A map for that
The Harvard Map Collection is one of the oldest and largest in the world, with more than 500,000 cartographic items. Every year, students in Professor Stephen Prina’s “Lay of the Land” Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) course take full advantage of its scope, devising a treasure hunt for Joseph Garver, the librarian for research services and collection development, and then traveling to the map collection in Pusey Library to see what he produces. “This is one of my favorite days of the year,” said Prina, who has been taking classes to the collection since he arrived at Harvard in 2004. “Ask for a map of anything and we’ll see what comes up,” said Deborah Montes ’16, describing her professor’s assignment. “It was interesting to see what was asked for and what came up.” Students routinely ask for one-of-a-kind maps — the smallest or the most expensive, for example. This year, the list Garver...