Don't struggle! Get Help!
Confused? Still need help? Ask us!
Use our Ask A Librarian service to ask us a question:
- Visit in person at the Walk In-Reference desk on the first floor of Olin Library
- Send us an email
- Start a live chat with a (real human) librarian!
- Schedule a meeting with a librarian for one on one assistance
Map Collection at Olin Library
The Map Collection in Olin Library contains over 200,000 paper maps, and 1,000 books and atlases. The collections and services are available to all students, faculty, and staff of Cornell University and also to visitors from outside the University.
Map Staff are available to answer your questions, help you identify pertinent materials, and assist you in accessing the physical collections. Staff can help you to locate maps for your research or for classroom presentations. E-mail reference service is provided to the Cornell community as well as non-Cornell patrons. Please contact olinmaps@cornell.edu with any questions you may have or to schedule an appointment in the map room.
Finding Maps in Olin
You can use the library catalog to help you find maps in our collections and maps inside books.
To find maps in our collections:
- Search for a specific town, city, region or state. It may be helpful to select "Subject" instead of "All Fields" to remove irrelevant results.
- Use search limiters to select "Map" as the preferred format.
- Use search limiters to select "Olin Library" as the library location.
To find maps inside books:
- Use the Advance Search function in the catalog.
- Enter the specific town, city, region, or state as a "subject" search term.
- Enter the word "maps" as an "all fields" search term.
Digital Map Resources
The resources listed below are a only a select set of digital map resources. For a more extensive list, please refer to our Historic Maps Online research guide.
Digital Libraries
- David Rumsey Map CollectionDavid Rumsey is a private map collector who has since donated his collection to Stanford University. He collected widely from around the world.
- Library of CongressThe largest collection of maps in the U.S., and the largest collection of digital maps too. Collection is very broad geographically.
- Library of Congress Sanborn Maps CollectionThe Sanborn Maps Collection Advanced Search provides a searchable database of the fire insurance maps published by the Sanborn Map Company housed in the collections of the Geography and Map Division.
- Mountain West Digital LibrarySearch "maps" in the Subject facet. A collaboration of the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, the University of Nevada, and other western libraries. Strengths in Utah, Nevada, and westward migrations.
- Newberry Library of ChicagoStrengths in Chicago & the Midwest, American Indian history, and the U.S. West. Search functionality is somewhat confusing. Ask for help if you need it!
- New York Public Library Maps & AtlasesVery large collection, strengths in New York City and New York State, as well as U.S. atlases.
- Norman B. Levanthal Map Collection, Boston Public LibraryVery large collection, strengths in New England. Large collection of maps related to the American Revolution.
- Osher Map Library, University of Southern MaineUniversity of Southern Maine. Strengths in New England, especially northern New England.
Map Databases
- Old Maps OnlineSearches across multiple libraries at the same time, including USGS, NYPL, David Rumsey, LOC, and more. Zoom into your area of interest on the background map.
- Big Ten GeoportalSearches across collections at U. of Illinois, U. of Indiana, Penn State, and the rest of the Big Ten libraries.