Map Collections in the Marriott Library: How to Find a Map

How to find a map in the Marriott Library:

• Maps are in the catalog.  At our home page, click on "Advanced Search," then type the place of interest into a search box aimed at "Subject," while choosing "Material type" pointing to "Maps."  A search for "Salt Lake City" limited to material type=Maps will retrieve over 200 maps at present.  You can further refine your search by subject or year.
• When you find a map of interest in the catalog, note carefully its location.  Certain sheets with large dimensions are deemed "Oversize" and located in a set of large drawers near the south end of the collection.  Other items, particularly maps folded inside cardboard covers and pamphlets that accompanied maps, are to be found in the vertical files facing the atlas alcove.  They are presently called "Reference", but many of these items can be checked out, unlike traditional "Reference" materials.
• The call numbers for the maps use codes for the place covered.  Each continent, country, state, county, and city has a unique call number.  For example, any general map of Utah as a whole has a call number starting with G4340.  A thematic (subject-specific) map of Utah begins with G4341, followed by an alphanumeric code ("Cutter number") for the subject.  "C5" = geology, so a geologic map of the state of Utah has a call number beginning G4341.C5.  A region within Utah, such as a national park, has the code G4342, followed by the code for the region; so maps of Zion National Park are under: G4342.Z5.  A county map begins with G4343, so Salt Lake County maps have the code: G4343.S2.  City maps begin with G4344, so Salt Lake City is under: G4344.S3
• The USGS quadrangles have a call number for the series as a whole, followed by a code for state and quad name, but you don't really need it once you find the large set of drawers with this set.  The 1:24,000-scale maps are arranged by state and then by sheet name.  To identify the sheet you need, find an index sheet in the first drawer for a given state.  Utah's index sheet is posted at the end of the topo cabinet facing the atlas alcove.  If you aren't sure what sheet will contain the place or geographic feature of interest, use the online gazetteer (see link on the "Find a place" tab in this guide).
• The USGS 1:100,000-scale topo sheets have a different arrangement, by Latitude and Longitude at the lower-right corner of the map.  This results in a series of "stripes across the country" from east to west.  An index map is found at the start of the set.
• Topographic sets covering other countries and regions usually also have index map sheets located at the beginning of the set.
• The Sanborn Maps for various Utah cities and towns are located in Special Collections.  But many of these have now been scanned, so you can see them online.  From the main search box on the Library's home page, click the "Digital Collections" tab; then click "Browse by Collection."  When a display of alphabetical links appears, select "S" to find the Sanborn Map Collection.