The Edward and Sheila Scanlan Collection of Great Lakes Maps was established in 2004 by Edward Scanlan, M.D., and his wife, Sheila, with the donation of a formidable collection of maps from North America. Edward, who studied medicine at the University of Illinois, the Mayo Clinic, and the Medical College of Virginia, has had a longstanding career cardiovascular medicine. He and Sheila are active members of the Notre Dame Club of Green Bay and the Sorin Society. They have seven children: Colleen (’90), Martin, Daniel, Molly, Sam, Eddie, and Kay (’03).

The Scanlan Maps, depicting the Great Lakes Region and the area that is now Wisconsin, range in date from 1613 to 1857. The collection also includes books, pamphlets, and periodicals pertaining to maps. Historians, scholars of American studies, and those who study the colonization of North America, western expansion, the history of printing, and the history of science — from the standpoint of astronomy, surveying, and its depiction of plant and animal life — have all benefited from this collection. Its depth has made it appropriate for undergraduate studies as well as graduate and faculty research, and ensures that it will continue to be used for numerous academic initiatives by future generations of students and scholars.