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McKeldin Map Collection

Guide to the map collection on the 4th floor of McKeldin Library.

Map Citation

The best book on this topic (examples below are taken or adapted from it) is:

Cartographic citation: a style guide, by Christine Kollen, Wangyal Shawa, and Mary Larsgaard (2nd edition).

Single Sheet Map

Format:  Author. Title [map]. Edition. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

Example:  National Geographic Society. Close-up: USA, Hawaii. Scale: 1:675,000. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1976.

Atlas Citation

Format:  Author. Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

Example:  Robbins, Chandler S. (Ed.). Atlas of the breeding birds of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996.

Map from an Atlas

Format:  Map Author. Map title. Scale. In: Atlas author. Atlas title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Date, page.

Example: Chronology of Anne Arundel. 1"= 10 miles. In: Long, John H. (Ed.). Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia: Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996.

Map in a Topographic Series

Format:  Author. Sheet title from the series. Edition. Scale. Series, number. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

Example:  U.S. Geological Survey. Laurel quadrangle, Maryland. 1981. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Reston, Va: United States Department of the Interior, USGS, 1981.

Map in a Series

Format:  Author. Sheet title from the series. Edition. Scale. Series title and/or number. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

Example:  U.S. National Ocean Service. Puget Sound - Northern Part. 33rd ed. Scale 1:80,000. Chart #18441. Washington, D.C.: National Ocean Service, 1989.

Map from a Book

Format:  Map Author. Map title. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. In: Book Author. Book title. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date, page.

Example:  Fig. 5: Major Seaports and Transportation Axes in Southern and South Central Africa (1978). Scale 1.6 cm = 500 km. In:Wiese, Bernd. Seaports and Port Cities of Southern Africa. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH., 1981, p. 23.

Map from the Web

Format:  Author if known. Map Title. Scale. “Title of Website” <URL> (date accessed).

Example:  Interactive Map. "Metro - Rail - Maps - Rail/Google Map" <http://www.wmata.com/rail/maps/map.cfm> (Accessed 6/21/2012).

Map from a Periodical

Format:  Map Author. Map Title. Scale. In: Article Author. "Article Title," Journal Title, Volume (Date): page.

Example: Howland, Marie. Figure 4: Industrial land in Prince George’s County, MD, in five categories of demand. In: Howland, Marie. "Planning for Industry in a Post-Industrial World," Journal of the American Planning Association, 77 (Winter 2011): 39-53.

Map Generators

Format:  Author. Title of map created. Layers used. Scale. Name of person who generated map; using "Title of Website" <URL> (date accessed).

Example:  Harvard University. Language Families of Western Africa. Layers used: 2001 Language Families and 2008 Administrative Boundaries. Scale unknown. Map generated by Frank Johnson; using "AfricaMap" <http://cga-3.hmdc.harvard.edu/africamap/> (Accessed June 20, 2009).

CD-ROM or DVD Maps

Format:  Author. Title. [format]. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.

Example:  ESRI Ltd. ArcCanada [CD-ROM]. Version 2.0. North York, Ontario: Environmental Systems Research Institute, 1999.

Facsimile or Reproduction Maps

Format:  Author. Title. Scale. Original place of publication: Original publisher, Original date of publication. As reproduced by, Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. 

Example:  Schomburgk, Robert H. Sketch Map of British Guiana. Scale 1" = 40.5 mi. London: John Arrowsmith, 1840. As reproduced by, Boston: Heliotype Printing Co., 1896.

Real Time Maps

Format:  Author. Map title. Date produced and time if known. Scale or resolution. "Title of complete document or site". <URL>

Example: Maryland Department of Transportation. Event List, Southern/Capital Maryland. 06/21/2012. Scale not given. "Maryland 511". <http://www.md511.org/eventlist.aspx?ShowTrafficEvents=2>

Aerial Photo from a Flight Series

Format: Author. Title or frame number(s). Scale. Flight title (if part of flight). Place of publication: Publisher, Date of image collection.

Example:  U.S. Geological Survey. NP0NAPP000004021. 1:40,000. National Aerial Photography Program. Sioux Falls, SD: U.S. Geolorical Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 04/05/1988.

Satellite Imagery

Format: Author. Title or Scene ID, Satellite and sensor name (as appropriate). Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of image collection.

Example: U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. LE70920752003151ASA00, Landsat 7 ETM + L1T. No scale given. Sioux Falls, SD: U.S. Geolorical Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 05/31/2003.

GIS-Produced Map

Format:  Map Title. Scale. Database name [type of medium]. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Using GIS software: Title [type of software].

Example:  Virginia Railway Network. [computer map]. 1:25000. National Transportation Atlas Databases. Washington, D.C.: US Department of Transportation, 2000. Using ArcGIS [GIS software]. Version 8.3. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute, 1992-2004.