About the Collection

UCSB Library is home to one of the country's largest map, aerial photograph, and GIS data collections.  Our historical aerial photograph collection is the largest such collection in any academic library.  The UCSB Library continues to be a leader in the provision of spatial data services and the preservaton of important information about the landscapes of California and the entire planet.  We serve the academic and research needs of the University of California, business, industry, federal and state government, and other domestic and foreign educational institutions.  For more information about the history of the collection, see our Geospatial Collection History page.  

Accessing the Collection

The geospatial collection comes in a wide variety of formats.  Access to physical materials (maps, aerial photograph prints and negatives, atlases, etc.) is by appointment only.  Access to digital materials (GIS data, scanned maps, scanned aerial photographs, etc.) varies depending on material type and format.  See Finding and Accessing Materials for complete information on searching and accessing the collection.  Our staff is here to help you navigate our resources; please email us at geospatial@library.ucsb.edu or call us at (805) 893-2779.