All of our print collections can be identified through searching our catalog or through consulting our old-school hard copy catalog that we keep at the reference desk in our reading room. Searching by subject is the best way to find material in our collections. Most subject headings will reflect the geographic area of interest along with a particular topic relating to that place. Below are a few suggested subject headings to use for an initial search of our collections in the NYPL catalog. Keep in mind that there are plenty of permutations of this search, depending on what location or subject you are interested in:
Real property -- New York (State) -- New York -- Maps
Real property auctions -- New York (State) -- New York.
Real property auctions -- New York (State) -- New York -- Maps
If you’d like to search for all maps of a particular location, you can search for a place name, i.e. a neighborhood, town, city, county or state, along with the word Maps:
Bronx (New York, N.Y.) -- Maps
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- Maps
(New York, N.Y.) -- Maps
Of course, a researcher runs into two problems here: the sheer number of maps of places like New York City, coupled with the fact that the nondescriptive, utilitarian titles of most maps, e.g. “Map of New York,” doesn’t provide many clues as to what’s actually on the map. Whenever the need arises to narrow down a list of resources, a few quick steps can be taken. One step would be to try a narrower search, such as:
City planning -- New York (State) -- New York -- Maps
Streets -- New York (State) -- New York -- Planning -- Maps
Another recommended step would be to use the advanced search feature in the catalog and select a date range of interest in order to limit the resources to sort through.
Since a sizeable portion of our collection, particularly those items from the mid-twentieth century are not included in our online catalog, we highly advise and greatly encourage researchers to get the most out of our collections by to reaching out to our librarians either by visiting the division or sending us an email: maps@nypl.org. Tell us about your projects and research and we’ll help you navigate through the collections; it’s what we do best!
Other NYPL Research Collections
Of course, there are other divisions in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building that provide strong documentation of the city’s past, their collections too numerous to mention in any meaningful detail here. The two divisions that should already be familiar to lovers of New York City history are the Manuscripts and Archives Division and, as noted above, The Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History & Genealogy. For example, the Milstein Division has a wonderful collection of uncataloged 20th century real estate brochures (similar to those in the Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library), which includes land auction pamphlets from Mr. Whiton’s collection that were not digitized along with those held by the Map Division.
In addition to providing assistance in the use of their historical collections, the Milstein Division staff regularly teach classes on researching aspects of New York City’s history and publish guides on using the library’s collections in your research. Here are a few of their more recent posts on researching real estate and the changing face of the city:
Who Lived In a House Like This A Brief Guide to Researching the History of Your NYC Home
New York City Land Conveyances 1654-1851: What They Are and How They Work
How to Find Historical Photos of New York City
The librarians in the Milstein Division would also like to hear about your research questions. Feel free to drop them a line anytime at history@nypl.org.
Source: www.nypl.org
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