Exhibitions feature original maps, atlases, & globes from the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education.

Reference service, educational programs & tours available by appointment. Call for hours.

The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education was created not only to collect and preserve old maps but specifically to promote their study and their use in teaching.

These complex and richly textured documents comprise a crucial element of our cultural heritage. We can use them to trace humanity’s spatial histories, from engagements with nature to modern globalization.

By studying their production, we can comprehend how art, technology, faith, and science intertwine in the human experience.

By exploring how they have variously been used, we can develop a social history of culture.

The study of maps thus encompasses and integrates the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Their study offers such compelling insights that anyone can enjoy and learn from them.