Map Collection and Cartographic Information Services Unit

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What We Answer By Email or Phone (Off-Site Reference)

The Map Collection is a browsable self-service collection that is open to the public. Many of our materials can be found in the UW Libraries Catalog -- to learn more, use our Tips for Searching the Catalog for Maps.

Some questions can only be answered in person. It is difficult for us to answer very general questions over the phone such as "What maps do you have of Florida?" or "I'm looking for a map that shows the rivers in Africa. What do you have?" or "Do you have aerial photographs that show my house?" Therefore, a good first step would be to consult the UW Libraries Catalog. If you are not able to visit the Map Collection in person and feel that your question is more complicated than the services listed below, please call (206) 543-9392 or email us at maplib@u.washington.edu for an appointment with a librarian.

1. If You Would Like a Known Item

If you are not affiliated with UW and have a specific item for which you know the call number and the location, and you are not able to visit in person to check it out, you can arrange to borrow it through the UW Libraries' Interlibrary Loan (call (206) 543-1878 or email interlib@u.washington.edu). UWorld Express arranges for the loan of circulating materials from the University of Washington Libraries to other institutions in the Pacific Northwest, the United States and around the world.

2. If You Have a Specific Question

We strongly encourage you to look through our list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). However, if you are not able to find what you are looking for, we can provide the following services via phone or email. Call us at (206) 543-9392 or email us at maplib@u.washington.edu.

• Holds: We can pull and hold up to six known items and hold them at the Map Circulation Desk, if you provide specific
  • call numbers and map sheet numbers, or
  • air photo project names and photo numbers.
  
  
• Place names: Please refer to our webpage on Place Names/Gazetteers before contacting us directly. If you do not find what you are looking for, we can research up to six domestic or foreign placenames and give latitude and longitude. Each alternate spelling counts as one place name. We may need to know what country the place name is from.
   
• Aerial photography: Please refer to our webpage on Aerial Photography and Other Remote-Sensing Imagery before contacting us directly.
  
  • Use the Aerial Photo Project Tool to determine if we have aerial photos for your area of interest, and for what dates (disclaimer). This can help you determine if a trip to use the collection is worthwhile.
  • If the Aerial Photo Project Tool does not work on your computer, we can tell you project names, dates and scales that show your general area of interest (in Washington State).
  • We can check project base maps for photo coverage of one particular site.
    • Please provide township, range and section number for your site of interest.
    • We cannot guarantee that the photos in a specific flight project will cover the site of interest, especially if the site is near the edge of the flight project area.
    • This service is provided only for aerial photography of sites outside of King County, as the Map Collection has too many photographs of King County for staff to check them all.
    • This service may take 1-3 days depending on levels of Map Collection staffing.

Please note that Map Collection staff cannot return long distance phone calls or fax you any information. Our preferred method of contacting you is through email.

Librarians are not always available when the Map Collection is open. If you need specific reference and research assistance, or you feel your question is more complicated than the services listed above, please call (206) 543-9392 or email us at maplib@u.washington.edu for an appointment with a librarian.

Questions? Comments? Please email us at maplib@u.washington.edu