The relationship between geographers and libraries is long and honorable. The roots of this association may, in fact, be traced to 240 B.C. when Eratosthenes, a learned astronomer and geographer, was appointed director of the famed Alexandrian Library. Since Eratosthenes’ time no professionally-trained geographer has, to my knowledge, served as administrative head of a major library. There are, however, numerous examples of geographers who have directed, and continue to direct, the programs and activities of geography and map departments in large libraries. In most instances geographers ventured into librarianship because, until quite recently, professional librarians gave low priority to carto@aphic reference materials. To fill this vacuum, and because of their interest in and dependence upon maps, geographers took the initiative, in large part, in assembling and organizing cartographic libraries. This domination of map collections by geographers has been both an advantage and a deterrent for the growth and development of map libraries and map librarianship. One limitation has been the small number of professionally-trained librarians who, until recent years, have been employed in map libraries. This accounts, in part at least, for the lack of standardization in cataloging and classification procedures. Happily, some progress has been made, during the past quarter century, toward promoting greater cooperation between geographers and librarians in geography and map libraries. In the United States this co-operation has been nurtured within the Special Libraries Association’s Geography and Map Division. Similar professional associations, concerned with the mutual interests of these two professions in collecting and organizing geographical and cartographical reference materials, are active in other countries.