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Western Libraries

Map Collection: Home

Western Libraries contains a collection of maps and other cartographic resources from all over the world, but the main focus is on the Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest and parts of western and northern Canada.

Contact Us

Inside the Map Collection

The Map Collection is located in Wilson Library 2 East (WL 290).  

Winter & Spring Quarter 2023:

Reference, research, and instructional support by appointment only.  Please contact Map Collection staff at (360) 650-3272 or mapcollection@wwu.edu.

Welcome

The Map Collection is a multidisciplinary collection of cartographic materials, housing over 65,000 contemporary and historic maps including atlases, reference books, and globes. The collection covers many areas of the world, with a focus on the Salish Sea, the Pacific Northwest and parts of western and northern Canada.

Our primary focus is to support the teaching, learning, and research needs of Western Washington University students and educators. We promote the use of and access to local, state, regional, and federal resources through scholarly research and public programming. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable teaching, learning, and research community across the Salish Sea region. 

We offer research assistance and in-class instructional sessions.  

PLEASE USE THE TABS ABOVE TO LEARN MORE 

Speaking of Maps program (past speakers)

Mapping Mars
Writing a People's Natural History Guidebook
Archival Evidence for Historical Changes
What's in a Name?
Maps as Lenses on Nazism
Building a Digital Atlas of the Pacific Northwest
To Catch a Map Thief
Mapping Mars: Our Evolving Vision of the Red Planet, Part II
The Story of the Salish Sea
Mapping Mountains: Aerial Photography in the Remote Western Ranges of North America

Visitors

What Does The Eagle Mean?

WWU is a part of the Federal Depository Library Program.  That means the U.S. government sends us publications for free - including maps - and Western is required to make them available to the general public.  There are over 1,000 federal depository libraries and they are all marked with the eagle logo.  (Northwest Indian College in Whatcom County is another one.)

More about Western's Government Information collection.

More about the Federal Depository Library Program.