy by letting the Reference Section
staff put you on the right track to the
information you need.
To request materials or find answers
to your questions, please contact:
Reference phone • 217-782-7596
Reference fax • 217-524-0041
Map Collection • 217-782-5823
Patent & Trademark Division • 217-782-5659
“Ask the State Library”
www.cyberdriveillinois.com
Access the State Library database at
http://library.ilcso.illinois.edu/isl
Illinois State Library hours:
Mon. – Fri., 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Serving Illinois state employees • Winter 2007
Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases
Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases housed in the State Library’s extensive Map Collection are
an example of a resource that started out with one intended purpose and over time has
become valuable for other purposes.The maps detail the buildings and structures of usu-ally
larger towns or cities during the 19th and 20th centuries, often with keys to desig-nate
what materials were used.The original purpose of the maps was for insurance com-panies
to determine what and for how much to insure the structures at the time.
Today, the Sanborn maps are used by a number of users for a variety of purposes.
Archaeologists may need to know what structures may be found or were found in an
area being excavated. Renovators may need to find out details of a historical structure
for restoration purposes. Realtors or developers may need to address possible environ-mental
concerns at a particular property. And researchers may use the maps to help
reconstruct in their minds an old neighborhood for genealogy purposes.
The Sanborn maps have been digitized and made available online for state employees
through CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois), of which the
State Library is a member. State employees may access these maps by visiting
www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/library/what_we_have/gateway/maps.html.
Scroll down and click on Illinois Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970. The maps also are avail-able
on microfilm for use at the State Library.
Reference on the run
The Reference Section staff has been on the run for the last few months meeting with
various state government agencies to promote its programs and resources available to
state employees. Included in the presentations are demonstrations on how to access
resources through the State Library’s Web page and its online catalog.The Reference staff
welcomes the opportunity to meet with your agency to share what the library has to
offer and to learn more about the specific informational needs of state employees.To
schedule a Reference Section presentation, please contact Blaine Redemer at 217-782-
5430 or bredemer@ilsos.net.
State Library online catalog
The State Library’s online catalog — I-SHARE — is not just a listing of materials avail-able
at the State Library. The catalogue also offers access to offerings from 64 other
academic and special interest libraries throughout the state, with more libraries sched-uled
for addition this summer.
In addition to library holdings, the catalogue allows direct access to many state and fed-eral
documents.With federal and state governments providing more of their previous-ly
print-only resources online, accessing the catalog allows patrons to access most of
these government documents as well. Log on to http://library.ilcso.illinois.edu/isl.
We look forward to hearing from you!