What are the catalogs?
Access to materials related to local transit in New York City begins with using both our online Research Catalog and our printed Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division (available online at HathiTrust) in order to see the full scope of our collection.
To learn more on how to utilize these catalogs, visit our research guide Navigating Research at the Map Division.
See below for some quick tips and recommendations on how to utilize both of these resources when starting your research into rail transit for New York City.
Please note that additional catalog tips that are specific to certain rail transit companies and/or methods of rail transit will be listed on their corresponding pages of this research guide.
Image Source: Central Building, Room 100, including card catalogs. NYPL Digital Collections Image ID 1153322
What to know before searching the catalogs
There are many starting points for beginning research into the subway systems of New York City. To ensure a better search, we recommend organizing what you already know and what you are looking for. By narrowing your search, you will have a greater number of relevant results. As such, before starting your search, we recommend knowing:
- The time frame of interest
- Are you interested in a specific borough, or the entirety of NYC?
- Are you interested in maps made by the rail company itself, or are commercial maps also of interest?
- Are you interested in a specific form of rail transit?
Online Research Catalog
For research concerning NYC's rail transit in the Online Research Catalog, we recommend that you utilize the Advanced Search function, to have a more precise search.
If you are searching for maps specifically, make sure to indicate the format as "Cartographic."
In addition, utilize the Date facet to narrow your search. We recommend widening your search to a +/- 5 year range, so that you can access a more inclusive set of materials to peruse.
Please note that some material listed in these catalogs are not in the Dictionary Catalog, and vice versa.
When making a request of an item in the Online Research Catalog, please provide:
- Title
- Year of Publication
- Call Number
Subject and Keyword Searches
When starting a general search for rapid transit maps in the Online Research Catalog, in the Advanced Search, checkmark "Cartographic" under Format and type the following into the Keyword Field or Subject Field for most results:
- Subways [Name of borough or NYC or New York City]
- Keyword Example: Subways Queens
- Subject Example: Subways -- Queens.
- Local Transit [Name of borough or NYC or New York City]
- Keyword Example: Local Transit New York City
- Subject Example: Local Transit New York City
- Rapid Transit [Name of borough or NYC or New York City]
- This search mainly works effectively if utilized as a keyword search.
- Keyword Example: Rapid Transit Bronx
Lastly, you can also search by specific types of rail transit. For instance, besides searching "Subways," you can also search under:
- Elevated Railroads [Name of borough or NYC or New York City]
- Surface Lines [Name of borough or NYC or New York City]
- Trolley [Name of borough or NYC or New York City]
More information about these three forms of rail transportation (and how to search for this material) is available in the tab "Before the Subway."
Author Searches
You can also search under the entity that was in charge of the rail transit, as an Author or Keyword. You can search for these companies under both their full name or their abbreviated names. Examples for NYC-related transit companies include:
- Interborough Rapid Transit Company
- Author Search: Interborough Rapid Transit Company
- Keyword Search: Interborough Rapid Transit Company
- Keyword Search: IRT
- Metropolitan Transit Authority
- Author Search: Metropolitan Transit Authority
- Keyword Search: Metropolitan Transit Authority
- Keyword Search: MTA
To learn more about how to search for rapid transit maps related to specific companies, please choose the appropriate company abbreviation under "Rail Transit by Company."
Printed Dictionary Catalog
The Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division is digitally available via HathiTrust. When searching for material related to rail transit in New York City, you will want to search in this catalog by either location or specified subjects.
These volumes are arranged alphabetically. For example:
- maps of Staten Island will be located in Volume 9 (Sao - U.S. F), alphabetically under S.
- maps indexed under the subject headings Railways will be located in Volume 8 (Pid - San), alphabetically under R.
Within this alphabetical arrangement, the maps are then arranged by date (from oldest to newest).
Please note that some material listed in these catalogs are not in the Online Research Catalog, and vice versa.
When making a request for an item in the printed Dictionary Catalog, please provide:
- Title
- Year of publication
- The volume and page number in which the item appears
- The row number (between 1-7) and column number (between 1-3) in which the item appears
See below for some recommendations on search terms and how to use them:
- Location Search:
- [Name of Location] [Year of Interest]
- The name of the location will determine which volume you choose.
Location Search Example: To find Brooklyn, look in Volume 2 (Bos - City-Plans O). Looking alphabetically, you will find this record on page 144.
Please note that if you are searching under "New York City," the arrangement is as follows:
New York City (by author): Volume 7 Page 2
New York City (atlases): Volume 7 Page 22
New York City (by date): Volume 7 Page 32
Subject Search:
- The subject will determine which volume you choose. See below for some examples that are pertinent to rail transit in New York City:
- Volume 9, p. 371, under Subways
- NYC-related subways start on p. 373
- Volume 9, p. 637, under Transportation
- NYC-related transportation starts on p. 648
- [Name of rail transit company]
- Volume 9, p. 371, under Subways
Subject Search Example: To find materials related to Interborough Rapid Transit Company, you would look under Volume 5 (Haz - Loo). Looking alphabetically, you will find this record on page 307 under Interborough Rapid Transit Company.
Digital Collections
Many maps from NYPL's Map Division have been digitized, including maps related to rail transit in New York City. You can access those digitized versions of maps at NYPL Digital Collections. To find digitized maps that depict the rail transit system in New York City, we recommend the following searches, with "cartographic" checkmarked under "Type"