Osher Map Library & Smith Center for Cartographic Education

Osher Map Library & Smith Center for Cartographic Education

  • <p>Pen drawing of the outside of Roland's Tavern. A corner building with two high glass windows and a door to the right.</p>

Mission Statement:

Founded in the spirit of lifelong learning and a deep commitment to our communities, the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education at the University of Southern Maine enables free public access to and engagement with five centuries of cartographic materials via University, K-12, and public educational outreach; the preservation and digitization of our collections; gallery exhibitions; research and scholarship; and public programming that collectively promotes the continued relevance of maps and mapping as tools to help patrons understand the past and the present, and to imagine the future.

The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education preserves the cartographic heritage of the state, region, and nation, and makes nearly 500,000 cartographic objects accessible to the University, the people of Maine, and to all students, scholars, and visitors. The OML shares its collections through exhibitions and collaborative efforts with other cultural institutions. We interpret our collections through classes, exhibitions, digitization, and other outreach programs.

We invite you to visit our website, where you can search and view over 80,000 fully digitized items from our collections.