SoES Map Libraries

The School of Environmental Sciences is home to the map collections of both the Department of Geography and Planning and Department of Earth Oceans and Ecological Science map collections. The facilities located currently across  the Roxby and Herdman Buildings are supported by extensive access to digital data is achieved by the EDINA Digimap service.

The Herdman and Roxby Building Map Libraries

These are large reference collection of >100,000 maps situated on the 3rd floor of the Roxby Building and 1st floor of the Herdman Building. An outline of the contents of this collection follows:

Complete sets of Ordnance Survey small scale to 1:25,000 are held; 1:10,000/10,560 for Britain; 1:2,500 and 1:1,250 for Liverpool. County Series 1:2,500 for Merseyside and 1:10,560 for Lancashire, Cheshire, Devon, Somerset and Cornwall, some sheets elsewhere. Historical county and town plans; thematic maps: comprehensive geology coverage, soils (with memoirs), land use, administrative, etc.; current town plans.

Europe: Unesco and FAO thematic map series; War Office GSGS and other series at one or more scales. German ethnographic 1:200,000 (East/Central Europe, 1930-41).

Africa: Directorate of Overseas Surveys (DOS) and Institut Géographique National material, some early 20th century material, East Africa 1:250,000, ORSTOM soil memoirs.

Asia: Early 20th century Survey of India; AMS U502 1:250,000; DOS small scale mapping.

Americas: Canada 1:500,000, 1:250,000; USA selected sheets (all scales); DOS Caribbean; Brazil 1:500,000; Peru 1:250,000, Haiti 1:100,000 Guatemala 1:250,000, Costa Rica 1:200,000.

Australasia: Some national mapping for Australia and New Zealand; DOS Pacific islands. 

The Atlas collection

There are over five hundred volumes in the Atlas collection which is housed in Room 511. These range from general world atlases, to national atlases, to thematic atlases. A hand list of titles can be obtained from the Map Curator.

The Aerial Photograph Collection

This comprises mostly greyscale planimetric cover of the UK (i.e. the local area plus field work sites) and parts of France, Portugal, Spain, Canada, Cyprus, Nigeria and Zambia. Mirror stereoscopes are available for use.

The Jensen Dee Archive

This comprises material collected by H.A.P. Jensen on the Dee estuary for an MA thesis. In 1953 Jensen died in a railway accident and his notes and maps were deposited in the department.

The Map Curator, Mr. Tinho da Cruz (Roxby), is on hand to help with enquiries and the use of the collections and facilities. His contact details are: telephone: 0151-794-2844, and e-mail: dacruz@liv.ac.uk. For the Herdman Building, Kavanagh, Mr John in the Technical Team can support access to the Earth Science collections: telephone 0151 794 5189 and email: Kavanagh@liverpool.ac.uk.