In 1975, maps received as part of the Library and Archives of the Council for World Mission, were transferred to the section as a special collection, and catalogue entries have been incorporated into the Map Catalogue. University College's holdings on Southern Africa were transferred to SOAS in 1981. The gazetteers are on open shelves adjacent to the map cabinets and the atlases on open shelves outside Room F6 . Reference works are shelved in the Geography Reading Room. A separate card catalogue of maps and atlases is maintained, though entries for the atlases are duplicated in the main library catalogues.
Arrangement is by continent, and then by country in alphabetical order.
Within a country, maps of the whole of the country precede those of individual parts, administrative divisions and town plans, with further division by scale. The catalogue is located in the map area. Success in this depends on availability and cost and first priority is given to the needs of the School's teaching and research programme. Account is also taken of the holdings of other London libraries. As wide a selection as possible of smaller scale thematic maps is purchased, covering topics such as geology, soil, agriculture, land use, ethnography, languages, population, history and archaeology.