Searching Newton for maps and atlases
Searching by place |
Searching by type |
Searching by scale
Using place-names as keywords |
World atlases |
Using limits
Printable version of this text
Searching for books on cartography and gazetteers
Note that although since August 2000 all new Map Department acquisitions have been catalogued on Newton, to make a comprehensive search of our holdings you will also need to visit the Map Department to search our card catalogue.
The information on this page provides help for searching Newton (the Library's online catalogue) for maps and atlases. The information will be of particular help if you have no specific title or author in mind.
If you are looking for books on cartography or gazetteers, click here.
Please ask a member of staff if you need help to refine your search further or if you cannot find what you want. General information about Newton can be found here. In particular, the section on subject searching may be of use.
Some categories of material in the Map Department are never catalogued. A more comprehensive list can be found here but some common examples are listed below:
- Town plans are not all catalogued. Ask a member of Map Room staff for assistance.
- Maps in series are usually not catalogued individually. This means, for example, that the 1:50,000 Landranger map series published by Ordnance Survey which covers Great Britain in 204 sheets, has one catalogue entry not 204. Individual sheets within map series are identified using graphic indexes in the Map Room. Ask a member of staff for assistance.
- Maps in atlases are not usually catalogued individually. So, if you cannot find a suitable map in the catalogue think whether one might have appeared in a larger work such as a road or national atlas. National atlases, for example, often include a variety of thematic maps.
Searching for Maps and Atlases of a Particular PLACE
- Use Advanced search
- Select Subject from one of the drop down menus on the right hand side
- Make sure that the central column is set to all of these
- Type the name of the place for which maps are required and the word 'maps' in the corresponding search box on the left. e.g. Cambridge maps
- This search will retrieve maps and atlases of Cambridge and parts of Cambridge. If you wish to distinguish Cambridge England from Cambridge Massachusetts add the terms: England or Mass
See also Searching for World Atlases
Searching for Maps and Atlases of a Particular TYPE
You may only be interested in maps of a particular type - geology or soils maps, for example, or maps published before 1800, or facsimiles. To find these types of map you need to use additional search terms. Some of the more commonly used search terms are listed below; they can be combined with a place name.
- Use Advanced search
- Select Subject from one of the drop down menus on the right hand side
- Make sure that the central column is set to all of these (unless otherwise stated)
- Type your search terms - see list below of the more commonly used terms - in the corresponding search box on the left
- The search terms can be combined with a place name, e.g. geology maps england
| early maps | For maps and atlases (original and facsimiles) published before 1800 |
| administrative maps | |
| aerial views | |
| aeronautical charts | |
| agriculture maps | |
| archaeology maps | |
| archaeological surveying maps | |
| bathymetric maps | |
| childrens atlases | For children's atlases If you want maps search for childrens maps |
| cities towns maps | For collections of maps (including atlases) of cities and towns, including world wide collections. Combine with a place name - e.g. a country - for collections of city and town maps of that country |
| climate maps | |
| cycling maps | Also try bicycle trails maps |
| facsimiles maps | |
| geology maps | |
| globes | For globes (and books about globes) |
| historical geography maps | |
| history maps | |
| land use maps | |
| manuscript maps | |
| mental maps | |
| nautical charts | |
| outline base maps | For outline and base maps |
| physical maps | |
| pictorial maps | |
| pictorial works maps | |
| planning maps | You could also add the terms: city ; highway ; regional as appropriate |
| railroads maps | |
| remote sensing images | |
| remote sensing maps | |
| roads maps | |
| soils maps | |
| topographic maps | For maps at more detailed scales, ca. 1:200,000 or larger, though use with caution since some useful maps may be excluded |
| tourist maps | |
| transportation maps | For maps showing a variety of transport modes. For specific transport types search for: railroads ; roads ; air travel ; harbors ; waterways ; rural transportation ; subways ; urban transportation ; etc maps |
| walking maps | Try also trails maps and hiking maps |
| weather maps | |
| world maps | For maps of the whole world. See also Searching for World Atlases |
These search terms (as well as those listed below) are Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) - hence the American spelling of words like harbor. A searchable list of LCSHs is available here. Also take a look at the subject searching help pages for Newton.
It is best to start your search with general terms and then to refine it by using more specific search terms. If you find an item that suits your needs, try searching on the subject terms present in the catalogue record for that item.
Also think, where appropriate, of substituting the word 'maps' with guidebooks - cycling and walking guidebooks, for example, often contain maps - or of dropping the terms maps / charts altogether.
Searching by SCALE
Catalogue entries for most (but not all) maps and atlases drawn at one or two scales include a scale statement in the form of a representative fraction, such as 1:50,000. To search for such items, do a keyword search for 50000 (etc.).
In Advanced Search this can be combined, for example, with a Subject search for a place name.
Catalogue entries for maps and atlases drawn at more than two scales, or with no, or an unknown scale, may include scale statements such as: Scale not given; Scale indeterminable; Scales differ; Not drawn to scale - or there may be no scale statement at all.
Using PLACE-NAMES as KEYWORDS
If you do not find a map of a place by using the subject searches suggested above, try searching for the place name as a keyword, but keep the word maps in the subject search box.
Searching for WORLD ATLASES
If you specifically want a world atlas:
Go to: Basic Search
Select: Search within: Subject Headings
Search For: Atlases
This will retrieve a list (index) of subject headings. Under the heading Atlases should be world atlases published in the USA. Under the heading Atlases British, for example, are world atlases published in Great Britain.
Using LIMITS
It is possible to automatically restrict, or limit, your searching of Newton to cartographic materials (i.e. maps and atlases):
- In Advanced Search, scroll down to Item type or Medium and select Map (to find maps and atlases)
- The limit will stay in place until you change it
However, since there is a danger that relevant records will be missed when search limits are used, we would only recommend their use if searching without limits yields too many results.
Printable Version of This Text
See Map Department Information Sheet 5C - Searching Newton for maps, atlases and books on cartography (a MS Word document)
or ask a member of Map Department staff for a hard copy