Finding Maps in Hillman Library and on the Web

Organization of the Collection

Searching for Maps

Maps of Pittsburgh and the United States

International maps

Maps on the Web and Interactive Web Mapping

Help

Organization of the Collection

The Map Collection is located on the ground floor of Hillman Library and the maps are in the wood covered map cases and some black metal cases. You can ask at theService Desk for location information or consult the floor plan of the ground floor. The map cases have signs designating each section and each drawer is labeled.

The Map Collection consists of three main areas:


1.)  The General Maps. These maps are shelved in LC call number order. Most of them have "G" call numbers.


2.)  The Topographic Maps. The US Geological Survey topographic maps are shelved first by scale, smaller to larger (1:1,000,000 to 1:24,000). Within each scale, maps are shelved alphabetically by quadrangle name.  The 1:24,000 scale (7.5 minute) maps are shelved alphabetically by state, and then alphabetically by quadrangle name. Topographic maps of the city of Pittsburgh are kept in the map cases in the Government Publications office. You can ask for these at the Hillman Library Information/Reference Desk.


3.)  The U.S. Government Maps . These are maps published by various agencies of the U.S. government.  The U.S. maps are located in the wooden map cases and in the black metal cases and are shelved by SuDocs number.  The folios are shelved after the U.S. maps.  Note: many of the geologic maps received with USGS reports are kept in the Government Publications Collection.

Searching for Maps


1.)  PITTCat+ Library Catalog All maps in our collection published since 1996 and many older maps are listed in PITTCat+. (However, more than half of our older maps are not cataloged.) 


To find maps in PITTCat+, enter the location that interests you, any additional information that is relevant, and the word map in the search box. Then select Go. On the results page, under the heading Format on the right side of the screen, you may notice that, your results include records for online maps and also for books. Books listed may include travel books, atlases, and other books with maps in them. To limit your results to flat maps only, select the word Map under Format on the right side of the screen.

If you can’t find the map you need in PITTCat+, you can ask a librarian for help.

You can also try the map card catalog which is located next to the map cases on the ground floor of Hillman Library. Most of the maps in the map card catalog are from the 1980’s and earlier.

2.)  GeoRef (Pitt users only) The GeoRef database can be used to locate geological maps on a particular topic or for a location. GeoRef covers the geology of North America from 1785 to the present and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to the present. When searching, select map as the Publication Type on the Advanced Search page. Note: Many of the maps listed in GeoRef are not in our collection.


3.)  Britannica Online (Pitt users only) Select World Atlas for maps of the world, continents, and countries. http://www.library.pitt.edu/articles/database_info/britannica.html

4.)  Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) (Pitt users only) Select maps/country data, then the world region or country for which you want a map.

5.)  CountryWatch (Pitt users only) Includes thematic and physical/political maps of countries and the world.


Maps of Pittsburgh and the United States


Road Maps
Road maps for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the United States are kept in the front of the map drawer and with the atlases at the Hillman Reference Desk. Additional road maps are in the General Map Collection.


Websites for road maps and driving directions include:


Topographic Maps
We collect topographic maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the entire United States. Topographic maps depict the physical and cultural detail of a geographic area. For most of the U.S., the most detailed topographic maps we have are 7.5' ("7 1/2 minute") maps with a scale of 1:24,000.  Many of these maps are listed in PITTCat+.

 
How do you know which map you need? The name of the place or landmark you are looking for is not always the same name as the quadrangle/map.  To find a quadrangle name, you can search the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).  GNIS is more up-to-date than the library's paper indexes. Or, you can use the paper indexes located in the map drawer at the Hillman Information/Reference Desk.  

Web versions of topographic maps can be found using the following resources:

  • The National Map (USGS), the nation's topographic map for the 21st century. This site provides interactive mapping, get elevation information and you can download coverages to use with GIS software.
  • Microsoft's MSR Maps provides free public access to maps and aerial photographs of the United States.
  • Topozone Provides interactive topographic mapping and aerial photographs.

For purchasing topographic maps, see the USGS Store  When using the USGS Store, select "Enter the USGS Store," then click on the Map Locator, or enter the name of the city under Product Name. 


Census Maps
Census maps are especially useful for locating census tracts, block groups and blocks for which census data is available.

Thematic and reference census maps for 1990 and 2000 are available from:

  • The Census Bureau's Map Products page. These maps are in PDF format.
  • American Factfinder For 2000 maps, select Maps then Thematic Maps (data) or Reference Maps (boundaries). For 1990 maps, select Data Sets, then Decennial Census, the click on the 1990 Census tab, then Summary Tape File 1 (general characteristics) or Summary Tape File 3 (detailed characteristics). You will see a pop-up box that gives you the option to select either Thematic Maps or Reference Maps.
  • The Social Explorer database (Pitt users only.) This database contains census maps, 1790-present.

We also have print and microfiche copies of many census maps. Paper versions of census maps for the city of Pittsburgh for the 1990 and 2000 censuses are in kept in the map cases in the Government Publications office.1990 and earlier Pittsburgh metropolitan area census maps are shelved with depository maps under the call number C 3.223: in the Hillman Map Collection. Census maps for other areas are available in paper or microfiche as follows:

  • Maps for 1990: Government Publications Collection: C 3.223/11; microfiche in Microforms under the number ASI 2551-10 (1994).
  • Maps for 1980: Government Publications Collection: C 3.223/11; microfiche in Microforms under the number ASI 2551-2 (1984).
  • Maps for 1970:Government Publications Collection: C3.224-:


Historical Maps

We have many historical maps of the Pittsburgh area and other locations in the Hillman map collection and in the ULS Archive Service Center. (Among their holdings, the Archives Service Center has old fire insurance maps of this area published by the Sanborn Company.) Most of these maps can be found by searching PITTCat+ . Some historical maps in the Hillman Map Collection can only be found by searching the map card catalog located next to the map cases on the ground floor of Hillman Library. For access to digital versions of historic maps of the Pittsburgh area, visit Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection.  Many of our historical maps have been digitized and added to this online collection.

Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images

We have a few aerial photographs and satellite images in the Hillman Library map collection. To find these in PITTCat Classic, go to the Keyword screen and enter either aerial photograph? or satellite imag? and select "as a phrase" from the drop down box. If you click on the following links, the search will be automatically run for you: aerial photograph? or satellite imag?.

More aerial photographs and satellite images can be located on the Web by searching:

International Maps


Basic Maps and Atlases
Again, for these maps search PITTCat+and the map card catalog located next to the map cases on the ground floor of Hillman Library. At the Hillman Reference Desk we keep many current atlases of the world. Older and more specialized atlases can be found in the Hillman Reference Collection and shelved with the oversized books on the fourth floor of Hillman. All of these are listed in PITTCat+.We keep a collection of small maps published by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in binders in the Government Publications section behind the Hillman Reference Desk. (Larger CIA maps are shelved under the number PrEx3.10/4 in the U.S. Government map cases on the ground floor of Hillman).


Useful databases and Websites for international maps include:

Detailed Maps of Other Countries
Some of the most detailed maps we have in our collection are maps that were published by the Army Map Service (AMS) and Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) (now renamed the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency). Indexes for these maps are shelved with the atlases at the Hillman Reference Desk.  Our paper indexes also include an inventory of what the library has.  The AMS index maps are also available on the Web:  Army Map Service Index Maps.


We have a collection of Canadian topographic maps which are shelved in the Hillman map collection just before the U.S. topographic maps. A print index for these maps is kept with the atlases at the Hillman reference desk. A Web index, Topographic Map Search, is provided by Canada's Centre for Topographic Information. The Centre for Topographic Information also makes topographic maps available on the web through Toporama.

Maps on the Web and Interactive Web Mapping


Using the National Atlas Map Maker, you can assemble, view, and print your own maps.  Available map layers include: Agriculture, Biology, Boundaries, Climate, Environment, Geology, History, Map Reference, People, Transportation, and Water.


On the National Geographic's Maps and Geography page, you can search online maps (in National Geographic's Map Machine Atlas by city, country, region, continent, or U.S. zip code).


The National Map of the USGS allows you to find elevations, and distances between points within the U.S., and to construct maps with the following layer options: Administrative, Boundaries, Elevation, Geographic Names, Geology, Hydrography, Imagery, Land Use/Land Cover, Natural Hazards/Weather, Structures, Topographic Maps, and Transportation.


The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection web site provides access to maps of the U.S. and world.

Help


For Help with map questions, contact:

Or send a question to ask a librarian.
Back to Hillman Library Map Collection