Using the Collection
Users can access digital scans of the maps through the UCLA Library Digital Collections platform. Physical editions can be found in the map drawers on the A-level of the Charles E. Young Research Library (YRL), and in the map drawers in the YRL first floor reading room. Physical maps cannot be checked out of the library; they can be accessed in YRL during open hours. For more information, please view the Maps, Atlases, Aerial Images and Cartographic Resources Research Guide.
More Information
About the Collection
The UCLA Library Henry J. Bruman Map Collection(opens in a new tab) includes approximately 750,000 items, including flat map sheets, aerial photographs, atlases, gazetteers, periodicals and specialized books about cartography and geospatial information systems (GIS). This makes the collection one of the largest and most comprehensive academic map collections in the Western Hemisphere. The UCLA Map Library first opened in 1962 and was renamed in 1987 in honor of Bruman, both for his contributions to the creation of the map collection and for his many generous donations to the UCLA Library.
This particular subset of the collection features "star maps," which claim to show celebrities' home addresses. They're notorious for their mass production and distribution around popular Los Angeles tourist spots, particularly on Hollywood Boulevard and around Beverly Hills. These maps are also notorious for being littered with misinformation, sometimes due to poor fact-checking and sometimes due to real estate agents trying to increase the value of properties for sale. If a prospective homebuyer thinks that a celebrity once lived in a particular home, or if a celebrity is right next door, the value for the buyer can increase. These maps are excellent reminders for readers to use a critical eye when working with maps and not always take the information presented for granted. They are also examples of how maps targeted for popular audiences have changed in style and design over time.
Services & Resources
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Maps, Atlases, Aerial Images and Cartographic Resources
Guide to finding and using maps at UCLA.
