For the seventh straight year, Ohio’s public libraries were ranked first in the country, according to the American Public Library Rating. According to this story in Business First, this recognition came in light of a review of circulation, funding, staffing and other considerations

While this comes as no surprise to Ohioans, there are other benefits to your Ohio library card -- particularly for those with cards for member libraries in the Ohio Public Library Information Network (or OPLIN). With that card comes access to OPLIN’s online collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.

Sanborn maps are a treasure trove of information for historians, preservationists and others. Originally designed to pinpoint needed information to fix fire insurance coverage, these highly detailed maps also served as information resources for a variety of civic efforts. The maps were lithographed, and then bound in volumes – and each Ohio city of any size was mapped at various points between 1867 and 1970.

Looking through a Sanborn Map is a step back in time. Shown are the outlines of each structure in a given section of a community, the locations of windows, doors, street widths, building height (and number of stories), manner of construction, flooring and roofing materials, and much more. Included as well are identified uses for buildings – in 1889, for instance, the “scenery and stage” are clearly outlined in the Newark Opera House on West Main Street in downtown Newark, while the steam pipes leading from the County Jail to the Darke County Courthouse are marked in the 1905 Sanborn map of downtown Greenville.

The easiest way to access these maps is at the website of your local library, or visit OPLIN online. Have your card handy just in case.

Recent quotes from around Ohio concerning ongoing preservation, revitalization and sustainable growth projects:

"We're going to try to take advantage of the change in power to see what kind of change we can effect" -- Tom Moeller, city manager of Madeira, quoted in “Suburbs to Seek Strickland’s Help,” a story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer covering the recent meeting of the Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.

“The Short North is a historic district, not a museum district,” he said. “New things should be new; it’s not Williamsburg.” – David Brownstein, Victorian Village Commission, Columbus, concerning a proposed 8-story tower in the Short North entertainment district, as quoted in The Other Paper.

"There's a concern that what you do doesn't destroy in some way the historical character of a building." – Joshua Dachs with Fisher Dachs Theatre Planning and Design, quoted in the Cincinnati Enquirer, and talking about the planned large-scale renovation of Music Hall, Cincinnati’s amazing 1879 concert hall.

"There is a lot of interest in the historic clock, and we will work to ensure that it is preserved and has the best possible treatment." – Brady Kress of Dayton History, temporary custodians of Dayton’s historic Gem City Clock, which is losing its home when the Reynolds and Reynolds building is demolished, according to this story in the Dayton Daily News.

Photo: Short North, Columbus/Public Domain