The General Collections and Humanities Center on the 3rd floor of the Main Library has a global and up-to-date circulating and library-use-only travel collection including guidebooks and travel memoirs, which is supplemented by a wide range of reference maps and road atlases.
Travel Guides
All the latest editions of travel guides from the major travel guide book publishers (such as Berlitz, Bradt, Cicerone, Dorling Kindersley, Fodor’s, Footprint, Frommer's, Insight Guides, Jonglez, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Rick Steves, etc.) are purchased for all regions of the world. Reference copies of the latest editions of selected travel guides are also kept in the reference section of the General Collections and Humanities Center on the 3rd floor of the Main Library in case all circulating copies of an edition are checked out.
Travel Narratives
Historical and contemporary titles are collected ranging from the Hakluyt Society series of historic voyages to Following Burke and Wills across Australia to Elephant complex: Travels in Sri Lanka.
Maps and Atlases
Various world and road atlases are available for library use only at the General Collections and Humanities Center reference desk and at the nearby Atlas Area on the 3rd floor of the Main Library.
An extensive collection of folded national and international city maps can be requested at the General Collections and Humanities Center reference desk and may be photocopied. There is also a small selection of mostly California hiking maps (Mount Tam, Mount Diablo, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite) available.
Many more maps published by various departments of the federal government, including U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps and National Park Service maps, can be requested at the Government Information Center on the 5th floor of the Main Library.
The San Francisco History Center on the 6th floor of the Main Library has the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for San Francisco as well as other historical San Francisco maps.
The General Collections and Humanities Center's collection is primarily focused on maps and atlases that reflect current political, city and state boundaries and present-day roads and highway systems, but the following websites have excellent historic collections and links to further research::
