LA Library's New Map Collection: A Global Time Machine

0:00It's April 18th. Welcome to California News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. Los Angeles Public Library is leveling up its map game with a massive new donation. They already hold gyms like fire insurance maps of the city and old surveys from 1849, showing wild spots like alligator and ostrich. Farms. Now, thousands more maps from around the world just landed from Collector Bill Hunt, who founded the old map Link Shop in Santa Barbara. Hunt reached out last November, and the library started hauling in hundreds of boxes from his Ventura storage spot back in January. This haul is way more organized than past ones, making it easier to sort through. Librarian Peter Howge calls it huge, saying it boosts their collection by another 30 or 40 percent, topping even the 2012 gift from John Feathers that doubled it before. The global scope fills key gaps, like adding 12 maps of Senegal from different eras.

1:00Most maps will live in the history and genealogy department on lower level 4 at the central library, open to anyone without a card. Some are already viewable, but full cataloging could take a year or more. These maps unlock history for riders plotting old LA streets or folks tracing neighborhood roots, turning the library into a time machine anyone can. Step into.