電子化地図データベース（試行版）について / About the Digital Map Database (Pilot)

About the Digital Map Database (Pilot)

The IDE-JETRO Library Map Collection and This Digital Database

The IDE-JETRO Library is a specialized research library that supports research on developing countries and regions. The Library’s activities are characterized by a focus on locally produced materials that are difficult to access and at risk of dispersal.

Maps are collected in accordance with this mission, and the Library currently holds approximately 60,000 maps available for consultation. Bibliographic information for about 55,000 maps, excluding city maps, is available through the Map Catalog of the IDE-JETRO Library.

This database is a pilot initiative to digitize a portion of the Library’s map collection and make it available for scholarly research and use as an academic information resource. As the database is currently in a trial phase, the materials available online are limited to a selection of the Library’s holdings. The database will be further developed and expanded over time in response to evolving research trends and user needs.

Maps as Academic Information Resources

Maps are fundamental resources for understanding place and space and are used across a wide range of disciplines. They have served as tools for recording and communicating information related to the natural environment, urban development, transportation networks, and military activities, as well as for planning and decision-making. At the same time, they provide important evidence for tracing historical change over time.

Moreover, the analysis of map production and use—examining who created maps, for what purposes, and how they have been used—provides insight into political processes, power relations, and structures of knowledge in specific regions and historical periods. In recent years, increasing integration with digital spatial data, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), has further expanded the scholarly value and potential uses of map materials.

Maps of Lebanon

This database provides access to maps of Lebanon held by the IDE-JETRO Library.

Maps of Lebanon based on modern surveying were first produced in the nineteenth century, during the Ottoman period, by Britain and France as their involvement in the region expanded. Following the World War I, Lebanon became a French Mandate territory (1920–1943), during which many maps were created by the French military. These maps subsequently served as key references for later cartographic production. In particular, in the 1940s, maps indicate that Allied powers—including France, the United Kingdom, and Australia—were involved in map production, either independently or collaboratively.

In 1962, the Lebanese Army Directorate of Geographic Affairs was established and assumed responsibility for the production and management of maps. A substantial number of maps were produced by this institution, especially in the period prior to the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).

As these maps are now dispersed among institutions around the world, making them accessible and shareable through a web-based platform is of considerable significance.