Academic and Research Library Project Information

The Smith and Osher Cartographic Collections of the University include rare maps, atlases, geographies and globes spanning from 1475 to the present. Michaels Associates, working in conjunction with the University Librarian, George Parks; the Curator of the Collections, Yolanda Theunissen; Dr. Harold Osher; a distinguished international Board of Review; and JSA, the architects of the dramatic new library, have created a facility to protect and exhibit these spectacular materials for the use of serious researchers and the general public. Located on the first floor of the new library, the Osher Map Library contains an exhibition area, a reference center with offices for the Curator and two scholars, a consultation room for the study of rare materials, a state-of-the-art staff work room and an environmentally controlled vault for storage and fiber-optics for UV and IR-free illumination in the exhibition and consultation areas.