The Millions’ Collaborative Atlas of Book Stores and Literary Places

March 18, 2009 | 47 2 min read

Update: Because Google’s tools for maintaining this map are limited, and because the map was getting frequent spammy and irrelevant edits, we’ve closed the editing feature on the map for now. In the meantime, the map includes plenty of stores and places to check out. Hopefully we’ll be able to allow people to add to the map again some time in the future.

In revisiting, expanding and ruminating upon the updated Walking Tour of New York’s Independent Bookstores we unveiled yesterday, we realized the potential to use these same tools to create a much more comprehensive atlas of the bookstores and literary places important to readers.

After putting together our first NY store tour post two years ago, we heard from several readers looking for similar walking tours for other cities and towns. Others just wanted to let everyone know about their own favorite bookstores. This would be a great resource, but we need your help.

Below you’ll find The Millions’ Collaborative Atlas of Book Stores and Literary Places. This Atlas is open to anyone and everyone to edit, and to get the ball rolling we have preloaded it with the New York map we posted here yesterday. We encourage you to add book stores and literary sites found in your town. Using the tools available, it’s also possible to create book store tours for other cities worldwide.

Click to view and edit a larger version of the map (Once you’ve clicked through to Google Maps, use the “Edit” button on the left sidebar to add content to the map).

We’ll be excited to see the Atlas evolve and we hope that over time it becomes a useful tool for readers (and travelers) everywhere. With this in mind, we’ll be keeping the Atlas embedded in our sidebar (it’s also accessible via Google). If you make an addition to the map, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

Note: Even though the map is centered on the U.S., readers all over the world can take part! Once you click over to Google Maps to make your additions, just navigate to your part of the world.

Note 2: If you want to spread the word about the Atlas, feel free to embed it on your own sites.

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