Research Guides: Conducting Historical Research Online: Resources in the Maps Collection

Eastern Michigan University Library Map Collection

What's in the Map Collection?

Travel and Tourism collection - road maps, travel brochures, and visitor guides to sites in the United States and around the world. Find these in the filing cabinets in the Information Commons South. Official travel-related websites for nations, US states, and Michigan counties can be found in the Tourism Websites research guide
Atlases - atlases of many types, including world, geographic, political, demographic, economic and marketing, historical, military, nature, and celestial atlases.
- Reference Collection atlases are for use only in the map room and are available during map library hours.
- A wide collection of other atlases are kept in the Information Commons South, are available during all library hours, and may be checked out at the circulation desk.
Topographic maps - USGS topographic maps for Michigan and many other states
Ocean surveys and coastal charts
Government documents and publications - including CIA and defense mapping agencies
Posters, calendars, and aerial photography (see Special Indexes for links)
Free maps! Free tourist maps and brochures in the stand outside the door to the map room.

Historical maps

Michigan County Histories and Atlases
428 digitized titles (many composed of multiple volumes) published before 1923, offering free keyword searching and page-by-page access to digitized reproductions of Michigan county histories and atlases as a resource for historical and genealogical research.
David Rumsey Historical Maps
Over 22,000 maps and images online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia, and Africa are also represented.
Old Maps Online
A map interface for locating online historic maps, including those in the David Rumsey collection.
Library of Congress
Online maps from the American Memory Project.
National Geographic Maps
Features an online atlas, selections from National Geographic's historic collection of print maps, and fun atlas puzzles.
Mapping History Project
Thematic maps illustrating issues in US, European, African, and Latin American history.
Places in History
Library of Congress website featuring digitized versions of historic maps. Especially strong with Civil War maps.
Civil War Maps
Battle maps, animated maps, historical maps and more, from the American Battlefield Trust.
Japanese Historical Maps
Over 1100 images from the East Asian Library at UC-Berkeley.
Historical Map index
A large collection of historical maps, provided by the University of Alabama
Broer Map Library
The Broer Map Library is an online collection of historic maps, primarily from the 19th & 20th centuries.

Sanborn Insurance Maps - Michigan This link opens in a new window
Detailed historical town and city maps from 1880s to 1950s
Subjects: Historic Preservation, Local History, Geography, Genealogy