Nick Field is our Data Support Specialist at the Map & Data Library. They have a PhD in the Study of Religion, and they are currently completing a Master of Information, both from the University of Toronto.

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Learn more about Nick:

Q: What's your area of specialization within maps and data services?

A: My current role is mostly behind the scenes: I work with our librarians and IT teams to ensure access to MDL’s datasets, services, and software. It’s fun because I often get to be one of the first people to explore our new datasets – and to figure out how we're going to provide secure access to them.

I also work closely with our massive collection of print maps. Our cartographic hoard is a joy and a treasure. I offer classroom instruction on our maps, and I meet with researchers looking to work intensively with our collections. It’s wonderful to see our materials come to life in a researcher’s hands.

Q: What's a memorable research discovery or "aha!" moment that you've supported someone in making?

A: I remember assisting one undergraduate student who was trying to understand elevation contours on a topographic map. After walking them through its features, step by step, they suddenly had that look of comprehension as they learned to read the map’s peaks and valleys.

I saw the same look on a friend’s face when she visited our library to look at a hundred maps for a new research project. Laying them out side-by-side, she realised that the maps were telling her a story of nation-building through what they presented, what they omitted, even how they were decorated. It was deeply rewarding.

Q: What’s your favourite map or map item from the MDL collections at MDL?

A: I should probably say that I love all our maps equally, but I totally have a favourite set of maps: after all, I wrote my dissertation on them! They’re a series of topographic maps of the Silk Road, specifically northwestern China, from the 1910s and 1920s by the archaeologist, Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943). They’re beautiful, they’re incomplete (Stein constantly iterated on and republished his maps, trying to fill in every blank spot), they’re fraught with the politics of British imperial mapping, and – if you know how to read them – they reveal the traces of guides, translators, and other local assistants who were necessary for Stein’s work yet rarely make it into history books.

I only discovered these maps because I started working here. Both the GIS training I learned on-the-job and conversations here about the history of cartography and critical data studies deeply informed my approach to these maps.

If you think Nick or someone else at MDL could help you with your research or teaching, please reach out!

Meet your MDL: Nick Field