American geographical society library
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The American Geographical Society (AGS) Library is located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. The AGS Library is one of North America’s foremost geography and map collections. The library and map collection was formerly the research libary of the American Geographical Society (AGS) of New York and was transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries in 1978.
Size and Scope of the AGS Library
The AGS Library presently consists of over one million items including maps, atlases, books, journals, pamphlets, photographs, slides, landsat images, and digital spatial data. The AGS Library has materials for the entire world and in multiple different langages.
There are over 500,000 maps providing world coverage at all scales. There are major national topographic series, navigational charts detailing the earth’s coastlines and a wealth of thematic maps. The oldest map held at the AGS Libary dates from 1452.
In addition to a significant collection of maps, the AGS Libary also has over 9,000 atlases. The oldest atlas is from 15th century including a Rome edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia. The newest atlases available are purchased as published.
The AGS Library’s large book collection dates back to 1472 and contains some of the earliest printed geographical works. There are a number of broad themes represented in the monographic book collection. These include:
Geographic history Discovery Exploration - U.S. and Polar Military geography, history and tactics History of cartography Genealogical Modern and early reference works
In addition to maps, atlases and books, no good map library would be complete witout globes. The AGS Libary has over 90 globes, most on permanent display. The largest and most spectacular is a rare example of the fifty inch “President’s globe,” produced by the OSS during World War II for President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill.
A field of growing research importance involves the study of photographic materials. The AGS Libary has hundreds of thousands of photographs and slides. These date from the mid nineteenth century to the present and document a wealth of geographic themes such as early western exploration, early aerial exploration, the world’s physical features, its peoples and its cultural landscapes.
As is the case for most map libaries, the importance of digital data is driving the future direction of the AGS Library. The Library actively collects and archives digital geospatial data. Most data is distributed to the UWM community - depending on licensing and copyright issues.
There are a number of speaking events held at the AGS Library as well as research grant opportunities.
