Hello,

If you are interested in getting some of the Topographic Map Printing Plates, you might want to keep tabs on the following site: ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/va/reston/Engravings/

The USGS is releasing the plates bit by bit. They are still in release 1. In particular, the Release 1 folder has a KMZ files for maps of various scales and also has an Excel Spreadsheet with a list of all of the maps available at this time. There are also update messages each week (in the main folder, not the Release 1 folder) with information on what has been requested and plans for the future.

There will be additional releases of plates as time goes on. So what you need to do is keep monitoring the releases to see if you find any maps for the places of interest you and your area. For example, I know that release 1 only contains 2 plates for maps related to Illinois: the Chicago IMW and a 15 minute topo map for Ottawa, Illinois (it is easier to sort by Label and then browse).

Happy hunting!

Linda Zellmer

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Linda Zellmer
Government Information & Data Services Librarian
415 Malpass Library
Macomb, IL 61455
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Phone: 309-298-2723
Fax: 309-298-2791