Ball State University Libraries' Maps of London

The Brilliant Earth: A Nocturnal Satellite Map, 1998, GRMC

2012 Olympic Games:  London Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library is featuring a display of London maps, including a map of the Olympic venues, a Google Earth map of popular London attractions, and a tourist map of London from the Map Collection. 

The GRMC includes a collection of hundreds of various maps of London and Great Britain, including maps of London architecture, panoramic maps, travel and tourist maps, subway maps, and historical reproductions dating back to the 1500’s.  The GRMC also has a collection of historic topographic maps of Great Britain published during World War II.  The Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library also includes hundreds of cartographic resources on Great Britain and London specifically. 

Maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer.  Atlases circulate for 28 days or longer.

For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Ball State University Libraries’ Historic Topographic Maps Reveal Location of Submerged Town

From The Indianapolis Star:

The drought in Indiana has revealed a formerly submerged town in Huntington County in northeast Indiana.  Salamonie Reservoir was constructed in 1967, and the town formerly called “Monument City” was evacuated and submerged.  In the severe drought conditions this summer, the reservoir level is down 14 feet, exposing the foundations of houses and a school and a usable road.  The Department of Natural Resources has closed the town to visitors in order to protect artifacts.

The top map above (click to enlarge) is a USGS topographic map of Andrews from the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC).  The map details the terrain of the area as surveyed in 1950 and shows the location of Monument City.  The small cross to the west of Monument City depicts the location of a cemetery.

The second map (click to enlarge) is the same USGS topographic map of Andrews from the GRMC that was published in 1994.  The location of the Monument City Memorial Cemetery north of the former town shows where the cemetery was transplanted before the construction of the reservoir.

The GRMC maintains a collection of historic and current topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey covering the entire United States for research showing development.  Maps from the GRMC may circulate for two weeks or longer.

For more information, please contact the GRMC Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 4:30 during the summer at 765-285-1097.

Public Enemies: John Dillinger Gang Robberies Map Available from Ball State University Libraries

The GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) created the map Public Enemies: Robberies of the John Dillinger Gang (click to enlarge above) based on information from a book by Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-1934 (available from the General Collection of Bracken Library) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Historic Famous Cases Web page.  The movie Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp is also based on the Burrough book.

John Dillinger was a legendary bank robber from Indiana who became America’s first “Public Enemy Number One.”  The map marks the locations of reported robberies of Dillinger and his gang beginning with a robbery in Daleville, Indiana in the summer of 1933.  Other events related to Dillinger are also featured on the map, including the location of his death in Chicago on July 22, 1934.

A copy of the map is available in PDF-format from the Ball State University Libraries’ Cardinal Scholar repository.  The original map is available for circulation for two weeks or longer from the GRMC.

Photojournalist Grady Franklin Exhibit at Ball State University Libraries

Old West Entertainment, Atlas of the New West

Grady Franklin Photojournalism Exhibit at Ball State University Libraries

Beginning Monday, July 16, “A Career in Photojournalism: The Work of Grady Franklin” will be on exhibit in the Archives and Special Collections on the second floor of Bracken Library.  The exhibit features the photographs, writings, memorabilia, and newspaper articles from Grady Franklin, including photographs of Western film stars and festivals.

The display also includes Franklin’s freelance photography for several Indiana businesses, organizations, and institutions, including Western Electric, Indiana Bankers Association, Crossroads Rehabilitation Center, The Indianapolis Star, Conner Prairie, and the Christian Science Monitor.

Several of Franklin’s Western Film Fair photographs are available online through Ball State University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository.  This digital collection will continue to grow to include photographs of conventions Franklin attended between 1979-1989 and ephemera ranging from 1979-2009.

The exhibit will be available until September 14.  A special viewing and open house with Grady Franklin will be held on Friday, July 27 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

The exhibit was curated by Bethany Fiechter, Archivist for Manuscript and Digital Collections, with the assistance of Rob Fucela, Public History intern.

For more information, please contact Bethany Fiechter or the Archives and Special Collections at 765-285-5078.

Ball State University Libraries: Mapping the First Walk on the Moon

Small Steps:  Mapping the First Moonwalk

On this day, July 16, in 1969 the Apollo 11 mission launched into space, which landed Neil Armstrong on the moon.  On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped out of the Tranquility Base lunar module.  As millions around the world watched on live television, Armstrong spoke, “That’s one small step for [a] man, a giant leap for mankind,” as he stepped on the surface and became the first human to walk on the moon.

The map shown above (click to enlarge) was created by the United States Department of Interior and shows the location of the lunar module and the paths walked by Armstrong and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.  The map shows the American flag planted by the astronauts on the lunar surface, the television camera, and the locations of soil and seismic testing performed by the astronauts. 

In the book Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities by Frank Jacobs available in the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC), this map has been superimposed on a map of a baseball field to show the small area explored by the astronauts.   Armstrong only walked about 120 meters from the lunar module to the rim of a crater:

“After traveling hundreds of thousands of miles, the landing crew of the Apollo 11 lunar mission spent two and a half hours on the lunar surface and in that time barely covered an area the size of a baseball diamond.  Or, if your sports preferences lie elsewhere, half a soccer field, with Armstrong making just one dash at the other side’s goal.”

Strange Maps and many other atlases and cartographic resources are available from the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.  The GRMC is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 4:30 during the summer.

Using GIS for Storytelling

Using GIS to Create Storytelling Web Maps

The summer edition of ArcNews, a newsletter published by GIS software manufacturer ESRI, details how users can create story maps with ArcGIS Online.  According to the article, “storytelling is rapidly becoming one of the most important reasons that organizations use GIS.”

A story map is an interactive GIS map that combines various data to tell a story about the world.  The maps include “web-enabled maps, text, multimedia content, and functionalities that enable users to interact with them.”  Organizations are creating these maps using ArcGIS Online and the storytelling map templates created by ESRI and available on the storymaps.esri.com  site and ArcGIS Online.

Some examples of story maps created using ArcGIS Online and viewable at storymaps.esri.com are guided tours of Olympic host cities, interactive maps of obesity and diabetes in the United States, access to healthcare, tornado zones, locations of uninsured Americans, and mapping the origins of snacks from around the world.  A story map about the sinking of the Titanic (shown) allows viewers to click on locations to see passenger lists, destination cities, and travelers’ class status and survival rates.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) provides GIS resources that support research and learning.  The GRMC offers access to the leading GIS software and online GIS tutorials, datasets, online mapping applications, in-house GIS data, and one-on-one assistance from the GIS Specialist.  The GIS Research Area in the GRMC includes 28 computers and is available for personal or classroom use.  For more information, please call 765-285-1097 or visit the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.

GIS Research and Map Collection Closed for July 4th Holiday

GIS Research and Map Collection Closed for Independence Day Holiday

The Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library will be closed on Wednesday, July 4. The GRMC will reopen at 7:30 A.M. on Thursday, July 5.

(Independence Hall, PlaceMap Philadelphia from the GRMC)