Rare Maps of Ottoman Empire at Ball State University Libraries

Focus: Turkey
Rare Maps of the Ottoman Empire in Ball State University Libraries

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection (GRMC) is featuring an exhibit of rare maps of the Ottoman Empire, which is centered in present-day Turkey.

The GRMC has two rare maps of the Ottoman Empire from 1877. The first is titled The Cross and Crescent—Harper’s Pictorial Map of the Seat of War in the East and was a supplement to Harper’s Weekly magazine in June 1877. Map of the Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Greece and the Russian Provinces on the Black Sea was an extra supplement in the Illustrated London News on April 21, 1877. Ball State University Libraries is listed in WorldCat as the only library in the world possessing these two unique maps.

Carte Generale L’Empire Ottoman is another map of the Ottoman Empire in the GRMC. This map was created by Dietrich Reimer in 1867 and is mounted on canvas. The glossary on the map is written in Greek, Turkish, Arabic, and Persian. Ball State University Libraries is one of three in the world with this map according to WorldCat.

The GRMC also includes a reproduction of a map of Imperial Turkey from 1737, a map of the conquests of Murad I and Bayezid I, and reproductions of maps of Constantinople from 1493, 1572, and 1635.

Current road and tourist maps of Turkey are also available from the GRMC. Several maps of Turkish cities are in the Collection, including Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir.

All maps from the GRMC can be circulated for two weeks or longer. For more information about these maps of Turkey or any other maps in the GRMC, please contact Melissa Gentry at 765/285-1097.

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours in the GRMC

Thanksgiving Hours for the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection will be closed on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection will resume regular business hours (Monday through Friday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) on Monday, December 1.

National Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day in University Libraries

GRMC Celebrates National Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library is celebrating National Geography Awareness Week November 17-21, 2008, including GIS Day on November 19.

The theme for the 2008 National Geography Awareness Week is “The Americas.” The GRMC is featuring an exhibit of National Geographic’s Americas map. Each day ten questions will be listed next to the map in the front window of the GRMC. Test your geographic knowledge with this daily geography challenge. The goal is to answer the questions without looking at the accompanying map.

The GRMC is also hosting a GIS Day Open House from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on Wednesday, November 19. Visitors can discover how to access online and in-house GIS data, learn how GIS is being used by various departments at Ball State University, learn about in-house and online GIS tutorials, and request access to GIS software, workshops, and one-on-one training.

Please contact the GRMC at 765/285-1097 for more information about National Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day.

Ball State University Students Create Indiana Food Trail Maps

Indiana Foods Trail Maps Created by Ball State University Students

The Indiana Building Better Communities initiative was created to spur economic development in the state. The Business Fellows program at Ball State University is part of that initiative, and last year students from the program worked to create a project and Web site promoting Indiana’s traditional foods.

“Students in the program partnered with Indiana Foodways…to establish the non-profit start-up,” according to Claire Arbogast in an article, "A Recipe for Mouth-Watering Tourism," in the Ball State Alumnus magazine’s November 2008 issue. “Students devoted hours to building the Indiana Foodways’ brand identity and Web site http://www.indianafoodways.com/, producing food-story broadcasts and articles…building a database of Indiana-made foods and a photography resource library…and designing promotions.”

The students created eight culinary trails that cross the state featuring Indiana staple foods like the sugar cream pie, tenderloins, candy companies, tea rooms, and bakeries, including Concannon’s Pastry Shop in Muncie. The “interactive maps help you plan wonderful day and overnight trips so that you can discover where some of the most incredible food can be found right here in Indiana.” Tourists can download PDF files of the trail information.

University Libraries’ GIS Specialist Creates Research Maps of Indiana Education

Research in the GRMC: Mapping Test Scores for the Indiana Education Project

By Angela S. Gibson

Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist in the University Libraries Geospatial Resources & Map Collection (GRMC), recently collaborated with Ginny Burney, a consultant of High Ability Education with the Indiana Education Project in the Teachers College, to create GIS data and maps.

Tabular data collected by Dr. Burney from the Indiana Department of Education Web site was linked to existing GIS shapefiles of Indiana school district boundaries that were downloaded from the IndianaMap Web site, http://www.indianamap.org/. The combination of this data was used to create new GIS layers that were entered into a digital map showing Advanced Placement test performances according to school corporation boundaries in the state using the ESRI ArcGIS 9.3 software. Two additional maps were also created showing the school district demographic types and the number of graduates for the school corporations.

The data shown on the maps will be used by Dr. Burney to demonstrate findings in research that reveal few small and/or rural schools are preparing many, if any, of their students at the level that is predictive of college graduation, according to the Advanced Placement measure. These GIS-generated maps will be shared at presentations around the state, in Dr. Burney’s graduate classes for Indiana teachers, and with key legislators in an effort to investigate solutions for this problem.

For more information, please contact Angela Gibson in the GRMC at 765/285-1097.

GIS IndianaMap Road Show at Minnetrista Cultural Center

GIS Map “Road Show” in Muncie

The Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC) is presenting a series of “Road Shows” designed to inform Hoosiers—especially those in local government—how the IndianaMap legislation is changing GIS across the state. The legislation was enacted last year and mandates the creation of a single, statewide, digital map for Indiana.

The next “Road Show” will be held on Tuesday, November 18 at Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana, from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Specific topics will include data sharing between different levels of government, funding opportunities, and future IndianaMap initiatives. Morning sessions will provide information about the map project: its benefits, impact, and long-term goals. Speakers will demonstrate how local data is already being incorporated into the IndianaMap and outline grants available to local governments to support their participation. Afternoon sessions will focus on Web Feature Services (WFS). This new technology will be the mechanism for combining data into a seamless statewide map. Speakers will be Jim Sparks, Indiana Geographic Information Officer, Phil Worrall, IGIC Executive Director, and representatives from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. A technical presentation on WFS will be given by Jeff Ehman of Image Matters.

For more information about the “Road Show” events, please contact the Indiana Geographic Information Council at 317/234-2924.

Native American Heritage Month Events at Ball State University Libraries

Native American Heritage Month Events at Ball State University Libraries

Dr. Kenan L. Metzger, assistant professor in the Ball State University Department of English, will speak at Bracken Library in the Forum Room tonight, November 12, at 7:30 P.M. Dr. Metzger will present, Native Ways of Knowing Along with Traditional Western Thought, a program sponsored by the Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library.

Dr. Metzger’s research reveals that educational institutions continue to either negatively portray or ignore the Native American experience, which adversely affects the lives of students and faculty. In his talk, Dr. Metzger will discuss ways that educators can provide more collaborative experiences in the classroom and incorporate individual cultural experiences.

This presentation coincides with a new exhibit on the second floor of Bracken Library for Native American Heritage Month. The Archives and Special Collections, the Geospatial Resources and Map collection, and Educational Resources Collections collaborated to display various items for the exhibit located in the display cases outside the Archives. Photographs from the Miami Indian photo collection, historical texts, and books from the Archives and Special Collection are featured in the exhibit. The Geospatial Resources and Map Collection provided maps showing the location of Delaware settlements along the White River, the Navajo Nation, Indian Tribes and Trapper Trails, a map highlighting the influence of the Indian on Indiana natural and cultural location names, and many others. Educational Resources Collections exhibited several unique Indian artifacts, including a rawhide rattle, a peace pipe, a breast plate, and a shield. The Anthropology Department also provided pottery and arrowheads for the exhibit.

The exhibit, Native America at the Crossroads: Resources Celebrating Native American Heritage Month, will be on display from November 12 through December 31, 2008.

The GRMC is also featuring a Native American map for the “Map of the Month” exhibit for November. The map, Native American Heritage: A Visitor’s Guide, was produced by the National Geographic Society in 1991 and includes inset maps of “Great Plains, “The First Americans,” “Eastern Woodlands,” “Desert West,” and the “Far West.”

For more information about the special exhibit or the presentation, please contact John Straw, Assistant Dean for Digital Initiatives and Special Collections and Executive Secretary for the Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library, at 765/285-5078.

Ball State University Maps Featured in Veterans Day Exhibit

Maps from Ball State University Libraries Featured in Local Veterans Day Exhibit

Several maps from the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection will be featured in a local elementary school’s Veterans Day exhibit. Charity Loveless, a student-teacher from Ball State University, consulted with the GRMC to create the special display for Shenandoah Elementary School in Middletown, Indiana.

Over twenty war-related maps will be featured in the exhibit. The maps date back to World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the civil war in Yugoslavia, and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maps and other images from atlases from the University Libraries Collection were also displayed. One poster (shown) created from the atlas images showed several U.S. presidents and generals using maps during a press conferences, meetings, and battles during wartime.

Miss Loveless was excited about introducing the young students to original maps from the war era. The maps will be a colorful, historical addition to the special Veterans Day celebration at the school, which is attended by students, staff, family and community members, and veterans.

For more information about using maps from the GRMC for a special school or other community exhibit, please contact the staff at 765/285-1097.

International Festival Held at Ball State University Libraries

Ball State University Libraries Welcome the World

The annual Rinker Center for International Programs’ International Festival was held in the lobby of Bracken Library on Friday, November 7. The festival featured booths representing over thirty countries from around the world.

Students shared information about their home countries, displaying artifacts, artwork, maps, photographs, and even videos. Visitors were invited to taste the various foods and drinks offered at the different booths. Music from around the world played throughout the festival, and a fashion show exhibited the beautiful clothing worn across the globe.

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection provided maps used during the festival. This year maps from every country were displayed in the booths, including Taiwan, Pakistan, China, Korea, Russia, Uruguay, Jamaica, Botswana, Burkina Faso, and many more nations around the globe. Educational Resources Collections provided a poster of the flags of the world so that visitors to the Festival could identify the flags decorating the stairwell in the lobby.

A fashion show, music, dance, and other performances will be held at 6:30 P.M. Friday in the Fine Arts Building.