Science Hall Building Renovation:

During the upcoming renovation of historic Science Hall, the Robinson Map Library will temporarily relocate to the Computer Sciences building on the UW-Madison campus (1210 W. Dayton St.).

Schedule/Hours Changes
The Robinson Map Library will close to visitors beginning March 30, 2026, and print map collections will be inaccessible for in-person research beginning Friday, March 27 as we prepare them for relocation. The majority of the map collection will move offsite over UW-Madison’s spring break (March 30 – April 3, 2026). Relocation to Computer Sciences will happen in early June 2026.

Collections access during construction
Print map collections, books, and atlases will be inaccessible for the duration of the construction project, but our historic aerial photograph collection will be accessible from Computer Sciences beginning mid-summer 2026. It is estimated that the Science Hall building renovation project may last 3+ years.

Reference and remote services will continue
Please email Map and GIS Librarian Jaime Martindale (jmartindale@wisc.edu) for reference or research requests related to maps, aerial photos, geographic information systems (GIS), or geospatial data at any time throughout the relocation and renovation project timeline.

All geospatial data requests and consultations will still take place as normal during this time, as will historic aerial photo scan requests.

While access to our own map collection will not be possible, we can work with researchers to utilize a wide variety of scanned map collections and/or obtain materials from coordinating academic research institutions.

Alternative computer workstation access
Beginning on March 30th, students requiring use of computer workstations similar to those in the Map Library can use the Geography drop-in lab in Rm M376 or the Nelson lab in Rm 009 in Science Hall.

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Summary Details:
Timeline: The Robinson Map Library will close on March 30, 2026 to prepare for relocation to Computer Sciences. Print map collections will not be accessible beginning Friday, March 27, as a large portion of the collection will be moved to remote storage over Spring Break week (March 30 – April 3). Reference and research services will continue during this time via email. In-person aerial photograph collection access and reference services will resume mid-summer 2026.

Location: The new (temporary) location of the Map Library will be:
Computer Sciences Rm 2310
1210 W. Dayton St. (on the UW-Madison campus)
We will return to Science Hall upon completion of the building renovation – which may last 3+ years.

Visitor Information: Beginning mid-summer 2026 visitors can access to the historic aerial photograph collections via appointment. Email Map and GIS Librarian Jaime Martindale (jmartindale@wisc.edu) to schedule.