The article is devoted to the review and problematic issues of preparing a consolidated catalog of cartographic materials on the history of Kazakhstan of the ХVII - early ХХ centuries. Despite the importance and prospects of creating consolidated catalogs, there are currently no generalizing methodological solutions in this direction of the development of cartographic research and there is no software package that meets all the requirements for designing a consolidated catalog of cartographic materials.

The consolidated catalog of cartographic materials stands out among other types of catalogs by the complexity of the structure of construction and content. This undoubtedly leads to long-term design and various problems in its preparation. This circumstance directed the study towards the development of an interdisciplinary methodology for researching the consolidated catalog, which makes it possible to efficiently process and prepare «old» maps for the consolidated catalog of cartographic materials of the ХVII - early ХХ centuries in the period of information technology.

The article shows the main achievements, ways of solving methodological problems in the preparation of a consolidated catalog, consisting of 282 cartographic sources of high scientific and social significance, identified in the archives and libraries of Moscow and Orenburg during an interim study.

The functionality of the developed consolidated catalog of «old» maps has been substantiated. The consolidated catalog of cartographic materials can be regarded as a kind of «guide» with the help of which the user can get answers to the following questions: in which of the archives, libraries and museum - there is the cartographic material necessary for the user; How does the administrative-territorial division change in dynamics, etc.