The Online Guide to U.S. Map Collections is a directory of map collections, big and small, across the United States. This initiative is a project of the Map and Geospatial Information Round Table (MAGIRT) of the American Library Association.
The Online Guide builds upon the work of three previously-published books that served as directories to these map collections over the past three decades. The move to an online platform for this work was intentional -- it allows a person at an institution to both input their information initially and edit it for accuracy over time, it provides the user of the information a visualization of the locations of map collections for a variety of purposes, and it makes it possible to keep data up-to-date.
Objectives
- Crowd-sourced directory that provides accurate, up-to-date information about U.S. map collections
- Searchable map interface that allows collections to be easily located by geographic location
- Searchable database of subject and geographic specialties amongst map collections
- Promote and demonstrate the relevance of map collections in the United States
Add Your Map Collection to the Online Guide
Take the Survey to Get on the Map!
Regional Coordinators
To create and sustain the Online Guide, a national team of regional coordinators is being formed. Regional coordinators will educate local institutions on how to fill out the information survey, seeking out hidden collections of maps to add them to the directory, and help to ensure accurate data. As part of the national team, the regional coordinators will also help to further develop and improve the Online Guide.
Contact information for the national team and a guide for regional coordinators is coming soon. When available, please see the information about the national team for areas that are in need of a regional coordinator. If your region already has a coordinator, we are still interested in hearing from you as we would ideally like to have 2 coordinators for each region.
We are in the midst of a “growing” phase to increase participation and gather data about map collections across the U.S. beyond what we have already gathered. For this reason, the workload will be higher in the beginning of this process but we expect it to balance out as more institutions have been added to the Online Guide. Please see the Regional Coordinator Guide for more information about responsibilities and expectations.
Questions or Comments? Email magirtonlineguide@gmail.com
Other Professional Organizations Concerned with Maps
- ACMLA (Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives)
- ASPRS: The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society
- ANZMapsS - Australian and New Zealand Map Society Incorporated
- Geoscience Information Society
- IFLA/International Federation of Library Associations, Section of Geography and Map Libraries
- Map Curators Group of the British Cartographic Society
- North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS)
- Western Association of Map Librarians (WAML)
Revised 8/10/2020