Pas-Kaart vande zee kusten van Niew Nederland anders genaamt Niew York : tusschen Renselaars Hoek en de Staaten Hoek | Johannis van Keulen (publisher), 1687

Matt Knutzen performs a different kind of public service than Bruce Barrett of the School Construction Authority or Jeffrey Roth of the Fire Department of New York, two recent installments in our Profiles in Public Service series. He works at the New York Public Library, overseeing NYPL’s incomparable collection of maps, and looking for ways to turn items from the library’s vast catalogue into “actionable spatial data.” In a moment when the convergence of data and digital mapmaking are influencing our understanding of everything from flu trends to the boundaries of college football fandom, it’s easy to forget how maps from earlier eras have informed — and continue to inform — our understanding and planning of the changing city.

17th century land title documents. 18th century maritime navigation guides. 19th century city directories and fire insurance maps. Each has applications to today’s researcher, whether she’s looking up her family genealogy, planning for coastal inundation, advocating for landmark designation, or tracking down companies responsible for toxic waste. In the conversation below, Knutzen explains how his stewardship of New York’s cartographic history is responsive to new digital possibilities and indicative of his unique career trajectory and his infinite curiosity about the visual representation of space, time, and the city.....Continue Reading

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