Road maps contain detailed information about roads, streets, and highways for a geographic area. Familiar names in road map publishing include AAA, Rand McNally, and Thomas Bros.
The Map Collection collects state highway maps for the entire United States and road and street maps for major cities in the U.S. and the world, with more in-depth coverage for Washington state.
The best way to find a recent road map for your geographic area of choice is to find a call number range by looking at our LC Map Call Numbers Finding Aid, then go to the General Map Cases and browse within that range. Maps cataloged as road maps have a ".P2" in the call number; however, some road maps are cataloged as general maps, so be sure to look at both general maps and maps by subject.
All of the road maps in the Map Collection are cataloged. To find road maps in the UW Library Catalog, go to our Tips for Searching the Catalog. If you are not able to come in to the Map Collection, the online catalog is a good place to start.
Once you find what you are looking for, please write down the call number and the location. The catalog shows that atlases can be found in the following Map Collection locations. Consult the floor plan of the Map Collection.
Many UW libraries have their own copies of the Thomas Guides to King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties, so check with your subject specialty library first.
Yes, road maps circulate, except those considered historic (generally anything published before 1960). Review our policies under Checking Out and Handling Materials for details.
MultiMap.com
Mappy.com
These two websites cover the roads of Europe (MultiMap also covers the
rest of the world) at a variety of scales.
Maps/GIS Resource
Page (University of Washington Libraries)
This is a collection of websites for cartographic information, organized
by geography, which have been selected by UW librarians. This is the
best resource to consult for road maps of the rest of the world.
MapQuest
Yahoo! Maps
These two websites are the best-known online resources for U.S. street
maps and directions, and are constantly adding new useful features (such
as Yahoo!'s "Find Nearby Businesses").
Microsoft Expedia streets & trips
Maps Media G1201.P2
M54
This CD-ROM "contains trip planning and street mapping software
which allows for the creation of specific driving itineries, and includes
information about accommodations, restaurants and sights." Latest
version is 2000.
Street atlas USA
Maps Media G1201.P2
D44 1999
These 2 CD-ROMs, published by Delorme, contain street-level maps of
the United States, including natural and manmade features. "Users
can print and export maps, search by name, block range, town, zip code,
and telephone area code and exchange."
TopoUSA
Maps Media G3701.C2
1999 .D4
This 6-disc set of CD-ROMs is searchable by placename, ZIP code, area
code and exchange or latitude/longitude. "Profile backcountry travels
for distance and elevation; fly around the country in a 3-D perspective;
add symbols to indicate landmarks; print high-quality topographic maps
of any place in the US; utilize the global positioning system through
a connection with a GPS receiver."
Thomas Bros. Guides
These are ideal for neighborhood detail in portable form. The most recent
edition does not circulate, but earlier versions can be checked out.
