December Map Displays

December Map Displays: Happy Birthday, Indiana

Hannah Hilleson, student-assistant in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection, created this map showing famous people born in Indiana. The map commemorates Indiana's "birthday" (admission to the Union) in December 1816. The map reveals the birthplaces of famous Hoosiers in many fields of public life. This map marks Hannah's last project for the GCMC due to her December graduation. Hannah has worked in the GCMC since the fall of 2002.

The December "Map of the Month" is the National Geographic sixtieth anniversary edition map of Pearl Harbor.

Visit the GCMC on the second floor of Bracken Library to view these displays and many others.

College Football Bowl Games on the Map

Going Bowling: College Football Bowl Games on the Map

The college football bowl season kicked off this week with the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, California, on December 19. A map showing the locations of the 32 major bowl games is on display in the window of the Geospatial Center & Map Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.

Most of the bowl games are located in the southern part of the United States, but Toronto, Detroit, and Boise are also sites for the games. Florida hosts five bowls, with California, Texas, and Louisiana hosting four. The National Championship game will be in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8.

Visit the GCMC to view this map and other map displays over the holiday break. Please contact the Center with questions about this map or any other information.

December GCMC Hours

December Geospatial Center & Map Collection Hours and Closings

The GCMC will operate with regular hours during finals week and the semester break--Monday through Friday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. The Center will close at 3:00 P.M. on Friday, December 22 and Friday, December 29. The GCMC will be closed on December 25, 26, and January 1. Please contact the GCMC staff at (765) 285-1097 with any questions.

Google Earth Greetings

More Uses of Google Earth: Sending Holiday Greetings

The creator of the website www.geogreeting.com was using Google Earth when he realized that many of the buildings in the satellite images resembled letters of the alphabet, so he decided to use the "letters" to create online greeting cards. The website suggests sending these satellite image greetings to "share the joy of satellite imagery with friends and loved ones today." Just type in a message of up to 40 characters and send the link in an email to friends. The letters spell out a special message for the recipient.

New Seven Wonders of the World Display

Vote for the New Seven Wonders of the World

Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber began a campaign in 1999 asking for nominations for the "New Seven Wonders of the World." The Egyptian pyramids are the only surviving structures from the original list of seven. Gone are the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis as Ephesus, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria.

Candidates for the new list have been narrowed down to 21. The public can vote for the choices on the Internet at www.new7wonders.com. The Statue of Liberty is the only architectural marvel on the list in the United States. The other candidates are the Acropolis in Greece, Alhambra in Spain, Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil, the Colosseum in Italy, Easter Island of Chile', the Eiffel Tower in France, the Great Wall of China, Haghia Sofia in Turkey, Kiyomizu Temple in Japan, the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral in Russia, Machu Picchu in Peru, Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, Petra in Jordan, the Pyramid at Chichen Itza of Mexico, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, Stonehenge in Great Britain, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Taj Mahal in India, and the two mosques of Timbuktu, Mali.

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection has a collection of architectural pictorial guide maps that feature some of these great marvels of engineering and design. The Great People of the Past maps from National Geographic also include maps of the grounds of the Acropolis and other ancient formations. A display featuring information about the new candidates is currently featured in the windows of the GCMC.

November "Map of the Month"

GCMC November 2006 "Map of the Month"

The "Map of the Month" for November 2006 in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection was a map titled Spain in the Americas, published by the National Geographic Society in 1992. The verso of the map "The Grand Exchange" was displayed due to its relationship to the Thanksgiving holiday. This side of the map shows the exchange of foods and other products between the Americas and Africa and Europe. The map mentions that turkeys were domesticated by the Aztecs and later became popular in Europe. The Pilgrims actually brought turkeys to America with them--only to find them living in the wilderness of New England. And "out of the myriad crops of the Americas, two--corn and potatoes--spread so widely that they became staples of human survival."

This map is available for checkout at the Geospatial Center & Map Collection.

November 2006 GCMC Events

November 2006 in the GCMC: What is GIS? Where is Congerville? and World War II

Students in Journalism 102 learned about what GIS is and how it is used in journalism and the media during a class presented by Angela Gibson from the Geospatial Center & Map Collection on November 13. Students in the Education Library 380/580 class learned about different types of maps and atlases, software, websites, and other resources during a class in the GCMC presented by Melissa Gentry on November 21. And Biology students learned about nautical charts in a special class project using maps from the GCMC.

Students from Industry and Technology: Construction Technology classes were provided digital aerial maps of campus for a class surveying project. A group of architecture students needed digital footprints of buildings in downtown Muncie. Another patron asked to view some of the aerial photgraphy of Indiana available in the GCMC to assess the implications of the proposed Indiana toll road in the local community.

Students from classes in geology, elementary education, geography travel and tourism, architecture, landscape architecture, historic preservation, communications, English, and music borrowed maps and atlases for various projects. One student was teaching elementary students about map projections, so she borrowed the Upside Down Map of the World to show a different perspective about making maps.

A World War II veteran used the services of the GCMC in November. The veteran was trying to find a map of the city of Reims in France, where he was stationed during the war. A copy of one of the maps was printed on the Center's large-format plotter. Another patron was planning an ambitious canoe trip and borrowed maps of Indiana rivers. And one researcher visited the Center trying to locate the village of Congerville in Delaware County--once the site of a professional football team, the Flyers.

Visit the GCMC Monday through Friday for GIS, maps, atlases, or to use the plotter printer. Contact the staff of the GCMC to schedule instructional sessions in the classroom or in the Center.

(The above photograph shows soldiers in World War II with a stockpile of maps. The photograph is from the Collection of Dennis Giangreco from the U.S. Army Atlas of the European Theater in World War II created by the U.S. Army Center of Military History and is available in the Atlas Collection of Bracken Library).

New Maps in the Window

Just in Time for Holiday Shopping: Maps about Toys

Maps showing toy exports and imports are on display in the windows of the Geospatial Center & Map Collection. These maps, however, are created in a unique format, and the resulting images can be extremely informative. The maps were printed from the World Mapper website at http://www.worldmapper.org. According to the site, "World Mapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are resized on each map according to the subject of interest." The scientists and cartographers of the World Mapper team input data to create these unique maps. For example, the above map shows countries with the greatest amount of toy imports. The United States appears large on this map, while Africa, South America, and Asia are nearly nonexistent. The map of toy exporting countries shows nearly the opposite effect.

Maps and information on the site are continually updated, with new topics regularly added. The project is supported by the University of Michigan, the University of Sheffield, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Geographical Association. The methods and data have built upon the work of Michael Gastner and the United Nations, supplier of much of the data.

Maps on the site are available in pdf poster format for printing. These maps serve as an excellent resource for researchers on a variety of topics. The maps are convenient for inclusion in research papers on a related topic or as a visual aid for a presentation. Some of the topics mapped on the site include: meat exports, steel imports, water use, forest loss, nuclear power, meat consumed, teenage mothers, female managers, child labor, undernourishment, girls not at primary school, adult literacy, and HIV prevalence. Some topics soon to be added include tuberculosis cases, malaria cases, and women and men smoking. The topics depicted on the maps are varied, and the data is very current, so the maps are extremely relevant.

Check out the World Mapper maps on display in the GCMC window or on the project website. Contact the staff of the GCMC for more information about using maps as resources in research papers or as visual aids for class presentations. The Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

Google Earth in the GCMC

Google Earth: A Different View of the World

Google Earth is a program that shows satellite images and 3D overviews of major cities, mountains and other terrain, as well as business and travel information, streets, parks, and maps. A free version can be downloaded to desktops. Google Earth has been called "the democratization of satellite imagery," allowing millions of users to view places all over the world. Users can even tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings. Google Earth "puts the world's geographic information at your fingertips."

Since its introduction, millions of computer users have used Google Earth to view satellite images from all over the world. This new technology has created a fascination with some of the images that appear on Google Earth. A book available from popular booksellers is Off the Map: The Most Amazing Sights on Earth as Seen by Satellite by James Turnbull and Alex Turnbull. This book includes unusual images that appear on Google Earth such as "Arizona's boneyard," the white snake of Baja," and "the hole in the coast of Mexico."

Users of Google Earth who discover interesting satellite images can also submit these sights to a website dedicated to the interesting views of the world, Google Sightseeing, which is located at www.googlesightseeing.com. (The site is not sponsored by or affiliated with Google). Submitters to this site have discovered hundreds of unusual sights in the satellite imagery, including dolphin-shaped islands, letter-shaped buildings, two different views of Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, and artistic shapes in the natural terrain. The image above is a satellite image of hills in Canada, but the submitter suggested a resemblance to a Native American listening to music on earphones.

Google Earth is available on all of the computers in the GIS lab of the Geospatial Center & Map Collection in Bracken Library. Visitors are welcome to use Google Earth in the lab to discover this new form of sightseeing.

Using Interlibrary Loan to Borrow Maps

Sharing Maps with Interlibrary Loan

University Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan service allows Ball State University faculty, staff, and students to borrow materials available at other libraries while users in other locations are able to borrow materials from University Libraries. Items may be located using CardCat, University Libraries’ catalog, and ILLiad, the Interlibrary Loan program.

Over the last seven years, the number of maps borrowed using Interlibrary Loan has increased five times. In 1999, 10 maps were borrowed from the Geospatial Center & Map Collection; last year 50 maps were borrowed through Interlibrary Loan by library users from other institutions. As more maps in the Collection are cataloged and accessed through CardCat, the number of maps borrowed through Interlibrary Loan is bound to increase. For example, the maps of the Middle East were cataloged in 2001 at the onset of the war in Afghanistan. Since that time, over thirty different maps of the Middle East have been shared through Interlibrary Loan, plus an entire set of topographic maps of Syria that were requested from the University of Notre Dame.

The list of institutions borrowing maps from the GCMC through Interlibrary Loan is diverse and geographically widespread. The University of Montana at Mansfield has become a regular customer, borrowing a number of different maps from the GCMC. The other four major Indiana colleges have also requested maps through Interlibrary Loan—Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, and Indiana State University. Also, institutions with strong map collections have borrowed maps from the Collection at Ball State University: The University of Texas at Austin borrowed a 1683 map of Philadelphia and a map showing the world’s religions and missions. The University of Wisconsin at Madison borrowed a geologic tectonic map of the Caribbean from the GCMC.

Other institutions requesting maps from the GCMC: Vassar College, Brown University, George Washington University, Mississippi State University, University of Oregon, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the State University of New York at Oswego are some examples. The University of Arizona borrowed topographic maps of Arizona from the GCMC through Interlibrary Loan. Baruch College in New York, New York requested a 2000 bird’s-eye-view map of New York. The University of New Orleans used Interlibrary Loan to borrow a 1929 map of New Orleans that was in the Collection. And Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California and Lafayette College in Pennsylvania each borrowed the same map from the GCMC showing cultural activity and religions.

A number of government agencies have also requested maps from the GCMC via Interlibrary Loan. The Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago, through a recommendation of the GCMC Collection from Newberry Library, has borrowed maps on a couple of occasions. The office requested current and historic maps of Indiana highways, Elkhart, Muncie, and Terre Haute. The Environmental Protection Agency in New York also borrowed a map of the Capital district and Albany, New York from the GCMC. The U.S. Army Engineering Center in Alexandria, Virginia borrowed a 2002 map of the Croatian coast through Interlibrary Loan. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in Madison borrowed a map of the Massif of Mt. Hubbard. And the National Imagery and Mapping Agency offices in Bethesda, Maryland and St. Louis, Missouri requested maps of the Ukraine and Lebanon from the GCMC.

Interlibrary Loan allows University Libraries to share materials with library users around the country, including academic libraries and public libraries. And the GCMC enjoys sharing maps from the Collection with other library users. To find out more about using Interlibrary Loan, please visit http://www.bsu.edu/library/collections/ill/ or contact the Interlibrary Loan office during regular business hours Monday through Friday at 765-285-1324.

Thanksgiving Break Hours

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection will be open regular hours (8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) on the first day of Thanksgiving Break, Wednesday, November 22. The GCMC will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and Friday, November 24.

GIS Display at the Indiana Statehouse

GIS Display at the Indiana Statehouse

The Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC) developed an interactive map of the state of Indiana called the IndianaMap. According to the IGIC website, "the IndianaMap includes the information people need most in a format that is accessible to both expert GIS users and the general public."

Starting today an exhibit about the project will be on display at the Indiana Statehouse. The exhibit featuring the IndianaMap serves to educate people on the use of the map and about GIS. The display "explains what GIS is, and shows how people in Indiana are using GIS to make our state a safer, healthier, and more profitable place to live." The IndianaMap display is located in the south atrium of the Statehouse from November 15-November 30.

The IndianaMap may be accessed at http://www.in.gov/igic/projects/indianamap/index.html

National Geography Awareness Week

Celebrating Africa

The National Geographic Society and others have been celebrating Geography Awareness Week since 1987, promoting the importance of geography. The theme for this year is "Celebrate Africa."

The National Geographic educational blog, My Wonderful World, (located at www.mywonderfulworld.org ) features various events and activities to mark the week, as well as lesson plans for educators and Africa resources.

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection is celebrating the week with a special display of Africa maps in the front windows of the Center. Photographs from National Geographic magazine, posters featuring movies about Africa, celebrities doing humanitarian work, and Africa music are included in the display.

The following maps from the GCMC are included: Africa, 1909; Road Map of Malawi; Casablanca; Moremi Wildlife Reserve; Somalia; Islam in Africa; Belgian Congo Mineral Deposits; Heritage of Africa; Africa, 1631; Nile River; Africa: Its Political Development.

Another display "Africa in the News" is also presented featuring a map of endangered species; a map of the destroyed villages in Darfur, Sudan; a poster about sports in Africa; an AIDS epidemic map; and several African news articles.

National Geography Awareness Week is November 12-November 18, 2006. Visit the second floor of Bracken Library to view these displays celebrating Africa.

Using GIS for Research

Geospatial Center & Map Collection GIS Workshop and Assistance Connects Researchers to Data for Project

University Libraries' Library Insider article by Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist

Two Ball State researchers are using services from the Libraries’ Geospatial Center and Map Collection (GCMC) to collaborate geographic datasets for their research project to learn more about the living and working experiences of former patients at Central State Hospital.

David Perkins, Ph.D., Department of Psychological Science, and Josh Raines, a graduate assistant in the Social Science Research Center, will use the versatile and powerful tools available by geographic information systems (GIS) to obtain special data which will help them research community conditions faced by former hospital inpatients.

More than 100 former patients are living at various locations in Marion County since the closure of the Indianapolis hospital. The researchers hypothesize that those individuals should live in neighborhoods distributed at random among the residential districts of a city rather than being clustered or
dispersed.

“The benefit of using GIS in this project is the way it adds systematic spatial and geographic details to the description and understanding of former inpatients' experiences of living in the community,” said Josh. “We were pleased that everything we needed seemed to be available at Ball State, including technical assistance from the University Libraries.”

Dr. Perkins learned about the SAVI website and its capabilities during a workshop called, “GIS Data: Finding Reliable GIS Data on the Web,” which was held by Angie Gibson, GIS Specialist in the University Library’s Geospatial Center and Map Collection. After the researchers attended the GIS workshop, they contacted Angie at various times for assistanceduring the research project.

The two researchers geocoded a list of former patients’ addresses, along with United States census indicators and information from the Social Assets and Vulnerabilities Indicators, www.savi.org. Angie helped them during the geocoding process and showed them how to join the geocoded address points to the census tract layer to establish census tract numbers for all the address points.

Geocoding is a GIS operation for converting street addresses into spatial data that can be displayed as features on a map, usually by referencing address information from a street segment data layer.

Other spatial variables, such as crime rates, accessibility of parks, libraries and other community resources, can be added to the database. This geographic information will be combined with other data on the persons in recovery, including psychiatric services they were receiving, whether they were working, and ratings of recovery made by their primary therapists and will examine how the particular census tracts compare with Marion County as a whole in terms of social disorganization, transience, and the percentage of persons having disabilities.

October 2006 Map Displays

In the Window: October 2006 GCMC Map Displays

The "Map of the Month" for October was chosen to commemorate the Columbus Day holiday. Two copies of the Architectural Tour Map of Columbus, Indiana, were displayed. One side of the map shows the route of the architectural tours hosted by the Columbus Visitors Center, and the other side of the map displays photographs of buildings featured on the tour and information about the designs and architects. (The building shown is the First Christian Church, which was designed by Eliel Saarinen). The two maps were recently donated to the GCMC and update an earlier version of the map in the Collection.

Other maps displayed during October included Indiana's Haunted Hometowns, Indiana's Congressional Districts Map, a map of Baghdad and other maps related to news events.

Please visit the Geospatial Center & Map Collection in Bracken Library to view the map displays. Contact the Center if you would like to donate maps to the Collection.

October 2006 GCMC Activities

October Comings and Goings in the GCMC

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection hosted six tour groups during the month of October. Three classes of Creative Writing, one Honors College class, and one English 104 class visited the Center to learn about the resources available. Another tour group included first-year instructors at the University. The visitors learned about how to print a poster for a presentation using the large-format plotter and how to use GIS for class assignments or papers in the GIS lab. The students and staff also learned about using maps as visual aids in speeches or in research papers. The students in the Creative Writing classes were surprised to find maps of fictional locations, maps of the settings for Shakespeare's plays, and even a map of Springfield from the television show The Simpsons included in the Collection.

Other classes also visited the GCMC as part of an assignment: Geography 150 and 353 students were given an assignment to use specific map sets from the Center to improve their map-reading skills. The students wrote papers about the development of a city of their choice using topographic maps, street maps, and historic bird's-eye views. Physical Education: Professional 155 students were given an assignment to use the Center's GIS lab to create and print a poster for a class presentation.

Also in October, the GIS Specialist worked with a graduate assistant from the Department of Anthropology creating a map about an archaeological site for a presentation. The historic route of the Mississinewa River was mapped and buffers were added at incremental distances using GIS software.

The Ukraine seemed to be a popular country for researchers in the GCMC during October. One patron used maps of the Ukraine to find the cities of Lvov and Dashava, which were mentioned in letters from a soldier to the patron's grandmother during World War II. Another patron borrowed maps of the Ukraine for an upcoming presentation about her volunteer activities in the country as a member of the Peace Corps, and, coincidentally, another patron wanted to review maps of the Ukraine since she will soon be living there teaching English as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Please visit or contact the GCMC for assistance with class assignments, posters, and presentations, or to take a tour. The Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Contact the Center at (765) 285-1097.

Ball State University Fall Break Plans

Take a Break with Maps

Ball State University's Fall Break begins this weekend and continues through Tuesday, October 31. Students wondering what to do with all of this freetime may want to consider a trip to Indianapolis. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is sponsoring an exhibit in conjunction with the National Geographic Society. The exhibit, National Geographic MAPS: Tools for Adventure, is interactive and appeals to explorers of all ages, introducing people to the adventure and excitement of maps.

Visitors will engage in hands-on activities using basic map skills and different types of maps to find the way and to solve problems. The exhibit features activities based on the travels of explorers of the past like Lewis and Clark, Amelia Earhart, and the ancient Chinese mariner Zheng He. Visitors will also learn about and complete activities related to present-day explorers: Zahi Hawass used a robot to map the Great Pyramids; Phil Masters mapped the ocean to discover Blackbeard's pirate ship; biologist Michael Fay mapped locations of animals and plants in the Congo River basin in order to protect habitats.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., so don't plan a Monday visit.

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection will be open during Fall Break with regular hours 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.

GCMC Election Resources

2006 Election Campaign Guide: Geospatial Center & Map Collection Election Selections

Election Day is November 7, 2006, and maps are an ideal tool for illustrating various information and statistics about elections. The widely-used "blue states and red states" explanation of states' party affiliations has become a cultural phrase and was made popular from an election map from the 2000 Presidential election.

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection houses many maps and atlases about elections--both current and historical. Maps depicting newly-drawn Congressional districts, presidential election results since 1789, and even local city council districts are available in the Center. U.S. Census data is also available in the Center.

The Atlas Collection also provides excellent election resources. The Routledge Historical Atlas of Presidential Elections, The Historical Atlas of State Power in Congress, and The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress are very current and thorough sources of information. Atlas of American Politics 1960-2000 features several maps about elections: Voter Turnout; Democratic Campaign Stops, 2000; Republican Campaign Stops, 2000; Party Affiliation in the House of Representatives (shown above). But the atlas also contains more specific political maps: Senate Vote to Convict or Acquit President Clinton on Impeachment; Cabinet Secretaries' Home States; Supreme Court Justice Confirmation Votes; Women in State Legislatures. And this atlas also features maps describing general information indirectly related to elections: Per Capita Hazardous Waste Generation; Methods of Capital Punishment in Each State; Violent Crime Rate; Teacher Salaries; Abortion Rates; Firearm Injury Death Rate.

The Internet can also be an excellent resource for timely information about the elections:

• The Politics section of MSNBC provides news and background about the 2006 election with a map of the key races. Three districts in Indiana--District 2, District 8, and District 9--are listed in the top eleven key races for the House of Representatives. This site also includes a list of contenders for the 2008 Presidential election at http://www.politics.msnbc.com
• National Public Radio offers analysis and projections state-by-state on its election map at http://www.npr.org/news/specials/election2006/map/
• A site made popular in the 2004 Presidential election updates Senate races every day according to the latest polls, calculating states gained and lost by each party at http://www.electoral-vote.com
• The New York Times Election Guide covers the election with maps but adds interactive features showing where Bill Clinton and George Bush appear at fundraisers, poverty rates, and median income at http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/2006ELECTIONGUIDE.html?currentDataSet=senANALYSIS
• For local Indiana election news WTHR offers an election guide at http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?s=5245655

Contact the staff of the GCMC for more information about these and other election resources. (The Atlas Collection even includes a rare atlas covering the first elections in Kosovo and elections in P0land). Check out the election maps on display in the front windows of the Center. Voters should find the above resources informative and helpful in making their election selections.

News from the Australia Center

Postcard from Australia

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection purchased a set of topographic maps and aerial photography from the Land Office of New South Wales in Australia for the area around the Ball State University Australia Center in Lennox Head. Students studying in Australia this semester will be using the maps for various classroom activities and field work. The Director of the Australia Center, Paul Wohlt, sent this photograph with news from the Center. The photograph shows the Grosse Valley and Blue Mountains just north of Katoomba, Australia. Katoomba is a city in the eastern part of New South Wales that is known for its tourist resorts and orchards.

Please contact the GCMC for information about using maps in the classroom. The GCMC often accepts requests for maps to be added to the Collection.

Online Resources

Surfing in the GCMC

Searching for map and GIS resources on the Internet can be a time consuming and even inefficient pursuit. Surfers could spend hours reviewing all of the websites offering maps and GIS data. And which sites actually provide accurate information? Staff in the GCMC can assist with this activity by providing information about reliable online geographic websites. Some of the following sites can be an excellent place to begin searching and surfing both for academic and amusement purposes:

• The CIA World Factbook is available online and provides information about the countries of the world: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
• The United Nations Cartographic Section provides maps and geographic information, including maps of peacekeeping operations: www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english
• The Indiana Geographic Information Council provides GIS data and other map resources for Indiana: http://www.in.gov/igic/maps/index.html
• Another excellent resource for Indiana is the Electronic Atlas of Central Indiana: http://atlas.ulib.iupui.edu/home.html
• Stats Indiana provides statistics, charts, and maps about Indiana: http://www.stats.indiana.edu/map_topic_page.html
• Chicago Business Market Facts 2006 provides Chicago interactive maps featuring social information and demographics including even mp3 ownership: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article/pl?page_id=1999
• Find a map about a variety of world social and economic issues at Worldmaper: http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service provides charts and maps with a vast amount of agricultural information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/Charts_and_Maps/index.asp
• Oddens' Bookmarks "The Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping" offers information about maps, purchasing maps, geographical societies, and tourist sites: http://oddens.geog.uu.nl/index.php
• The Library of Congress Geography & Map Reading Room: www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/
• The Western Association of Map Libraries Map Librarians' Toolbox is a useful resource: http://www.waml.org/maptools.html
• Route maps can be created and distances figured at the USA Track and Field website: http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/
• The Ancient World Mapping Center is a good resource for maps of the ancient world: www.unc.edu/awmc/

Web-logs or Blogs can also be an excellent resource for current geographic news and information:

• ESRI, the foremost producer of GIS software, has created a Blog for GIS users called Geography Matters: http://blogs.esri.com/roller/page/geographymatters
• National Geographic provides a Blog about geography education called My Wonderful World: http://mywonderfulworld.typepad.com/my_wonderful_world_blog/
• Two other Blogs offer current information for GIS users: www.anygeo.com and www.gisuser.com
• Free GIS Data and Imagery GeoBlog lists public domain and free GIS data: http://gisdata.blogspot.com

Please visit the GCMC for more information about online resources for maps, atlases, and GIS information. More information can be found on the GCMC website under Online Maps at www.bsu.edu/library/collections/gcmc/

International Festival Display

GCMC Maps Part of International Festival Display

The Rinker Center for International Programs sponsored the International Festival on Friday, October 6, in the Student Center Cardinal Hall. The International Festival, or I-Fest, is an educational and entertaining event featuring cultural displays from 85 different countries.

The Latin America booth at the I-Fest featured maps borrowed from the Geospatial Center & Map Collection as part of their display. Staff from the GCMC assisted Jacqueline Hanoman and Lucia Martinez selecting the various maps used for the display. A variety of maps were chosen to decorate the booth and provide information about Latin American countries, the archaeology of Central and South America, history, legends and cultural features.

The booth also featured PowerPoint presentations on Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Visitors to the booth also enjoyed some traditional music and food from Latin America. Latin American students were also available at the booth to teach about their countries and native cultures. Jacqueline Hanoman said that the idea of the booth was "to emphasize the unity of the Latin American nations" but also to "distinguish the diversity of the nations." Hanoman said that using maps to decorate their display really "made the difference," and she said that she will definitely use more maps again for other presentations. The GCMC was very honored to provide maps for such a beautiful display (photgraphed above).

Please contact the GCMC if you would like to borrow maps for a presentation or display. The staff of the GCMC would be happy to help choose maps and will even encapsulate maps for a more convenient display option.

History of the GCMC

Destination Memory Lane: History of the Geospatial Center & Map Collection

In recent years the size of the collection has expanded, and the services provided by the Geospatial Center & Map Collection have multiplied--augmented by the GIS resources available in the GIS lab. But this is not the first time in the history of the GCMC that expansion has been so dramatic.

The original Map Collection space in Bracken Library when the library opened was located in BL 218--now the Dean's office. Government Publications was housed in the current GCMC location. The photograph above shows how the GCMC space looked when it was occupied by Government Publications. (Photograph courtesy of Ball State University Archives & Special Collections Research Center).

A consultant from the Library of Congress actually determined the space specifications for the Map Collection in 1971. The consultant, Frazier Poole, designed a space for housing 50,000 maps and office space in BL 218. However, in the early Map Collection space, there was not an adequate area for patrons to actually research and review the maps or for staff to process and repair maps. Paul Stout, Assistant Professor Emeritus Library Services and retired Map Librarian, said that the space was limited. "We were so crowded that we stored maps in locked cases outside the Map Collection along the east wall of BL 218." Also atlases were not located near the Map Collection as they are today, so sometimes patrons had to travel all over the Library for resources.

Finally in the summer of 1993, the burgeoning Map Collection was moved to its current location in BL 224--doubling its available space. This was important because the collection itself had more than doubled in size. Government Publications was moved to its current location near the Reference area, and atlases were transferred to become part of an "annex" to the Map Collection, which provided more convenient use for patrons.

The most recent expansion of the GCMC occurred ten years later in the summer of 2003. A GIS lab with eight high-end computers was installed to provide services for patrons using GIS software for their research and educational needs. The GIS Specialist was added to the staff in the fall to provide assistance with GIS projects. And now both the maps and atlases in the collection have mushroomed to include over 140,000 maps and nearly 3,000 atlases.

Visitors are welcome to take a trip down memory lane in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection in its current location on the second floor of Bracken Library...or at least find a map of Memory Lane in the collection.

Map Showing Peak Times for Fall Color

FYI: Important Map for the Fall

The Weather Channel website is obviously a popular site for checking local weather conditions. But the site also includes some informative maps. This map shows the normal peak times for viewing the fall foliage in different areas around the country. Other maps offer information about allergies, flu outbreaks, skin protection, and other health and safety issues. Still other maps provide information about outdoor activities such as golf, skiing, or going to the beach. Even seasonal maps for wedding planning are available. The website is located at http://www.weather.com/maps/garden.html

Visitors to the GCMC from China

Visitors from Around the World

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection hosted a group visiting Ball State University from Deyang, China on September 27. The group of city government workers will be visiting Ball State for two months to experience the culture and participate in managerial training through an exchange program.

The visitors were thrilled to see so many maps of their hometown Deyang and the Sichuan Province included in the Map Collection here at Bracken Library. Many of the maps and atlases from the Collection were produced in Chinese. The Collection also includes topographic maps that show the specific terrain around the area of Deyang.

Ming-Ming Kuo, Collection Development Librarian, sponsored the tour of the University Libraries through the Office of Organizational Resources and the Center for International Programs.

Special October Map Display

Special October Map Display:

GHOSTS IN THE GCMC!

GCMC student-assistant Casey Gentis created a special map for a spooky October display. Casey researched legends of haunted locations in Indiana and created a map of some of the locations.

Interestingly, most Indiana campuses are haunted. Casey discovered stories about haunted locations at Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, Valparaiso University, St. Joseph's College, Huntington College, the University of St. Francis, Earlham College, Franklin College, Hanover College, and Ball State University. There also seems to be a prevalence of haunted libraries.

Check out the scary map Indiana's Haunted Hometowns...Allegedly in the window of the GCMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.

September 2006 Map Displays

In the Window: September 2006 GCMC Map Displays

The "Map of the Month" for September 2006 was this World Terrorism Reference Map. This map was chosen to mark the fifth anniversary of the September 11th tragedies. The map features terrorist incidents that have occurred all over the world from 1967 to 2002. The map is available from the GCMC. Maps circulate for two weeks but may be renewed.

September 2006 GCMC Events

What's Happening in the GCMC?
September 2006 Edition

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection hosted four sessions of two workshops during September. Introduction fo GIS and Map Resources was presented on September 6 and 19. Participants learned about the variety of resources available digitally, online, using GIS software, and provided from thousands of maps and atlases in the GCMC. GIS Data Workshop took place on September 7 and 20, and participants in this class learned about the best, most reliable GIS resources available. Participants were able to get hands-on experience with GIS software and other resources.

The GCMC also welcomed many "tourists" to the area in September. Over 130 people toured the GCMC. English and Honors College classes learned about how to use maps, atlases, and GIS data as visual aids in papers and presentations. A tour group from Deyang, China, viewed maps of their city and country. And two classes from an Indianapolis school learned about the GCMC as part of their visit to Ball State encouraging them to try to attend college some day.

The GIS Specialist began working on research projects in connection with students and faculty from the Departments of Psychology, Journalism, Urban Planning, Landscape Architecture, and the Supported Employment Consultation and Training Center.

Several maps were borrowed from the GCMC in September for local presentations. A guest speaker at the Rotary Club borrowed maps of Israel, and another from the Fishers Institute of Wellness and Gerontology borrowed maps of China.

Students and faculty from a number of disciplines used the GCMC's resources in September: landscape architecture, architecture, historic preservation, urban planning, elementary education, biology, GIS and cartography, geology, English, physics and astronomy, geography, construction management, and social studies methods.

The GCMC is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

National Geographic-Roper Survey Results

Good News and Bad News from National Geographic

The 2006 National Geographic-Roper Survey of Geographic Literacy delivered some bad news about the basic geographic skills of young Americans. Over 500 "young Americans" aged 18 to 24 from the continental United States were interviewed to test geographic knowledge. Respondents answered about half (54 percent) of all survey questions correctly. Geographic knowledge in today's world is critical as the future for young Americans grows increasingly global. World events dictate key understanding of geographic concepts and skills. The majority of young Americans lacked these skills and an understanding of the world today. Even recent news events, wars, and disasters didn't increase geographic awareness:

• 88% could not find Afghanistan on a map of Asia.
• Only 37% of those surveyed could find Iraq or Saudi Arabia on a map of the Middle East, and 75% couldn't find Israel or Iran.
• 75% of the young Americans did not know that a majority of Indonesia's population is Muslim.
• 54% did not know that the Sudan is in Africa.
• 70% could not find North Korea on a map.
• 33% could not find Louisiana on a map of the United States.
• Half of the young Americans could not find the state of New York on a map.

The survey also revealed that many young Americans' awareness about the world in which they live was limited. Six in ten don't speak a foreign language fluently, and three-fourths believe English is the most commonly spoken native language in the world, rather than Mandarin Chinese. And only 22% of the young Americans have a passport.

There was some good news in the report: Many young Americans did have map reading and navigation skills, and half actually answered that map reading skills are "absolutely necessary." Also the number of young Americans who read current events on Internet news sites has more than doubled in the last four years. This is hopeful because respondents who used the Internet to read the news actually performed better on the geography test.

National Geographic has launched a program and blog called My Wonderful World to help increase the geographic literacy and awareness. This program is "a campaign to increase global learning in school, at home, and in the community." The site offers ideas and activities for anyone interested in geography and is located at http://mywonderfulworld.typepad.com/my_wonderful_world_blog/

National Geographic also created a huge supersite called People and Places that will help anyone learn more about the world. The site includes photographs, maps, and information about every country in the world and is located at http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/

Test your geographic knowledge at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/

Please contact or visit the GCMC for more ideas about improving the geographic literacy of the young Americans in your life.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Recently Added to GCMC

Where's the Fire?
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps at University Libraries

Sanborn fire insurance maps date back to 1867 and were originally produced for the purpose of assessing risk of fire and the cost of insurance. These maps are highly detailed color maps that record individual building "footprints" and information about streets, businesses, residences, and utilities. Sanborn maps include construction details such as building materials, height and number of stories of buildings, location of doors, windows, fuel storage tanks, and chimneys. The functions of the buildings are provided as well as street names, street and sidewalk width, property boundaries, and house and block numbers.

Sanborn maps are valuable historical tools and are used by researchers in such fields as history, genealogy, architecture, historic preservation, and sociology. The maps offer lessons about the growth and development of the neighborhood.

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection recently added sets of Sanborn fire insurance maps for St. Louis, Missouri, and Boston, Massachusetts. Paper Sanborn maps of the following Indiana cities are also available in the GCMC:

• Anderson, Madison County, 1895
• Batesville, Ripley County, 1919
• Bedford, Lawrence County, 1922
• Bluffton, Wells County, 1919
• Camden, Carroll County, 1899
• Dugger, Sullivan County, 1915
• Farmland, Randolph County, 1911
• Hartford City, Blackford County, 1920
• Hobart, Lake County, 1922
• Hymera, Sullivan County, 1910
• Kendallville, Noble County, 1922
• Loogootee, Martin County, 1920
• Mitchell, Lawrence County, 1918
• Moores Hill, Dearborn County, 1918
• Noblesville, Hamilton County, 1922, 1887, 1892
• North Vernon, Jennings County, 1927
• Rising Sun, Ohio County, 1906
• Russiaville, Howard County, 1913
• Van Buren, Grant County, 1911
• Vernon, Jennings County, 1911
• Wabash, Wabash County, 1920
• Winamac, Pulaski County, 1911
• Wolcott, White County, 1919

Sanborn maps of Muncie, Indiana, are located in the Archives & Special Collections Research Center. A copy of Sanborn Manhattan Land Book of the City of New York, 1995 and Fire Insurance Maps: Their History and Applications can be found in the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library. Sanborn maps from other Indiana cities, as well as Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee are located in Microforms. Microforms also has a copy of Fire Insurance Maps from the Sanborn Map Company Archives.

Please contact the GCMC for more information about using Sanborn fire insurance maps in your research project.

Going to Class with GIS

GIS in the Classroom
What can the GCMC GIS lab do for students, professors and teachers?

1) Assist in planning GIS-related assignments for individual classes.

2) Help teachers find and use reliable GIS data for an assignment or research project.

3) Assist students with GIS assignments and research.

4) Provide tutorials, both online and in-house, for self-teaching of the GIS software.

5) Provide computer space on a library server to save projects or help users set up an ilocker account for saving projects.

6) Provide access to a large format plotter for printing out maps and posters for classes, presentations, and conferences.

7) Give presentations to classes on what GIS is and how it can be used in their field of study.

Contact Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist, for more information. Check out the GCMC website for links to downloadable data and online applications, examples of how GIS is being used in different fields of study, and links to online self-guided tutorials: www.bsu.edu/library/collections/gcmc

GIS Newsletter

GIS Council Allows for Networking

Students and others interested in the GIS industry may wish to consider membership in the Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC). The Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to lead the effective application of geographic informaiton in Indiana. The Council is an organization of GIS users, professionals, and educators. Membership in the Council provides GIS tools and resources, outreach and educational events, networking, and data information and access. The Council hosts an annual conference in Indianapolis in the spring with many workshops and meetings. Members also receive a monthly newsletter that proves to be an invaluable resource.

The Council recently provided information in its newsletter and on its website about the IndianaMap project. The Council helped to sponsor the IndianaMap project and webpage, which is located at www.indianamap.org . The site includes layers with aerial photography, elevations, boundaries, waters, and roads--all available free to the public.

The cost for membership dues for students is $15. The Indiana Geographic Information Council website is located at www.in.gov/igic/

Going to Class with Maps and Atlases

Using Maps and Atlases in the Classroom

Professors and teachers interested in using special maps, map sets, or atlases to enhance their lessons should contact or visit the GCMC for information. Staff of the GCMC will even help create learning tools and lessons to use inside or outside the Center. This summer elementary students visited the GCMC and completed a scavenger hunt about maps created by the staff. And a class of geography students reviewed maps of Las Vegas and other cities to learn about development. The GCMC can provide materials for a number of disciplines and topics of study:

Anthropology, Archaeology, Sociology:
Ancient Egypt maps with features
Cuzco region of Peru (Machu Picchu) maps
Atlas for Anthropology
Archaeology of Jerusalem (map)
Archaeology and Indians of South America (map)
The State of the World on Monday, January 1st, 1000 A.D. (religions, staple foods, construction) (map)

Architecture and Planning:
Pictorial maps with architecture guides of world cities
Bird’s Eye View maps of American cities
Sanborn fire insurance maps
USGS topographic maps for the United States
World topographic maps
The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture
Bird's Eye Views : Historic Lithographs of North American Cities (atlas)
Thousands of atlases and street maps of world cities

Art and Music:
Atlas of Western Art History
Harlem Renaissance Map: One Hundred Years of History, Art, and Culture (map)
Atlas of Art
Hitting the Road: The Art of the American Road Map (atlas)

Education:
National Geographic topics/thematic maps with features (explorers, environment, soccer, animals)
Atlas of American Higher Education
Indian Country: North American Indian Cultures, a Legacy of Language and Inspired Ideas (map)
Growing Up in America: An Atlas of Youth in the USA
Children’s Atlas of the United States

English and Literature:
Shakespeare’s Britain (map)
Literary Map of Indiana (map)
American Folklore and Legends (map)
Medieval England (map)
Land of the Limberlost (map)
Atlas of World Cultures : a Geographical Guide to Ethnographic Literature
Atlas of Fantasy (includes maps of fictional locations from Sherlock Holmes, Princess Bride, and many others)

Languages and Classics:
Large collection of atlases in various languages (German, Polish, French, Japanese, Arabic)
Atlas of the World’s Languages
A Word Geography of England (atlas)
Tartan Map
Clan Map of Scotland
Spain in the Americas (map with features)

Geography:
Travel and tourism, AAA guides
Tuscany Travel Reference Map
World Travel Adventure Map
Traveler’s Atlas: A Global Guide to the Places You Must See in a Lifetime
Touring Map of Israel
Travel Reference Map of the Amazon Basin
Gazetteers, geographical dictionaries, and other resources

History:
Map of the Reservations at Fort Wayne, Indiana, Surveyed 1803 (map)
D-Day Normandy Landing Map (plus war-era map of Normandy)
Lewis and Clark Expedition (map)
World War I- and World War II-era maps (world, Germany, France)
A Map of the Travels of George Washington
Pearl Harbor/Pacific Theater Reference Map
Historical Atlas of the Celtic World
Underground Railroad Routes through Indiana (map—plus similar map of U.S.)
Civil War Battle Sites (map)
Large collection of historical atlases
Historical Atlas of Ancient Mesopotamia

Military Science:
Civil War maps and atlases
Revolutionary War maps and atlases
Iraq Planning Map
Major Insurgent Groups in Afghanistan 1985 (map)
CIA maps of world countries
U.S. Army Atlas of the European Theater in World War II
The War in the Persian Gulf (map)

Natural Resources and Environmental Management:
Earth at Night (map)
Australia Under Siege (map)
Soil maps, land use maps, vegetation zones, wetlands, flood maps
Species in Africa (map)
Oil and Gas Product Pipelines in Indiana (map)
One Planet, Many People : Atlas of Our Changing Environment
Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio (map)

Nursing, Physiology:
Atlas of AIDS
Atlas of American Women: Health, Disease, Pregnancy
Atlas of Disease Distributions
State of the World Atlas: Nutrition, Health Risks
AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean (map)

Physical Education and Sports:
Baseball Travel Map
Bike Trails Maps from various states
Soccer Unites the World (map with features)
Atlas of American Sport
USA Today Golf Atlas

Political Science:
Presidential Elections, 1789-2000 (map with statistics)
Congressional Districts (map)
Atlas of American Politics
Kosovo Atlas and 2001 Election Day Reference Guide
Student Atlas of World Politics
South Germany, National Assembly election results, 1919

Religious Studies:
Atlas of Man and Religion
Historical Atlas of the Crusades
Historical Atlas of the Jewish People
Map showing distribution of religions in the world
Map of the Holy Land
Lands of the Bible Today (map)
Historical Atlas of Religion in America
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail (map)
Historical Atlas of Islam

Science:
Map of the Moon
Planetary maps
Galapagos Islands map
Titanic Reference Map (showing steamship routes, disaster site, other shipwreck sites, ocean currents)
Nautical and aeronautical charts of the world
Atlas of the Flora of the Great Plains
Irrigation Atlas of India
Hawaii’s Volcanoes Revealed (map)
This Dynamic Planet: World Map of Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Impact Craters, and Plate Tectonics (map)
Atlas of the Ocean
Location of Dinosaur Fossils (map)

Women’s Studies:
Historical Atlas of Women in America
The State of Women in the World (Work, Education, Health, Personal Freedom) (atlas)

Other Interesting Maps and Atlases:
Atlas of Treasure Maps
Upside Down World Map
Route 66 Map
Sudan’s Darfur Region
Ball State University campus maps (historic to present)
Historical atlases for genealogy research
USGS topographic maps
Aerial photographs of Delaware, Grant, Madison, Randolph counties
8 ½ x 11” CIA maps of countries of the world
Aeronautical and nautical charts
Atlas of Fantasy (includes maps of fictional locations)

Genealogy Research in the GCMC

Finding Your Roots in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection, along with many other areas of University Libraries, is an excellent resource center for the genealogist. The GCMC has many different materials for those researching their family history. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps show depictions of residential sections of various Indiana towns, and the Center just added Sanborn maps for St. Louis and Boston to the Collection. The Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana, 1876, provides information not only about different towns throughout Indiana, but also some of the residents of the towns. Genealogists can also review historic county atlases and plat books from various Indiana counties dating back to 1874. The GCMC also has historic resources from other areas around the United States.

Jane Beekman, local genealogist and author, often uses the GCMC to complete her research. Mrs. Beekman has researched areas in Oklahoma, Virginia, and most recently France and Germany. Mrs. Beekman and the GCMC were recently featured in the Ball State Alumnus magazine in an article about genealogy, "Tracing Family Roots" by Leslie Benson. The article can be viewed at the following website:
www.bsu.edu/alumni/january2006/beyondtheclass/

Please contact the GCMC at (765) 285-1097 for more information about genealogy research using maps and atlases.

August 2006 Map Displays

In the Window
August 2006 GCMC Map Displays

The "Map of the Month" was actually two maps of the Panama Canal to mark its August 1914 opening. The Panama Canal still ranks as one of the greatest engineering achievements in the world. With its completion, ships no longer had to travel around South America, saving a distance of more than 13,000 miles. The map featured here is a bird's-eye view map that was drawn by Charles Owens of the Los Angeles Times in 1925. Owens was the first artist to fly over the Canal Zone. The other "Map of the Month" was a map of the Canal that was actually a supplement in the October 1905 National Geographic magazine.

Also featured in the window of the GCMC are maps showing the location of each of the opponents of Ball State University's football team. Another map created by the GCMC staff features the top ten study-abroad programs available through Ball State University. (The London Centre is number one).

Please visit the Geospatial Center & Map Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library to view the other maps displayed in the window. A map commemorating the anniversary of September 11 is currently featured.

August 2006 GCMC Events

August 2006 in the GCMC: Football, the Fair, and "Final Victory"

August usually means back-to-school activities in the Geospatial Center & Map Collection, but this year some different projects were completed just before the end of the summer break:

Ball State University assistant football coach Eddie Faulkner requested a map displaying the hometowns of each of the running backs on the team. The map was created with GIS software and included photographs of each player next to the hometown. The map is currently displayed in the football office at the stadium.

Historic maps borrowed from the GCMC were displayed at the "Ball State Backyard" at the Indiana State Fair. The GCMC was credited for providing the maps along with maps from the Indiana Historical Society and the State Archives.

Chris Reidy, Graphics Production Coordinator at the Ball State University Teleplex, borrowed a map from the GCMC for use in a documentary he is producing for WIPB and the History Department. The documentary is titled "Hitler's Final Victory," and the map shows the location of a battle that took place during World War II in the Ukraine. The GCMC is credited in the film.

A new set of Sanborn insurance maps of Boston and St. Louis were added to the GCMC collection in August. These maps are available as reference materials in the Center.

Students completing a summer project for Landscape Architecture borrowed topographic maps of Mexico. The group of students traveled to Mexico this summer for their class.

Architecture students borrowed maps from the Center in preparation for a unique project. The students are working on a monument site for the National Day of Mourning.

Students at the Australia Center will be using a set of topographic maps and aerial photography borrowed from the Center for their classwork in Australia. The maps were safely transported to Australia in August.

Many other students used the GIS, maps, atlases, and other resources of the GCMC during August. The areas of study were diverse: biology, marketing, English, geography, and political science.

The school year is just beginning, so visit the GCMC for assistance with class projects or to print a poster for a presentation.

Upcoming Workshops in the GCMC

Workshops in the GCMC

University Libraries Technology Training is sponsoring workshops hosted in the GCMC this month. Please visit www.bsu.edu/techtrain/ to sign up for any of the classes:

Introduction to GIS and Map Resources: This session introduces attendees to the geospatial resources available at Bracken Library. Explore the Map Collection and get ideas on how to use maps in your course assignments. In the GIS lab, explore the leading GIS software, online GIS tutorials, datasets, online applications, and in-house digital GIS data. This session is in presentation format with one-on-one assistance from professionals. This workshop will be held in the GCMC on September 6 at 2:00 P.M. and September 19 at 1:00 P.M.

GIS Data: How to Find Reliable Data on the Web: Do you need GIS data for a project that you're working on and don't know where to find it? Are you limited on your funds and need free data? How do you know if the data you're downloading is spatially accurate or up-to-date? Learn some simple rules for finding the most accurate data for your needs and for reading and interpreting the metadata that comes with it. This workshop will be held in the GCMC on September 7 at 9:30 A.M. and September 20 at 2:00 P.M.

Can't attend at those times? Please contact the Center at 765-285-1097 for personal assistance with your projects or course planning.

Nautical Charts in the GCMC

AHOY! Using Nautical Charts in the Classroom

The Geospatial Center & Map Collection includes thousands of nautical charts that may be checked out for research. (The nautical charts, however, should not be used for navigation purposes). The nautical chart collection includes charts displaying details of navigable water bodies and coastal areas of the United States and throughout the world. These charts display features such as coasts, ports, restricted waters, wrecks, currents, and cultural features such as urban areas, major roads, or buildings. Many times a nautical chart can prove to be an excellent map for coastal cities.

Mark Walker, an instructor in the Department of Biology, commonly uses nautical charts from the Map Collection in his classroom. Walker appreciates the nautical charts in his classroom: "For the last three years, I have presented a study of invasive species found in the Great Lakes ecosystem to my science education students. The maps provided to me each semester have been of the highest quality." Walker claims that the nautical charts "have great detail, are accurate, and have always been available on short notice due to the sheer volume of the collection." Apparently the nautical charts are an excellent research tool for the biology classroom. Walker explains that the students "involved with the presentation can pinpoint the important canals and rivers of the region without fail after time spent in hands-on fashion with the maps."

For more information about using nautical charts or any other maps or geographic resources from the GCMC, please contact the Center. Workshops reviewing the use of the resources of the GCMC for the university classroom will be held on September 6 at 2:00 and September 19 at 1:00 in the GCMC. Sign up for a workshop on the University Libraries Training and Technology Support page.

Travel Maps Available in the GCMC

Travel to Chicago with an i.map from the Geospatial Center & Map Collection

What is an i.map? According to the publisher of the maps, the "i" stands for information, insider tips, and inherently cool. These new maps available for checkout from the GCMC are detailed city street maps. The maps provide quick, easy reference with simple-to-read symbols indicating museums, markets, department stores, hotels, theaters, scenic views, and other points of interest. A handy flip-guide features an organized listing of sights, restaurants, tours, parks, and other opportunities with valuable visitor information. These laminated folded maps are excellent for walking tours and can be easily stored in a backpack. Probably the most "inherently cool" feature of the i.maps, though, is that they include a compass--a great tool for the tourist in the city.

Currently the GCMC has i.maps for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Dublin, Ireland. But the entire collection of i.maps will soon be available from the GCMC. Coming soon: Boston, Toronto, Atlanta, San Diego, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Paris, and many more U.S. and world cities. Simply type "imap" into the University Libraries CardCat search to check availability.