Overview of the Library of Michigan's Map Collection

The Library of Michigan's Map Collection contains thousands of maps. The collection includes early 19th century maps of the state and territory, copies of the Library of Congress county wall maps of Michigan, city and county maps of the 20th century, and nautical charts.

The Library's collection also contains various editions of the U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps of Michigan and U.S. Bureau of the Census maps from the 1970-1990 censuses.

As the Library of Michigan's maps and atlases are located throughout the building, you should consult ANSWER, the Library's online catalog, to find exact locations. Because some of the maps and atlases are not on ANSWER, please ask a librarian for further assistance.

Searching for Maps in ANSWER

The easiest way to find maps in ANSWER by subject is to enter the place name or subject, followed by the word maps.

Examples:

ingham county mich maps

michigan maps

china maps

cemeteries michigan maps

atlases

When viewing an ANSWER record for a specific map, it is important to note the LOCATION field as well as the CALL # and STATUS fields. The LOCATION information shows which Library collection houses the map.

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Locating Maps at the Library

Although a large portion of the Map Collection is located in the Map Room on the second floor, maps and atlases are included in many of the Library's other collections. The following guide provides an overview of the types of geographic resources located throughout the Library. If you need assistance locating maps in the Library, please ask for help at any of the public services desks.

1. Reference Collection - 2nd floor North

• Atlases (United States, other countries and the world) - G's
• Encyclopedias - AE's
• Gazetteers (geographic dictionaries or indexes) - G's

2. Michigan Collection - 2nd floor North

• Atlases (state, counties and cities) - G's
• City maps - F574's and G's
• County plat maps (showing township land divided into lots with the owner's names since the 1870s) - G's
• Flood Insurance Study (1970s) - GB 1399.4 .M5
• Great Lakes navigation charts (1970s) - G's

3. Abrams Historical Collection (Genealogy) - 2nd floor South

• Atlases (states and counties other than Michigan) - G's
• County histories (except for Michigan) - F's
• Gazetteers - G's

4. Michigan Documents Collection - 2nd floor South

• Department of Natural Resources maps - G's
• Department of Transportation maps (airports, roads and truck routes) - G's
• Michigan Manual (includes legislative district maps) - G's

5. United States Documents Collection

1. 4th floor South (folded and bound maps)

• Aeronautical Charts - C 55.416/
• Country maps - PrEx 3.10/4:
• Flood Insurance Study (Michigan only) - FEM 1.209:
• National Forest Service maps - A 13.28:
• National Park Service maps - I 29.2:
• Non-Michigan census tract maps (1980) - C 3.223/
• Soil Survey (non-Michigan) - A 57.38:
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maps - D 103
• Weather maps - C 55.109:

2. 2nd floor South (folded or bound maps)

• Michigan census tract maps (1970-1980) - C 3.224/
• Soil Survey (Michigan counties) - A 57.38:
• Weather maps - C 55.209:

Note: The Map Room (see 6, below) contains other United States Documents maps.

6. Map Room - 2nd floor North

1. Michigan Collection

• Cities and Counties Map File (includes some 1860s plat maps of counties)
• Perspective maps (a view of a city from above, looking at a distance; also known as bird's eye view) - G's

2. Michigan Documents

• Department of Transportation maps - G's
• Geological survey maps - G's
• Soil surveys maps - G's

3. United States Documents

• Airport Obstruction Chart - Fed Docs Map C 55.411/3:
• Census district maps for the United States - Fed Docs Map C 3. 223/11:1990
• Michigan census district maps (1970-1980) - unclassified
• Nautical Charts - Fed Docs Map C 55.418/7:
• Topographical maps (Michigan only) - Fed Docs Map I 19.81:

7. Microform Rooms
   The Library of Michigan's holdings include maps on microfilm and microfiche. For additional information on maps in the Microform Rooms, see Maps on Microform Available at the Library of Michigan.

1. 2nd floor South Microform

• Canadian Historical Atlas Collection Gene Fiche G 1148 .05 C3 1988
• Michigan topographical maps - Gene Film G 4111 .C2 svar G 43
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Michigan) - Gene Film G 1411 .G 475 S3z, Gene Film G 4110 .G475 1992 .S3
• State and county atlases - Gene Film F's


• Townland Maps (Ireland) - Gene Fiche G 1830 .I5 1989
• University Microfilm International (UMI) Genealogy and Local History Collection (Microfiche series of genealogical and local history books and periodicals. Use ANSWER to identify authors, titles, subjects and keywords)- Gene Fiche UMI

2. 2nd floor North Microfiche

• Flood Insurance Study - Fed Docs Fiche FEM 1.209: or HH 10.9:
• Michigan road maps - Mich Docs Fiche G4110 1991.M5a
• National Wetland Inventory maps - Fed Docs Fiche I 49.6/7-2

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Using Maps at the Library of Michigan

Unless otherwise noted in ANSWER, maps and atlases do not circulate.

Many maps and atlases are too large to photocopy. Please check ANSWER, or ask a librarian, to see if the materials also are available on microform for copying.

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Updated 09/09/2008