Maps Collection -- Davis Library

About the Maps Collection | Location, Hours, and Contact | Services | New Items in Maps

Other Collections of Maps | Map Finder

Please Note: Maps references services and parts of the Maps collection moved to the Davis Library Reference Department, effective August 23, 2006. Please read this news item for more details. The rest of the collection will move in the summer of 2007.

The Maps Collection houses over 250,000 maps covering the world and parts of our solar system. It collects materials in support of teaching and research on campus as well as general reference. The Collection contains atlases, gazetteers, cartographic reference volumes, CD-ROMs, mapping software, journals, microforms, transparencies, and government depository publications.

The volumes in the Maps Collection have been cataloged and are listed in the UNC-Chapel Hill online catalog. Many of the flat map collections are not yet cataloged. The Maps Collection's in-house files must be consulted for holdings information about them.

The Maps Collection is administratively part of the Davis Library Reference Department, which also collects atlases, particularly those of thematic and historical nature. Many of the maps received through the Federal Depository program are placed in the Maps Collection. The Documents Section of the Reference Department likewise houses a number of government maps, particularly Soil Surveys, National Park maps, and Forest Service maps. Davis Reference also supports geographic information services for Academic Affairs Libraries.

Maps

The flat map collections provide comprehensive coverage of the world with both topographic and thematic (administrative divisions, population, transportation, vegetation, etc.) mapping. The Map Collection's holdings are predominantly 20th century materials, but there are good collections of classical maps and U.S. historical maps, especially of the southern states. The Maps Collection acquires maps of general and research interest for all parts of the world with more detailed coverage for its area specializations in Latin America, Africa, East Asia, and Eastern Europe.

The Maps Collection houses the Library's Government Printing Office Maps Depository. This depository contains topographic and geologic maps of the Geologic Survey (USGS); topographic, nautical, and aeronautical maps and charts of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); and the nautical and aeronautical charts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Maps from the following agencies are also available: U.S. Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife, Census Bureau, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Central Intelligence Agency. The Documents Section of the Reference Department of Davis Library also has some maps from these agencies, as well as CD-ROM resources.

Other collections include city maps and travel atlases for the U.S. and other countries; state maps and county highway maps for the U.S.; and maps of states, departments, and provinces for other countries.

Charts

The Maps Collection has a collection of the nautical and aeronautical charts that are published by U.S. government agencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration produces nautical charts of U.S. coastal waters and port areas and aeronautical sectional charts for the U.S. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency produce hydrographic charts for international waters; hydrographic charts of coastal waters and ports of other countries; and aeronautical charts covering the world at four scales.

Historical Maps

The Maps Collection has a small collection of historical maps and atlases. Resources are available for classical history, but most maps in the historical holdings are from the 15th-19th centuries, with the majority in the 19th century. Topographic maps in the U.S. Geological Survey collections date from the late 1880s.

Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for North Carolina are housed in the North Carolina Collection. A listing of the North Carolina Collection holdings is provided in Sanborn Insurance Company Maps for North Carolina. For other maps, Davis Library relies on the Center for Research Libraries (which has the complete mircofilm set) and the NCSU Library (which has the microfilm reproductions for the South).

The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for North Carolina are now available online at Sanborn Maps North Carolina.

Wall Maps

A small collection of wall maps for use in classroom instruction and class presentations is maintained by the Maps Collection. Faculty suggestions for additions to this collection are welcome. Please e-mail requests to Robert Dalton (rdalton@email.unc.edu)

Gazetteers

The Maps Collection has over 550 gazetteers to assist in the location of current and historical place names. The scope of these gazetteers may be general, covering the world, or detailed, covering individual countries, states, or provinces. Various formats are available: books, CD-ROMs, microforms, and Web access.

Computer Mapping

Atlases, maps, gazetteers, aerial photographs, street plans, trip planners, and database files are available in CD-ROMS and mapping software. For additional information, please see the GIS services information page.

Atlases

The Maps Collection acquires atlases to supplement the flat map collections and to expand its thematic map resources. Holdings include world, regional, national, and city atlases; U.S. and Canadian state and provincial atlases; selected historical and thematic atlases. Atlases are also available at other locations in the Library system and are included in the Library's online catalog.

Reference

A reference collection is available to assist with the use of cartographic materials. The collection contains cartobibliographies for countries, cartographers, and collections; volumes on historical cartography; catalogs of map collections; indexes; resources about geography; and government depository publications.

Journals

Journal holdings include historical cartography, map librarianship, and guides to current geographical and cartographical publications. Online access to other journals of interest to map users is available through the Library's online catalog.

Imagery

The Maps Collection currently maintains a small collection of aerial photographs and satellite imagery. Staff can provide assistance in locating print and Web resources.

Other Collections of Maps on Campus

North Carolina Collection
The North Carolina Collection has the Library's largest collection of historical maps of North Carolina. There are also historical and current maps in state and county history works, atlases, and government reports. The Maps Collection does not attempt to duplicate the historical holdings of the North Carolina Collection, but does have many of the same current holdings, such as the U.S. Geological Survey quadrangles, travel and transportation maps, and city plans and atlases.

Geological Sciences Library
The Geological Sciences Library formerly housed the Library's principal geologic map collection, consisting mainly of U.S. Geological Survey geological maps and selected topographic maps for North Carolina and the surrounding states. These have been incorporated into the Maps Collection, Davis Library.

Maps and atlases found elsewhere in the Library system:

• Couch Biology Library, Botany Section
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• Chapin Planning Library
  
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• Davis Library, Documents Section
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• Davis Library Stacks
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• Manuscripts Department
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• Rare Book Collection
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Other maps resources at UNC-Chapel Hill:

• Ancient World Mapping Center
  

For more assistance,
Please contact Robert Dalton
rdalton@email.unc.edu
(919) 962-1151

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