Map Collections
- Historical Map Collections in the NY Metropolitan AreaA list from the NYPL Map Division of significant map collections in and around New York City.
The NYPL's Map Division itself is one of the world’s premier map collections in terms of size, scope, unique holdings, diversity and intensity of use. It includes more than 433,000 sheet maps and 20,000 books and atlases published between the 16th and 21st centuries, many of which have been digitized.
Maps Online
Following is a small sampling of open access maps to illustrate the wide variety of resources that are available online.
- Africa Map ProjectAfricaMap is based on the Harvard University Geospatial Infrastructure (HUG) platform, and was developed by the Center for Geographic Analysis to make spatial data on Africa easier for researchers to discover and explore.
- Atlas of Historical BoundariesFrom the Newberry Library. "A powerful historical research and reference tool in electronic form. The Atlas presents in maps and text complete data about the creation and all subsequent changes (dated to the day) in the size, shape, and location of every county in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia." Useful for records of past events, and for analyzing, interpreting and displaying county-based historical data like returns of elections and censuses. Includes downloadable data and interactive maps.
- COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins UniversityIn response to the ongoing public health emergency, the CSSE at Johns Hopkins University developed an interactive web-based dashboard to visualize and track reported cases of COVID in real-time to provide researchers, public health authorities and the general public with a user-friendly tool to track the outbreak as it unfolded. See the "Terms of Use" for links to additional information and freely available data.
- Digital Map Galleries (from the NYPL)Lists of sites containing contemporary and antiquarian maps. Compiled by Artis Q. Wright, Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, New York Public Library.
- Digital Public Library of America - MapsHuge and growing collection of digital maps from a wide variety of sources. Browse or search by Format, Contributing Institution, Date, Language, Location, or Subject.
- Library of Congress Digital Map CollectionsThousands of digitized maps in collections such as Discovery and Exploration; CIties and Towns; American Revoolution and its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789; Panoramic Maps; Railroad Maps; and more. See the Geography & Map Reading Room's website for more information.
- Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal AmericaA set of maps that illustrate the discriminatory New Deal-era housing policies that fueled generations of urban inequality.
- MLA Language Map"The Language Map uses aggregated data from the 2006–10 American Community Survey (ACS) to display the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages commonly spoken in the United States. ... {Includes] information about over three hundred languages spoken in the United States, using data from the 2006–10 ACS, ACS 2005, and the 2000 US Census."
- New Deal - Maps & SitesFind thousands of New Deal public works and artworks around the country using these maps from the Living New Deal website.
- Oculi MundiOculi Mundi means the Eyes of the World. "Oculi Mundi is a digital heritage destination: the home of The Sunderland Collection of world maps, celestial maps, atlases, globes and books of knowledge."
- Old Maps Online"Easy-to-use gateway to historical maps in libraries around the world."
- OpenStreetMap"A map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license."
- Perry-Castañeda Library Map CollectionA collection of more than 20,000 maps depicting all corners of the world. The collection website was archived in 2021, but the digitized maps are still available there and on the UTexas, Austin library's collection portal.
- Sanborn Maps - Fire Insurance Maps on the Web - NYPL ListThis list links to fire insurance maps describing the built environment of cities across the United States and North America. The Sanborn Maps include information such as the outline of each building, the size and shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors. The maps also give street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. Textual information includes construction details, ownership and building use. Printed Sanborn Maps are also available in the New-York Historical Society Library.
- Sanborn Maps Navigator - Library of CongressExplore the U.S. through historic maps and newspaper photographs using a tool created by a LOC fellow that combines 32,000 maps from the Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases collection and 1,494,585 photographs from the Newspaper Navigator dataset. Click on different areas on the map, or on the items in the "Results from ..." section to see the Sanborn atlases from those areas. The newspaper photo will also update as you change geographic locations, randomly generating from within the chosen location.
- topoViewUSGS topographic maps originally published as paper documents in the period 1884-2006 have been scanned and can be downloaded free of charge through topoView.
- Torn Apart / Separados"A rapidly deployed critical data & visualization intervention in the USA’s 2018 “Zero Tolerance Policy” for asylum seekers at the US Ports of Entry and the humanitarian crisis that has followed."
GC Map Resources - Online & In Print
The Graduate Center Library holds The Columbia Gazetteer of the World (in the reference collection and online) and a collection of maps and atlases in print and online.
Atlases: Look for print atlases on the reference shelves under the Call Letter G and in the Atlas Case, which is located just before the reference shelves on the 2nd floor of the library, a short way from the reference desk.
You can search for printed and electronic atlases in OneSearch. Select the Advanced Search and add the keyword "Atlas." Set the Material Type to "Books." Press Search to see results.
Maps: You can also search for printed and electronic maps in OneSearch. Select the Advanced Search, add a place name as a Subject term (e.g., "New York") and enter the word "Maps" as an additional Subject term. Press Search to see results.
CUNY Mapping Service @ the GC's Center for Urban Studies
The CUNY Mapping Service "specialize[s] in the development of online applications that provide intuitive access to powerful data sets, displayed visually through interactive maps and in other formats." Projects include Welcome to 1940s New York, Visualizing Demographic Change: NYC and other major cities, and many others.
NYC Maps
- Atlases of NYC (From the NYPL Digital Collections)Thousands of maps of New York City, including Manhattan and Brooklyn 'fire insurance maps' from the 1850's-1860, showing streets, blocks, tax lots, natural and manmade features, and more.
- Brooklyn RevealedAn interactive website created by the librarians at the New-York Historical Society that lets users discover how Brooklyn streets got their names, access images from the N-YHS collections, and read about Brooklyn history.
- Languages of New York CityA free and interactive digital map of the world’s most linguistically diverse metropolitan area composed of data from the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), based on information from communities, speakers, and other sources.
- NYCMapNew York City’s online map portal providing a wealth of information including the locations of schools, day care centers, senior centers, libraries, hospitals, subways, and more as well as links to websites for these facilities. This page is also a single access point to many of the numerous location-based applications on NYC.gov such as online property, building, statistics, and census information. The maps can be navigated either by entering a specific address or simply using zoom and scroll tools, similar to other online map applications. Consult the User Guide for tips on using this dynamic online resource.
- OldNYC: Mapping Historical Photographs of New York CityThis free website provides an alternative way of browsing the NYPL's incredible Photographic Views of New York City, 1870s-1970s collection.
- Open Accessible Space Information System (OASIS)OASIS "provides the richest source of community maps for New York City -- free and all in one place. It helps nonprofits, community groups, educators, students, public agencies, and local businesses develop a better understanding of their environment with interactive maps of open spaces, property information, transportation networks, and more."
- Vital Parks ExplorerAs searchable database showing the results of a comprehensive analysis of every park in the city on more than 20 "vital signs" categories such as dog runs, hiking trails, community gardens, and more.
- The Welikia ProjectNavigate through a map of New York City in 1609. "You can find your block, explore the native landscape of today’s famous landmarks, research the flora and fauna block by block..."
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names ® (TGN) "is a structured vocabulary, including names, descriptions, and other metadata for extant and historical cities, empires, archaeological sites, and physical features important to research of art and architecture ... intended to aid cataloging, research, and discovery."