Contextualizing Map and Geography Library Collections as FAIR Research Data: A Case Study of Historical Landscape Photographs

Collection management techniques used in map and geography libraries to describe and provide access to materials ensure researchers can engage with collections as viable sources of research data. Many practitioners create frameworks to market these collections as potential sources of data, whether used alone or alongside other research data. These frameworks bear similarities to the FAIR data movement, where data producers are encouraged to make their data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. I frame the historical landscape photograph collections of the American Geographical Society Library and the United States Geological Survey Library as FAIR research data, offering the potential to engage with trends, concerns, or concepts being explored by geographers. When highlighting the FAIRness of these collections, we have an opportunity to better understand how they may be used as standalone sources of data, as well as alongside other FAIR data sources in scientific research. As another FAIR data source, I use the DataONE Data Catalog to contextualize these photographs alongside present-day datasets from fieldwork in similar landscapes. I encourage map and geography libraries to understand how the FAIRness of their collections enable unique research opportunities, leveraging the momentum surrounding FAIR research data in open science/open research communities.