May Window Displays

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: May Map Display

Visit the newly renamed Geospatial Resources & Map Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library to view the map display in the windows. In honor of the Indianapolis 500 Race, the theme for the display is transportation--focusing on planes, trains, and automobiles. Two road maps from the Map Collection are featured in the display--a 1917 road map showing the Dixie Highway and a 1962 road map where Interstate 69 makes its first appearance. Art covers from other road maps in the Map Collection are featured on a poster in the display called "Crossroads of America: The Art of the Road Map." (Click on the photographs above for a detailed view of the displays).

The display also features maps from the World Mapper website. These world maps show the countries with the largest number of passenger cars and the countries with the longest commute times (Thailand has that unfortunate distinction).

Plan a road trip to a national park using the map of national parks in the Midwest also displayed in the window. There is also a map of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and an image of the famed oval viewed from GoogleEarth.

The "Map of the Month" for May 2007 is a National Geographic map called "Years of Flight." This map celebrates the anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's solo trans-Atantic flight in May of 1927. The map also features other milestones of flight.

Other maps in the display are the East Central Indiana Rail Trails map, a street map of Baghdad, and a road map of Afghanistan.

Contact the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection for more information about these maps. The Collection is open Monday through Friday 7:30 to 4:30 for the summer.

IndianaMap on PBS

PBS Features IndianaMap on "Across Indiana"

This month PBS will be featuring information about the IndianaMap on its local award-winning show "Across Indiana." The IndianaMap is a project sponsored by the Indiana Geographic Information Council, the Indiana Geological Survey, Indiana University, and the State of Indiana. The project goal was to provide a single statewide map for Indiana to be used by GIS professionals and the general public. The IndianaMap allows users to view city and county boundaries, elevation and contours, rivers, and transportation systems. Users can view aerial photography and topographic maps of an area. The project will be featured on the "Across Indiana" broadcast on PBS the week of May 14. Tune in to learn more about the IndianaMap.

April 2007 Events in the GCMC

What's Happening in the GCMC? April 2007

A semester-long project came to completion in April 2007: 10 students studying at the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry finalized a project analyzing poverty in Muncie. The students were participating in "Voice and Vision: Poverty from the Inside Out," a seminar led by Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk, assistant professor of elementary education. According the the Ball Center's webpage, the students are developing a radio series about individuals dealing with poverty in association with Indiana Public Radio and community partner TEAMwork for Quality Living. Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist, helped the class use GIS and census data to create maps for a special showcase of the project held on April 26 at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts.

Also in April, over 150 students from Geography 150 and Geography 101 classes visited the Geospatial Center & Map Collection for a class assignment called "Cities @ Work." The assignment was created by Carol Shears, assistant professor of geography, with assistance from Melissa Gentry of the GCMC. Each student analyzed maps about a U.S. city of their choice. The students used bird's-eye-view maps, historic and current street and topographic maps, and aerial photographs from the Map Collection to track urban development over time.

Over 200 students and staff also visited the GCMC during April to use the large-format plotter. Students from the College of Architecture & Planning were busy printing off their final drawings, and other students printed off posters assigned as a final project.

Students from many areas of study used the maps, atlases, GIS, and other resources of the GCMC during April: anthropology, natural resources and environmental management, geography, journalism, history, and geology. A researcher presenting for the Association for Lifelong Learners also used the GCMC, and Kent State University and Ohio University inquired about borrowing sets of maps from the Map Collection.

The GCMC also received large donations during the month of April and organized collections of World War II maps, Sidwell maps of South Bend, and historic nautical charts produced by the Nazis.

The GCMC is located on the second floor of Bracken Library, Ball State University.

GCMC Summer hours

Summer Hours in the GCMC

Summer business hours in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection begin on Monday, May 7. The GCMC will be open from Monday through Friday from 7:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. during the summer. The GCMC will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday, May 28, and on Independence Day, Wednesday, July 4. Please contact the GCMC with any questions, and check the University Libraries webpage for other library hours.

GIS Conference Report

Report from the Indiana GIS Conference in Indianapolis

Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist, recently attended the Annual Indiana GIS Conference in Indianapolis, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center on March 6-7, 2007. She presented this article for the University Libraries’ newsletter:

The Indiana GIS Conference included workshops centered on changes in the 2010 U.S. Census, the updated National Hydrology dataset, digital elevation and digital surface models, and the Public Land Survey System tie-card project. Shorter sessions were offered for a variety of subjects, such as the new oblique aerial photography, library-based interdisciplinary GIS, development of the GIS Atlas for Indiana, flood map modernization, and an assortment of other trends and projects occurring in Indiana. Particularly important sessions that correspond to services offered in the University Libraries’ Geospatial Center & Map Collection discussed oblique aerial photography.

So exactly what is oblique photography? Oblique is the technical term used to describe an aerial photograph that is taken at an angle. This means that a feature such as a house, a building or an overpass can be viewed in its entirety. This does not just mean the user can see one side of the building; rather, the image can be rotated to view the front door, back door, and both sides as well. This view is familiar to most users and provides for almost instant 3-D modeling. An oblique image can also be geo-referenced, so that GIS data such as streets, hydrology, and parcels can by layered over it.

Delaware County is in the process of obtaining a grant that will fund the purchase of new oblique aerial photography of the entire county. The Geospatial Center & Map Collection will obtain a copy of these aerials when they are available from Delaware County for use by the BSU and local community. Delaware County orthophotography is already the most requested dataset in the Center, and the new oblique photography holds the promise of being a valuable addition to the growing in-house GIS data. The Urban Planning, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture students and staff are likely to be the most interested in using the oblique imagery for site-plans, building designs, and urban planning projects.

As always, the Annual Indiana GIS Conference was a hotbed of new ideas with conversations about trends that are occurring in the GIS world. There was also exciting news about powerful new resources for GIS professionals and persons who use GIS media tools. This exciting new information about available GIS datasets and their applications will prove to be very useful for the students and faculty who use the Geospatial Center & Map Collection, located in Bracken Library on the second floor.

University Libraries' Laptop Wireless Printing

Printing from Laptops Available at University Libraries

Students working in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection and other areas of University Libraries are now able to print from their laptops to a public printer:

Click on http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/laptopprint

Provide your BSU email address to identify your print job.

Provide the file name or the URL to be printed.

Select the University Libraries' public printer where you want to pick up your print job.

Click on "Print" at the bottom right of the webpage. Then simply pick up your job at the selected printer in the library. Note that jobs time-out after 90 minutes.

Notable Donations to the Map Collection in April

Generous Donations to the Map Collection in April

The Map Collection received numerous maps from two notable donors during the month of April 2007.

Jacqueline Luzar, a graduate student at Ball State University, donated over eighty maps to the Map Collection. The maps were from her personal collection, many acquired as she travelled around the country. Some of the interesting maps donated by Miss Luzar include Kentucky's Lewis and Clark Legacy, Wineries of Indiana, Indiana Christmas Trees, Amish Country Ohio, and beautiful maps of New Harmony and the covered bridges of Parke County, Indiana. Miss Luzar also donated the Cracker Barrel Roadway Map, which shows the locations of Cracker Barrel restaurants around the United States. Miss Luzar will be graduating from Ball State University in May with a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture. She was the recipient of a fellowship from the Garden Club of Virginia in 2005 and documented historic landscapes in the state. This work was noted in the publication Vineyard of the National Park Service Historic Landscape Initiative. This summer Miss Luzar will be working on historic documentation of the gardens at the White House in Washington, D.C.

Also in April the sizeable donation of Helen and Martin Schwartz was processed and cataloged for the Map Collection. The Schwartz donation included many historic maps, including the strategic plotting chart produced by the Secretary of the Navy in July 1941 (shown above). Also included in the donation: Israel and Adjoining Countries, China Coast and Korea, Greater New York, Cathay Pacific, and several maps of the Holy Land. Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz of the Schwartz Paper Company have been active in the Muncie community for decades. Mr. Schwartz was the president of the Muncie Civic Theater and worked with the Boys Club, Red Cross, Junior Achievement, the Muncie Symphony, and was a founding member of the World Business Council. Mr. Schwartz worked part-time in the political science department at Ball State University. Mrs. Schwartz was the first woman president of the Temple Beth El of Muncie. Mrs. Schwartz also established Hoosier Bounty, a food program providing meals to thousands of people. She and her husband endowed lectures and a publication series in the Harvard Center for Jewish Studies and the Indiana University Jewish Studies Program. The Schwartzes have also been active in the Muncie Public Library and the Friends of Alexander M. Bracken Library.

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection is grateful for these generous donations. Contact the staff of the Center to donate materials or to view these new additions to the Map Collection.

Oceanic Races Using GIS Technology

Races Across the Oceans Using GIS and GPS Technology

GIS and technologies like GPS are being used to allow races across the ocean to become spectator sports where fans can follow the action of the race is it occurs via the Internet. Two such races are the Transat Monotype en Solitaire and The Great Turtle Race.

The French Transat Monotype en Solitaire is a transoceanic yacht race that travels from southern France to Guadeloupe in the French West Indies. The 3,436-thousand mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean began on March 25. Visit the website for the race at http://www.tropheebpe.com/fr/s01_home/s01p01_home.php and click under "Cartographie" to check the progress of the race, get details about each boat and skipper, and check wind speeds.

The 14-day Great Turtle Race begins on April 16. This race features leatherback turtles outfitted with satellite tags to track their progress from Playa Grande, Costa Rica to their feeding grounds near the Galapagos Islands. This race draws attention to the plight of leatherback turtles: "90 percent of the leatherbacks have vanished from the Pacific Ocean, victims of human pressures." Visit the website at http://www.greatturtlerace.com to choose a turtle to cheer on during the "race." The site features beautiful photography, lesson plans for teachers, and a chance to donate to help the leatherbacks' survival.

Now thanks to GIS and GPS technology fans of races on the ocean can cheer on the racers beyond the beach.

Visit the Geospatial Center & Map Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library to view a map about the leatherback turtles in conjunction with the Earth Day displays.

Small Cities Conference at Ball State University

Small Cities Conference April 12-14 at Ball State University

The fifth Small Cities Conference sponsored by the Center for Middletown Studies at Ball State University will be held in Muncie on April 12-14, 2007. The theme of this conference will be "The Small City in a Global Context," exploring the history of nonmetropolitan-urban settings. The conference will feature scholars from around the world whose work has addressed the history of the small city. The papers to be presented this year study communities in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Historian Timothy Mahoney will lead off the conference presentations in the Forum Room of Bracken Library from 7:30 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on Thursday, April 12. Mahoney's presentation will describe the process of creating a digital small city, "Digital History and the Small City: The Plains Gilded Age City Digital Project." The session will be moderated by Bruce Geelhoed, Chairperson of the Department of History. This presentation is free and open to the public. Other sessions will be held at the E.B. Ball Center on the campus of the Minnestrista Cultural Center.

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection will be presenting a special display of maps related to the cities described at the sessions. These maps will be on display in the windows of the GCMC, located just outside the Forum Room at Bracken Library.

For more information about the Small Cities Conference and a complete schedule of events, please visit www.bsu.edu/middletown/scconference or contact James Connolly, director of the Center for Middletown Studies at (765) 285-8037.

Earth Day Displays in the GCMC

Earth Day is celebrated this year on April 22, so the Geospatial Center & Map Collection is marking the day with a special map display. The theme of this year's Earth Day events is A Call for Action on Climate Change. The image (left) is from the atlas One Planet, Many People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment. The atlas was published by the United Nations Environmental Program with NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the University of Maryland, and is available from the Atlas Collection in Bracken Library. This image shows "an area of severe stratospheric ozone depletion--an 'ozone hole" over the South Pole and Antarctica in 2000 and 2003, the "largest and second largest on record, respectively." Other maps in the display show the warming of Arctic regions, carbon emissions, and the threats to the Amazon Basin.

Visit the GCMC in Bracken Library during the month of April to view these and other displays or to check out other maps and atlases about the environment.

March 2007 Events in the GCMC

March 2007 in the GCMC

Genealogists, historians, educators, archaelogists, and even a speech pathologist visited the Geospatial Center & Map Collection during the month of March. So what type of projects and activities brought them to the GCMC?

• A GIS map was created using Delaware County and U.S. Census Bureau data for a group from the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry for a project on poverty in Muncie.
• The Office of International Advancement at Ball State University used maps of the Middle East to help plan a trip to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
• Visiting students working on credit for English 103 borrowed maps of various countries around the world to add to a paper on the cultures of the world.
• A biology instructor borrowed nautical charts from the Map Collection to use in the classroom for a special project.
• An Honors student included GIS maps and data about Middletown in her thesis.
• A retired faculty member borrowed maps of New Zealand to plan for an upcoming vacation.
• A speech pathologist borrowed maps, atlases, and travel guides of New York to use in a project for improving conversational speech.
• GIS was used to create a map showing the hometowns of the running backs participating in spring practice on the Ball State University football team.
• Students borrowed maps to use for speeches on the route of the Titanic, ancient Greece and Rome, Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and the Inuit population.
• Natural Resources & Environmental Management students borrowed maps for a project on water cycles.
• Education students borrowed maps to teach elementary students about Israel, Iraq, and Central and South America.
• Students from the College of Architecture and Planning borrowed maps of national parks for a special project, and Landscape Architecture students used GIS data and aerial photography for site planning.
• An archaeologist used topographic maps from the Map Collection to research the construction of ethanol plants, cell phone towers, and upcoming road construction.
• A local genealogist researched maps of Warrick County to search for roots.
• Many students used the large-format plotter to print off posters for class presentations.

Women's History Month Display

Women's History Month Map Displays

Casey Gentis, student-assistant

National Women's History Month is celebrated each year during the month of March. The week of March 26 is also Women's Week, an annual event at Ball State University planned by the Women's Studies Program. The week features guest speakers and special exhibits.

A special display commemorating Women's History Month is featured in the front window of the Geospatial Center & Map Collection in Bracken Library. A map showing the states that did not ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and a map showing the countries with women on their Olympics teams (above) are featured.

Students of women's history will also find many atlases in the Atlas Collection covering various women's issues. The Olympic map above was taken from the State of Women in the World Atlas.

For more information about maps, atlases, and other resources, contact the GCMC staff at (765) 285-1097.

Prairie Creek Reservoir Map Display

In the Window: Prairie Creek Reservoir Map Displayed as March "Map of the Month"

The "Map of the Month" for March from the Map Collection in Bracken Library is a map of Prairie Creek Reservoir in Muncie, Indiana. (Click the map for a detailed view).

Andrew Fritz, a graduate student in Landscape Architecture, created the map in 2005 using GIS software and data from aerial photography, digital elevation models, existing spatial data, global positioning systems, existing maps from the Map Collection and other sources, and his own knowledge of the area. The map was originally created to fulfill a project assignment for an undergraduate class--Geography 445, GIS Applications Design and Development. However, Fritz also had a second goal for the map: to educate outdoor enthusiasts about the amenities provided at Prairie Creek Reservoir. So Fritz included on this comprehensive map points of interest such as camping locations, historic sites, beaches, trails, playgrounds, and picknicking areas.

Similar projects and maps may be completed using the GIS software, data, maps and other resources available in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection, and assistance is offered from the staff.

Fritz is in his second year of graduate school after graduating from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geographic Information Processing and Mapping, with minors in geology and telecommunications. Fritz plans to graduate in the spring of 2008.

For more information about Prairie Creek Reservoir, contact the main office at (765) 747-4776.

(Please note: This map was produced for a class assignment. Please do not use for navigation or other serious pursuits).

ESRI Blog on GIS in Libraries

ESRI "Geography Matters" Blog Promotes GIS in Libraries

ESRI, producers of GIS software, publishes a blog about GIS called "Geography Matters." In the latest article on the blog, GIS use in libraries is promoted: "Libraries and museums are centers of knowledge and learning.... Maps in print and digital form are an important part of any collection." The article describes the huge map collection at the Library of Congress and its creation of the Congressional Cartographic Program, "a one-stop GIS shop that provides GIS data and services to congressional personnel to assist in making better-informed public policy decisions." The library's cartographic and geograpic information is also available to the public. The article further promotes the use of GIS in all library collections: "Libraries and museums are realizing that a GIS can not only help organize their growing collections, but can help make the information more easily available to their communities."

Visit the ESRI Blog at http://blogs.esri.com/roller/page/geographymatters

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection at Bracken Library is entering its fourth year of providing GIS services to the University and the community. Contact the GCMC for more information about using GIS and other cartographic and geographic information.

Faculty Technology Showcase March 7

Faculty Technology Showcase at Bracken Library: GIS in Journalism

The annual Ball State University Faculty Technology Showcase is scheduled for March 7 on the first floor of Bracken Library. Each year faculty members offer exhibits featuring technology used in the classroom. This year GIS Specialist Angela Gibson is participating in the exhibit, working with Sheryl Swingley, Instructor in the Department of Journalism. The two are showcasing how GIS technology is being used in the professional field of journalism and also how it is being incorporated into the journalism curriculum at Ball State and other universities. Each year students in Swingley's journalism classes attend GIS seminars learning how to create maps using GIS software. The exhibit will feature some of the students' GIS-generated maps and other examples of journalists using GIS technology to enhance their news stories.

Visit the Faculty Technology Showcase on Wednesday, March 7 on the east side of the Bracken Library lobby between 1:30 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. Contact the GIS Specialist in the GCMC to schedule GIS seminars or to learn how to incorporate GIS technology into other class projects.

Locate Nigeria on the World Map: WIPB Cardinal Quiz Bowl Tests Geography Skills

Cardinal Quiz Bowl is a series airing on public television station WIPB in Muncie. According to WIPB, Cardinal Quiz Bowl focuses attention on the academic ability of area high school students and brings attention to what Ball State University has to offer. Students are quizzed about current events and their general knowledge of art, English literature, geography, math, and science. Each year producers of the show borrow the most current maps available from the Geospatial Center & Map Collection to use on the show. The first Cardinal Quiz Bowl episode airs on Friday, March 9 at 6:00 P.M. The next airing is on Sunday, March 11 at 9:00 A.M. The show continues to air on Fridays and Sundays through March 18. Maps from the GCMC will be featured on episodes airing on March 16 and March 18.

Genealogy Resources: Maps and Atlases

Finding Your Roots in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection

Genealogists from the Ancestor Hunters of Delaware County visited the GCMC on Monday, February 26, to review the genealogy resources in the Center. The GCMC includes many maps and atlases that can aid in the search for ancestors or information about family history.

The Map Collection includes county maps for all Indiana counties and most counties from around the United States. Historic county atlases are also available in the GCMC and the Atlas Collection, some dating back to 1874. The atlases include property ownership information, illustrations of settlers and homesteads in the county, and biographical information about certain settlers. Another resource is the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, which is available for Indiana, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi in the Atlas Collection.

Genealogists will also find soil maps of Indiana counties and other counties around the United States, historic aerial photography of some Indiana counties, and orthophotoquads from around the United States. Plat books of most Indiana counties and other areas of the United States are available in the Atlas Collection.

Historic state atlases are also available in the Atlas Collection. Some states offer more specific volumes: Virginia in Maps: Four Centuries of Settlement, Growth, and Development. An Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana is available in the GCMC. This atlas provides information not only about different towns throughout Indiana, but also some of the residents of the towns.

A wide variety of historic maps of states is available in the GCMC. An interesting map for the study of Indiana is Indiana, the Influence of the Indian upon its History: Indian and French Names for Natural and Cultural Locations. Historic topographic maps are available, some dating back to the late 1890's through the 1950's. The GCMC includes Sanborn insurance maps of St. Louis and Boston, as well as twenty-three Indiana cities. Bird's-Eye View maps offer a unique panoramic view of cities, and these historic maps are available in the Center, including copies of the entire Library of Congress Panoramic Cities of Indiana set.

Contact Melissa Gentry in the GCMC if you would like more information about these genealogy resources or to schedule an informational session or tour of the Center.

Valentine Map Display

Heartland of America: Valentine's Day Map Display

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection is displaying a special map just in time for Valentine's Day on February 14. Student-assistants Casey Gentis and Amber Lukes created a map of the United States featuring Valentine-related place names. Loveland is a popular city in Colorado, but there are also many other romantic names on the map like Valentine, Montana; Darling, Minnesota; Honey, Pennsylvania; Rose Grove, New York; and Love, Arizona.

Visit the second floor of Bracken Library to view this or the many other map displays featured on the windows of the GCMC.

GIS Conference in Indianapolis

Spring Break in Indianapolis: GIS Conference Planned for March

The Indiana Geographic Information Council is hosting its 2007 Indiana GIS Conference on March 13-14, 2007. The conference features educational sessions and discussions and forums on GIS and GIS issues. The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The Council is offering early bird pricing for registration through February 16, 2007. Fulltime students are also offered a discount registration. The price of the registration includes lunch for both days. Online registration is available on the IGIC website located at http://www.in.gov/igic/conference

Contact the Indiana Geographic Information Council at (317) 234-2924 or by email at info@igic.org

February 2007 Black History Month

Black History Month: Resources and Special Display

February is Black History Month, and the Geospatial Center & Map Collection is marking the month with a special "Map of the Month" display. This map, Freedom's Tracks: A Map of the Underground Railroad is on display along with two historical pencil drawings. The drawings are on loan from the Educational Resources Center in Bracken Library's lower level. The map shows the paths taken by the slaves during the Underground Railroad. According to the map, "this map depicts routes that were certainly used, probably used, and possibly used." Land, water, and rail routes are shown. The base map is an 1873 map of the United States.

The GCMC and Atlas Collection have a number of maps and atlases related to Black History Month. National Geographic has produced numerous maps of the continent of Africa that include thematic maps on the verso: Africa's Natural Realms, Africa Today, Africa: A Storied Landscape, and The Heritage of Africa. A map of the great figures of the Harlem Renaissance is available, as well as a map of the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site. The Atlas of African-American History and The New Atlas of African History are just some of the atlases available in the Atlas Collection.

Please contact the GCMC to borrow one of these maps or for more information on the Collection.