About the Directory

Map Collections in Australia: A Directory provides electronic access to information on map collections in Australia. Based on the printed publication of the same name (published in 1991) the database allows you to search a range of organizations which hold a wide variety of maps and associated materials of both Australian and overseas countries.

• Directory coverage
• History of the Directory
• Further information

Directory coverage

All of the entries listed in the Directory have been collected since late in 2001. We encourage users to report new map or previously unrecorded map collections so that the database may continue to grow.

The collections in the Directory contain a range of material dating from sixteenth century maps covering all known corners of the world to the latest spatial data on the Australian climate.

The Directory lists some 100 collections held around the country, including :

• the collection of the National Library of Australia containing over 600 000 modern maps of Australia and the world;
• the collections of State, local government and a school library from around the country;
• significant, specialised holdings in government agencies, eg. National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology
• collections in private industry, eg. Technical and Field Surveys Pty Ltd, and agencies such as historical societies

You can search for map collections all over Australia by :

• name of collection or holding institution
• subject of the collection
• geographic region

The Directory also provides links to overseas map collection sites and other useful resources

History of the Directory

The fourth printed edition of Map Collections in Australia: a directory was compiled in the Map Section of the National Library of Australia with the assistance of the former Australian Institute of Cartographers, now the Mapping Sciences Institute, Australia. It completely updated and revised the first three editions published between 1974 and 1980, under the editorship of Nancy Rauchle.

Since the third edition of the Directory considerable changes have occurred in the Australian map world with the amalgamation or reorganisation of government agencies and dispersal of both government and private collections. However, while the growth of digital spatial data has reduced the need for many organizations to maintain map collections, others have retained part or all of their collections and combined them with the new formats.

New collections have also appeared and it is believed many more lie waiting to be discovered. The development of the Australian Spatial Digital Directory (ASDD), a directory which links government and commercial nodes in each State/Territory and spatial data agencies within the Commonwealth Government has also helped to coordinate the discovery of digital spatial data in government, and more recently in private industry.

Further information

We welcome information about additional Australian map collections for inclusion - email maps@nla.gov.au or send details via our online form. Institutions with map collections listed in the Directory may update their collections details online.

For further information or enquiries about the Directory, contact :

Map Curator
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Phone : 02 6262 1280
Fax : 02 6262 1653
Email : maps@nla.gov.au