Geographers, urbanologists, historians, and long-term readers of the Scout Report know the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps quite well. Other parties can now get to know them just as well via this digital collection from the University of Florida. The maps were initially created to help fire insurance agents determine the degree of damage to a property and as such they document the size, shape and construction of buildings in intimate detail. Additionally, the maps include street names, property boundaries, lot lines, railroad lines, and topographical details. On the site, visitors can search the entire collection via keywords, such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, or Miami. Usually a search will return a set of documents, complete with information about when each set of maps was initially released.