The Goettingen SUB's Map Collection holds and catalogues German and foreign maps and atlases from all geographical areas and covering all topics as part of its role as the "Thematische Karten" (thematic maps) special-subject area holding facility. The holdings consitute

• some 300,000 map sheets,
• approximately 9,000 atlases and 20,000 items of explanatory material,
• topographical maps in various scales from about 120 countries,
• a significant collection of around 65,000 old maps, and
• a handset with the most important cartograph literature.

The the Map Collection's reading room you will find that almost all of the atlases have been placed in open shelving. Sheet maps and thematic map collections and all single-sheet maps are available to be directly checked out. The items can also be ordered electronically, being available for you when you come to the library. The holdings are not just available for loan but can also be provided as copies made by the Goettingen SUB's Reprocenter.

The old maps, those produced prior to 1850, are catalogued in the 225,000-strong IKAR - Printed Maps before 1850 provided by GBV.

The modern-map holdings of the Map Department are all listed in the Goettinger Universtaetskatalog (GUK). Systematic searches of maps and atlases can be carried out, with either regional-search entry-points (Notation UR...) or topic-search entry-points (Notation UQ...).

The Geotool allows searches for individual sheets in map series. Individual sheet maps with various scales, with various index sheets, and covering various topics world-wide can be searched. Currently, 65,000 maps from the Goettingen SUB collection are covered. The system is constantly being expanded and supplemented by further index sheets and maps.

Further sources of information on maps, cartography, and GIS as electronic information sources in the WWW are provided in the Goettingen SUB's GeoGuide.