Celestial Charts: Exploring and Observing Space at the Geography and Map Division

August 13, 2015.

Carolyn Osborn, of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, has written a brief introductory post about the collections within the Geography & Map Reading Room.

"Approximately half of the Geography and Map Division’s celestial charts are uncatalogued. Even fewer have been digitally scanned. So just because it’s not online, doesn’t mean we don’t have it! All of our acquisitions made since 1970 have corresponding digital catalog records, however, the rest of our collections are organized by a unique classification system devised for our Division. The Library’s geography/maps specialists are here to help should you have questions about the Library’s holdings."

-Carolyn Osborn, Inside Adams Science, Technology & Business Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

Geography & Map Reading Room

"The Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress provides cartographic and geographic information for all parts of the world to the Congress, Federal agencies, state and local governments, the scholarly community, and to the general public. It is the largest and most comprehensive cartographic collection in the world, numbering over 5.2 million maps, including 80,000 atlases, 25,000 geospatial datasets, 6,000 reference works, numerous globes and three-dimensional plastic relief models, and a large number of cartographic materials in other formats."

• History and Background
• Reference Services
• Reference Policies
• Guides to the Collections
• Map Collections of the Library of Congress
• American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies
• American Women
• Indian Land Cessions in the U.S. (1784-1894)
• Louisiana: European Explorations and the Louisiana Purchase
• Rochambeau Map Collection
• "Contains cartographic items used by Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, commander in chief of the French expeditionary army (1780-82) during the American Revolution"
• G & M Finding Aids
• Map Reproductions
• Digital Collections
• Online Map Collections
• [The Oztoticpac lands map]
• ca. 1540 (in Nahuatl)
• [Map of the several nations of Indians to the Northwest of South Carolina]
• 1724, 1900, Catawba deerskin map, Francis Nicholson
• A new map of the north parts of America claimed by France under ye names of Louisiana, Mississipi [i.e. Mississippi], Canada, and New France with ye adjoining territories of England and Spain : to Thomas Bromsall, esq., this map of Louisiana, Mississipi [i.e. Mississippi] & c. is most humbly dedicated, H. Moll, geographer /
• 1732, Herman Moll
• A map of the western parts of the colony of Virginia
• 1754, John Gibson and Robert Baldwin
• Partie occidentale de la Nouvelle France ou du Canada
• 1755, Jacques Nicolas Bellin, Erben Homann
• A general map of the middle British colonies in America, viz. Virginia, Maryland, Deleware, Pensilvania, New-Jersey, New York, Connecticut & Rhode Island: Of Aquanishuonigy the country of the confederate Indians comprehending Aquanishuonigy proper, their places of residence, Ohio & Thuchsochruntie their deer hunting countries, Couchsachrage & Skaniadarade their beaver hunting countries, of the Lakes Erie, Ontario and Champlain. Wherein is also shewn the antient & present seats of the Indian nations.
• 1771, Carington Bowles and Lewis Evans
• Pensilvaniæ, Novæ-Cæsareæ, Novi-Eboraci, Aquanishuonigæ et Canadæ,
• 1784, Lewis Evans, Pehr Kalm, Fr. Akrel, and S. Kreander. 
• An Indian map of the Upper-Missouri, 1801.
• 1850, Johann Georg Kohl
• "drawn by "the Feathers" or "Ackomok-Ki", a Blackfoot chief"
• [Mississippi River, with Ohio, Rock, Iowa River de Moins, Missouri, White, and Arkansas rivers, and part of the Red River]
• 1804
• Map of Sauk County, Wisconsin/
• 1859, William H. Canfield.
• Online Resources
• Blank Outline Maps
• Cartographic Associations and Societies (not comprehensive)
• Cartographic Bookmark Sites
• Current Maps- U.S.
• Individual (U.S.) State Map Sites
• Current Maps- World
• Geographic Information
• Historic Maps-U.S.
• Historic Maps- World
• Purchasing Maps Online
• Journals
• Cartobibliographies

• Teaching Astronomy Reference Guide
• Online Resources for Science Education
• Books on Introducing Astronomy
• Books with Activities & Experiments
• Books on Stargazing-Observations with Binoculars, Telescopes and the Naked Eye
• Ancient Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy, Cosmology, History of Astronomy, Constellation Figures, and Mythology
• Atlases, Charts, Maps, and Related Guides
• Biographical Books
• Clubs, Activities, Programs, Projects
• Astronomy Education Journals
• Textbooks
• Conference and Workshop Proceedings
• Library of Congress Resources for Educators
• Astronomy Online Educational Resources
• Citizen Science
• Videos
• Blogs
• Other Social Media Channels
• Archaeoastronomy Teaching Guide
• Scope
• Introductions to the Topic
• Subject Headings
• General Texts
• Additional Titles
• Specialized Titles
• Related Titles
• Reference Works
• Conference Proceedings
• Dissertations
• Selected Dissertations
• Abstracting and Indexing Services
• Journals
• Representative Journal Articles
• Selected Materials
• Additional Sources of Information
• Selected Internet Resources