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Koninklijke Bibliotheek Map Collection, National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague

This collection contains ca. 2,500 maps from the period predating 1880. Mainly single-sheet maps of divers origin 3 portulans, ca. 225 atlases, about 100 foreign atlases, mainly 17th and 18th century, and four manuscript portolan atlases. The Royal Library has a large collection of itineraries, of which part was legated in 1888 by P.J.B.C. Robidé van der Aa (died in 1887). The period 1880-1945 is repreented by several hundred map-sheets of unknown origin, and several hundred atlases, general, regional, national, linguistics and historical volumes. 1945-present is represented by ca. 20,000 map-sheets and 500 atlases among which are found many facsimiles and reproductions.

Map Collection of the University Library of Amsterdam

The first mention of atlases in the then Stedelijke Bibliotheek (Municipal Library, later incorporated into the University Library) was in a catalogue of 1612. The first list of maps was made in 1887 by I. Dornseiffen. He listed the maps in the collection of the Royal Dutch Geographical Society (KNAG). The important growth of the University-collection went parallel with that of the KNAG which gave its collection books, atlases and maps into permanent loan in 1880. Under the librarianship of Dr. C.P. Burger a rich collection was built concerning cartography of Dutch seafaring and of Amsterdam publishers, however at the same time providing for documents published in the preceding period (Ptolemaeus, Ortelius, Braun&Hogenberg etc.). The KNAG purchased in 1910 ca. 14,000 maps of Fred. Muller & Co., mainly 'atlas maps' of the 17th and 18th century. In 1936 the curators announced that they had succeeded in the physical arrangement of the then 45,000 sheets. This meant that maps relating to a specific area were all kept together. Apart from the collection of the KNAG, the map-collection is enriched with the Collection Vaandrager (Surinam), Collection Van de Waal (Amsterdam) and the collection of the former Netherlands Schoolmuseum (schoolatlases and school-wallmaps). Furthermore it contains a collection of topographical prints and photographs of Amsterdam. Presently the collection numbers some 135,000 maps-sheets and ca. 4,500 atlases which are divided in time.

Biblioteca Nacional, Portugal

This library contains over 6000 historical maps and atleses from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Several excellent on-line images are available, including a nautical chart of the Atlantic (ca. 1550), a world map from the 1513 Ptolemy, and the frontispiece from Ortelius's Theatro de la Tierra Universal (1588). A link to "Porbase," the national bibliography base, is also provided.

The Bibliotheque nationale de France

The Maps and Plans collection contains 600,000 maps in printed and manuscript form, 10,000 atlases and map collections, 30,000 reference documents, 104 globes.

The Bodleian Library Map Room

The Oxford University on-line Map Case contains an assortment of antiquarian maps in thumbnail versions that can be viewed in larger format and downloaded on a limited basis.

The British Library Map Collections

This site represents the major cartographic collection in the British Isles, comprising materials in a variety of formats apart from maps, such as atlases, globes, printing plates and coins and medals. In addition to modern and antiquarian map collections this site contains links to the Ordnance Survey and to the British Geological Survey.

National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Map Library has more than 1.6 million items and over 4,000 manuscript maps. Collections include over 1.5 million printed sheet maps (1 million of the British Isles, 0.5 million overseas), 4,000+ manuscript maps, 15,000+ atlases world-wide, 90,000+ Ordnance Survey microfilms (1978-), Cartographic reference books and periodicals, Gazetteers world-wid,e CD-ROMs and other electronic information. A legal depository for the U.K., one of the Map Library's collection goals is to "acquire as complete a record as possible of maps of Scotland produced by Scottish and foreign map makers." For readers of EMLS, the John Bartholomew Collection of early maps and atlases and the Marischal Collection of 137 maps of Scotland from 1573-1873, reputedly collected by Jacobite supporters in France, will be of particular interest. Highlights of the Map Collections shown online include a very early map of Scotland (ca 1570), a bird's eye view of St Andrews (1580), a view of Edinburgh (Braun & Hogenberg, ca. 1582), and John Speed's map of Scotland (1662). Project Pont -- 16th century maps of Scotland, centered on the 77 surviving manuscript maps attributed to Timothy Pont, who was the first to undertake the task of mapping Scotland, has some wonderful examples on line.

National Library of Wales

The Department of Pictures and Maps Collection specializes in maps of Wales. The library web site has several categories that will be of interest to early modern scholars. The collection of maps, atlases, charts and early geographies in the Department of Pictures and Maps, is the largest such collection in Wales. The collection deals with all kinds of mapping including town plans, estate and farm plans and sea charts.In Historical and Antiquarian Maps, there is a colorful display of Humphrey Lluyd's Cambraie Typus (pub. 1573), a map of Pembrokeshire by George Owen (1603), and Christopher Saxton's Proof Map of Wales (1580); holdings include maps by Saxton, Speed, Blaeu, Jansson, and Ogilby, among others. The library has a large collection of manuscript farm and estate maps (the complete list is published in Estate maps of Wales 1600-1836: an exhibition catalogue, 1982); on line, a view of Tretwr Estate is shown.

Utrecht University Map Collection, Faculty of Geographical Sciences

The faculty's map library was founded in 1908 and has since then grown to a collection which consists of 130,000 single maps and 4.000 atlases. These documents include (digital) atlases, topographical maps, thematic maps and town plans. Topographical maps of European countries on scales between 1:25,000 and 1:50.000 are an important part of the collection. Outline maps on scales of 1:250,000 are available for a great number of first world countries. Every part of the world is represented by at least a 1:1,000,000 scale map. Early cartographical material is mainly represented by facsimiles. The emphasis in the collection is then layed on maps made by the Dutch or maps that are related to the Netherlands and its former colonies. The collection possesses about 5000 maps produced before 1850, containing some rare old maps.

Trinity College Library, Map Library

The Map Library is the center for cartographic materials in Trinity College. It holds over half a million maps making it the largest collection of printed maps in Ireland. It is one of the heritage departments of the Library having rare older material as well as modern mapping. The collection is particularly strong on maps of Ireland and Great Britian but it includes coverage of Europe, Africa and the rest of the world at less detailed scales.

National Library of Australia Map Collection

More than 100,000 post 1900 Australian maps in the collection provide comprehensive coverage of topographic mapping published by the national and state mapping authorities. As well as standard topographic series at large, medium and small scales (in Metric and Imperial measures), a wide range of thematic maps including soils, geology, population etc. are held. County and parish maps, electoral maps and census maps are particular strengths of the collection.

University of Waterloo Map and Design Library (Waterloo, Ontario)

The collection includes over 70,000 maps, more than 1,500 atlases, and other cartographically related books, gazetteers, aerial photographs, and remote sensing imagery. Cartographic material is collected in electronic format (e.g. CD-ROMs) as well as in traditional paper format. The map collection includes topographic maps, navigational charts, travel maps, street plans, and a wide assortment of subject-related maps covering topics such as geology, soils, vegetation, climate, land use, political boundaries, and history. While the geographical emphasis of the collection is on Canada, particularly southern Ontario, all areas of the world are represented in the collection.

Brock University Map Library (St. Catherines, Ontario)

The University Map Library provides access to over 50,000 map sheets, 16,000 aerial photographs and more than 700 atlases. The "In House" Digital Outline Map Collection consists of custom designed maps of world countries, the United States, Canadian Provinces, the Niagara region and individual municipalities or geographic regions. These maps were prepared by Map Library staff and are free for you to download. They were produced using CorelDraw, FreeHand, SuperPaint or Adobe Illustrator software and can be easily converted from one format to another.

University of British Columbia Map Library

One of the largest map collections in Canada in the main Map Library, manuscript and historical maps are in Special Collections and University Archives; the on-line map catalogue includes maps housed in the Map Library as well as Special Collections; hours, and access information.

Directory of Canadian Map Collections

This site from Dalousie University Libraries, Nova Scotia, contains an imagemap of Canada that links you to Map Collections across the country including the British Columbia Archives, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary Map Library, University of Regina, University of Manitoba, Brock University Map Library, Carleton University Map Library, University of Ottawa Map Library, University of Waterloo - Map Library, University of Western Ontario, McMaster University, University of New Brunswick, and the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives

ACMLA actively serves as the representative professional group for Canadian map librarians, cartographic archivists and others interested in geographic information in all formats. Maps include Canadian Cities Bird's Eye Views and historic maps.

Serge A. Sauer Map Library, University of Western Ontario

Host to the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives' Facsimile Series Project, with 150 historical maps and 6 nineteenth century Canadian city bird's eye views currently available. This project involves more than 50 academic institutions and several government and private organizations. The Great Lakes Cartographic Resource Centre, which provides a valuable research resource and serves scholars from a variety of disciplines. One of the most extensive time-series collection of topographical coverage on Canada (successive editions of "3 mile" map series of the Canadian West), and early fire insurance plans for Canadian cities and towns.

The Library of Congress Geography and Map Reading Room

The Geography and Map Division (G&M) has custody of the largest and most comprehensive cartographic collection in the world with collections numbering over 4.5 million maps including 60,000 atlases, 6,000 reference works, numerous globes and plastic relief models, and a large number of cartographic material in other formats, including electronic. These cartographic materials date from fourteenth century portolan charts through recent geographic information systems data sets

University of Arizona Library, Map Collection Guide

Jack Mount's guide to science maps and cartographic resources at UA and on the web. This site includes a link to the exhibit 'Maps of the Pimera: Early Cartography of the Southwest'.

University of California at Berkeley Library Map Collection

This site provides links to the Earth Sciences and Map Library, Berkeley's primary map collection, The Bancroft Library which houses rare manuscript maps, and Asian language maps housed at the East Asian Library.

University of Chicago LibInfo: Map Collections

The University of Chicago Map Collection is one of the largest university map libraries in North America. Its 390,000 maps, 10,000 air photos, and 2000 books are a rich source of information for scholars and other users. The University of Chicago Map Collection has particularly strong holdings in three areas: topographic maps; urban maps; and geology maps.

The Newberry Library Chicago

The website of the Newberry includes an overview of the cartographic collection of some 60,000 maps (half of which predate 1900), supported by extensive holdings in the literature of the history of cartography, cartobibliography, map catalogues, and gazetteers. America and Western Europe has the greatest coverage, but all regions of the earth are well represented. They hold most of the printed atlases since Ptolemy. Special collections for the early modern period include the Novacco Collection of 16th century maps printed in Italy, the Ayers Collection on the discovery, exploration, and settlement of the Americas, and the Sack Collection of late 17th and early 18th century maps of western Europe. Manuscript holdings include portolan charts and atlases of the 15th and 16th centuries; fascimiles and microfilm maps complement the collections. The library also houses The Herman Dunlop Smith Center for the History of Cartography

Harvard University Map Collection

The Harvard Map Collection includes digital cartographic resources, antiquarian maps, fire insurance maps, nautical charts, aerial photography, satellite imagery, thematic maps, topographic maps, and books and periodicals.

Yale University Map Collection

The Map Collection has the largest collection of maps in Connecticut and one of the largest university collections in the United States. Its collections are geographically comprehensive and consist of over 200,000 map sheets, 3,000 atlases, and 900 reference books. The Collection also houses approximately 15,000 rare pre-1850 sheet maps. Though these cover many areas of the world, most pertain to North America, the United States, and New England. There is also a sizeable reference collection and a small, selective serials collection. Images of many of the pre-1850 maps are available online. They include the Lanman Collection of Globes, historic city maps, the Lada-Mocarski Collection, ans a selection from the Cross Collection. Many early modern examples are available online, including maps by Sylvanus, Munster, Thevet, Ortelius, Mercator, Speed, Blaeu.

Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education University of Southern Maine

The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education is the only separately established rare map library in northern New England. The Smith and Osher collections comprise fine examples of original maps, atlases, geographies, and globes spanning the years from 1475 to the present. They constitute a rich and multifaceted resource for the study and teaching of geography, history, art, and cultural development.

University of Michigan Map Library

The University of Michigan Map Library contains a wide array of cartographic materials, including maps, atlases, gazetteers, and geographical dictionaries, and is also a campus resource center for Geographic Information Systems (GIS), providing access to software and data in support of this technology.

The Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection University of Texas, Austin

The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (PCL 1.306) holds more than 230,000 maps covering every area of the world. Many items in the collection are listed in UTNetCAT and UTCAT, the UT Libraries Online Catalog.

State of Minnesota Online Map Library

The online map library was created by the State of Minnesota's Land Management Information Center. Its thematic maps include topics such as children's services, climate and environment, education, growth and development, government jurisdiction, justice, and transportation.

Map Collection of the Olin Library Cornell University, New York

The Map Collection of the John M. Olin Library, Cornell University, houses an extensive collection of over 220,000 maps, atlases, reference books and digital cartographic products. The Cornell University Library also hosts some interesting online collections and exhibitions.

Cartographic Information Center University of Tennessee Map Library, Knoxville

Since the first half of the twentieth century, the University of Tennessee has participated in the U.S. Government Depository Document Program. Through this program, UT has received a wide variety of documents from various government agencies, including a large number of maps. The Map Library was selected to be the Government Documents Map Depository for the state of Tennessee. The Map Library became the Tennessee State ESIC affiliate. In 1992, along with these expanded services came an expanded name: The Cartographic Information Center.

The New York Public Library Map Division

Established in 1898, the Map Division today holds some 405,000 maps, 18,000 atlases and books about cartography. The collection is international in scope, and dates from the 16th century to the present, with a focus on cities, especially New York City. The Division of Antiquarian Maps has strong holdings from the major early European mapmakers and complementary research materials. Computer mapping and Geographic Information Systems [GIS] are new programs of the Map Division. This site contains an online version of the exhibition "In thy map securely saile": Maps, Atlases, Charts, and Globes from the Lawrence H. Slaughter Collection at The New York Public Library.

The Ryhiner Map Collection Municipal and University Library of Berne, Switzerland

Rare Map Collection at the Hargrett Library University of Georgia

The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia maintains a collection of more than 800 historical maps spanning nearly 500 years, from the sixteenth century through the early twentieth century. Only 20% of the map holdings are currently represented in our digital library. These maps were scanned from microfilm negatives at 2400dpi. They are very large files, and the average JPEG size is 400k.

The Map Collection University LIbraries, State University of New York at Stony Brook

Special Collections contains rare and fragile materials, as well as items of historical or bibliographic significance. Manuscripts, letters, pamphlets, broadsides, maps, newspapers, in addition to books and periodicals, are included in the collection. The Map Collection contains Long Island maps and map makers from the colonial period to the present, while New York State Historical Maps online range in date from 1556 to 1895.

Borchert Map Library University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota's main repository for cartographic materials, including thousands of maps, atlases, and aerial photographs. The Borchert Map Library is home to the ARL Electronic Atlas of thematic maps of census statistics for the U.S., and selected states. Census maps for selected Minnesota cities are available at the Atlas of Minnesota.

James Ford Bell Library's Historical Map Collection University of Minnesota

This collection contains non-circulating rare books, maps, and manuscripts on the expansion of western commerce and civilization from the 14th to 18th century. A number of the maps are online. The library also contains a collection of Early Maps of Russia.

Map and Aerial Photography Library University of Oregon

This collection contains 19th and 20th century topo maps and state and federal forest maps for the state. It also contains links to aerial photography, other map libraries, as well as ferderal and state geographic resources.

The Map Room Evans Library, Texas A&M Unversity

The Map Room houses a collection of over 170,000 individual maps, and around 3,000 books and atlases. Road atlas software is available for travel planning, and for locating geographic and political features. The collection includes topo maps, celestial and nautical maps, flood maps, historic maps, atlases, and reference material. CIA maps of the world and individual countries are available online.