How can digitised historical maps help us better understand the past? How can new computational methods transform the study of spatial history and cartography?
A new working paper from the Open Maps initiative explores these questions and presents emerging research directions and methodological approaches for working with digitised historical cartographic material.
The publication, “New Research Directions and Workflows for Digitized Historical Cartographic Material,” is the first working paper resulting from the inaugural International Open Maps Meeting, held in The Hague, the Netherlands, in late 2024. The event brought together around 100 researchers and practitioners from different disciplines to discuss innovative approaches at the intersection of historical maps, digital methods, spatial analysis, and computational cartography.
The working paper provides an introductory overview of current developments in the field, highlighting new workflows, tools, and perspectives that are shaping research on historical cartographic collections. It reflects the growing potential of combining digitisation, computational approaches, and interdisciplinary collaboration to unlock new insights from historical geographic resources.
We are pleased to highlight that several members of the Time Machine Organisation community contributed to this publication, including our Board Member Isabella Di Lenardo and other colleagues affiliated with TMO. Their contributions demonstrate the important role of interdisciplinary networks in advancing research on digital cultural heritage, spatial history, and computational approaches to the past.
The Open Maps Meeting represents an important step towards strengthening collaboration among researchers working with historical maps and digital technologies. Following the success of the first edition, with plans already underway for a second meeting in early 2027, the initiative continues to build a community around innovative methods for exploring and interpreting historical spatial data.
We invite the TMO community to explore the publication and discover new approaches for working with digitised historical cartographic material.