Maps of New York City Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps of New York City, Queens, and Lower Manhattan Available from Ball State University Libraries

The Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library has a collection of over 200 maps of New York City and the surrounding area.  And the Atlas Collection includes dozens of atlases of New York and the five boroughs, including New York: The Photo Atlas: An Aerial Tour of All Five Boroughs published in 2004.

The aerial map shown above depicts the area of Lower Manhattan and Battery Park.  This part of Manhattan is identified as a mandatory evacuation area for Hurricane Sandy.

The street map of New York published in 2008 (click to enlarge) shows the area’s location between the Hudson and East Rivers.  Battery Park City and the Financial District are identified on the map.  The colored circles mark the subway lines.  Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge are also shown on the map.

The final map shows the Breezy Point neighborhood in the Rockaways of Queens just below the channel below Brooklyn.  This is the area devastated by over 50 house fires on the night of the hurricane landfall.  The map also identifies the location of the Coney Island Boardwalk, to the north of Breezy Point.  This map, 2008 New York City Cycling Map, shows bike paths, lanes, and routes--both existing and proposed.  The map also identifies bike shops, parks, transit facilities, and a directory to cycling resources and other places of interest.

The GRMC has topographic maps, subway maps, street maps, and travel guides available for research, learning, or for planning vacations.  The iMap of New York includes a 12-page city guide complete with a working compass on the map.  The map includes the locations of theaters, subways, restaurants, an inset map of New York Harbor, and a map of neighborhoods.

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

For more information about these maps, atlases, or other available cartographic resources, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Culture Week at Ball State University

Culture Week at Ball State University Begins October 29

The Ball State University Rinker Center for International Programs, the Multicultural Center, the University Program Board, and Ball State Dining Services have joined forces to sponsor this year’s Culture Week.  The highlight event will be called “The Amazing Taste: Global Fair,” and will be held in the Student Center on November 1 from 4-8 P.M.  This year’s event will feature a street fair atmosphere with cuisine from more than 20 countries, interactive cultural activities and displays, and student group demonstrations as well as a main stage entertainment in the Ballroom and Tally Area of the Student Center. 

Ball State Dining Services will host an elaborate multicultural menu from around the world.  Students can use their meal card for this event.  Cost for the food fair is $7.75 for students, $8 for non-students, $5 for children ages 3-12, and free for ages 2 and under.  Pre-purchasing of wristbands begins in the Student Center Tally on Monday, October 29.   Access to the cultural displays and activities is free.

Culture Week 2012 begins on Monday, October 29 with information available in the Student Center Tally Area from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.  Study Abroad 101 is from 1:00 to 2:00 pm in the Yuhas Room, Student Center 102.  China In-Depth: A Changing China presented by Po Hu is in Student Center 303 at 6:00 pm.  And the Outlet Hip Dance Troupe will be giving a Hip-Hop workshop at 7:30 pm in Student Center 310.

Tuesday, October 30 events include Opportunities with the Peace Corps from 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the Student Center Forum Room and International Conversation Hour at 6:00 pm in Student Center.

The University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) will be providing maps and posters for the country booths at the Global Fair.  Every week the GRMC provides maps for display for the Culture Exchange at the Rinker Center for International Programs, and many of these countries will be represented at this event.  The Culture Exchange for Wednesday, October 31, will feature a presentation about Iceland by Gunnar Ingolfsson at 12:00 pm in the Yuhas Room of the Student Center.  An Iceland-Inspired lunch is available in the Tally from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Other events for Wednesday, October 31 include Day of the Dead: Dla De los Muertos at 5:00 in Student Center 301 and Rocky Horror Picture Show will be shown at midnight in Pruis Hall.

Friday, November 2 events include Cardinals Abroad at 1:00 pm in the Yuhas Room and International Career Opportunities at 2:30 pm in Student Center 303.

On Saturday the Multicultural Center and Housing and Residence Life will sponsor a trip to Jungle Jim’s International Market in Cincinnati, Ohio.    

For more information about any of the Culture Week events, please contact the Rinker Center for International Programs at 765-285-5422.  For more information about using maps and other resources from the GRMC for classroom displays, exhibits, and other special events, please call the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Indiana GIS Day and Conference

Indiana GIS Day and Conference October 23 in Indianapolis

From the Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC) newsletter:

The Indiana Geographic Information Council is hosting the Indiana GIS Day and Conference at the Indiana Government Center South Conference Center in Indianapolis on October 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Anyone who plans or manages related data or those interested in learning more about GIS are invited to attend. 

Explore the innovative ways GIS is used to improve government operations.  GIS has the unique capability to help explain large amounts of information via maps and graphics using location information.  Cross-agency applications appear seamless when data is merged into a GIS.

GIS is used at the state level to issue permits; plan transportation projects; share information with the public; study flooding; prepare and respond to emergencies; understand environmental issues; study water quality; track health issues; plan new programs; and promote economic development.

Some of the topics covered at the conference include:

• GIS 101: What is GIS and How Do I Get Started
• Indiana's New Statewide Aerial Photography and Elevation Data Project
• New and Improved IndianaMap
• Improving Data about Indiana's Surface Waters
• Leveraging Geospatial Resources through the Data Sharing Initiative 

Presentations and resources for GIS users of any level will be available.  The conference is free to the public, and pre-registration is NOT required.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) in Bracken Library seeks to be a vital resource that provides comprehensive GIS support to the entire University community.  The GRMC offers access to the leading GIS software and online GIS tutorials, datasets, and online mapping applications.  The GRMC provides in-house GIS data, and the GIS Specialist is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00 for one-on-one mapping assistance.

For more information about the Indiana GIS Day and Conference, please contact Jim Sparks, Indiana Geographic Information Officer at the Indiana Office of Technology, at 317-234-5889.  

Genealogy Classes Available from Ball State University Libraries

Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana, 1876, Ball State University Libraries

Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana, 1876, Ball State University Libraries

Mapping Your Roots:  Genealogy Classes Available from Ball State University Libraries

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) and the Archives and Special Collections will be conducting two genealogy classes for members of the community.  Melissa Gentry of the GRMC and Bethany Fiechter, Archivist for Manuscript and Digital Collections in the Archives and Special Collections, will share information about how to use library materials to search for ancestors.

The first class, Genealogy:  Traveling through Time, will be October 22 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Community Center for Vital Aging (CCVA) on the second floor of the Community Center for the Arts at 520 East Main Street in Muncie.  This session will focus on the available resources from Bracken Library and online sites for researching family history.

The second session will be held at Bracken Library on November 19 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. with transportation provided from the CCVA.  During the second class, participants will have access to the historic and cartographic materials in the Archives and the GRMC.

Both sessions are free to the public.  Please contact the CCVA to register for the classes at 765-289-4541.  For more information, please contact the Archives and Special Collections at 765-285-5078 or the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

The Map as Art October Display in Bracken Library

The Map as Art Display in Ball State University Libraries

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library includes a variety of cartographic resources in addition to the over 145,000 maps and atlases in the collection.  Some of these resources include books about cartography. 

The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography by Katharine Harmon and Gayle Clemans was featured in O: The Oprah Magazine as a celebration of maps as artwork.  The book is available in the GRMC and includes 360 colorful, unique maps and accompanying essays.

The image above (click to enlarge) is called Man Cutting Globe, a lithograph from the Charles Cowles Gallery in New York by Vernon Fisher.  Fisher paints “highly realistic maps—or, in this case,…the vaguely menacing act of carving a globe as if it were a Halloween pumpkin.”  A copy of the lithograph will be featured on display in the windows of the GRMC through October 31.

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

World Breast Cancer Rates Map Available from Ball State University Libraries

World Map of Breast Cancer Rates Available from Ball State University Libraries

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  The Ball State University Libraries’ Atlas Collection and GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) feature atlases, maps, and other cartographic resources that detail the rates of breast cancer and other diseases around the world.

The map above (click to enlarge) shows the rates of breast cancer per 100,000 women in each country from 2002-2007, and is from the Penguin Atlas of Women in the World available from the Atlas Collection and the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.  According to the atlas, “breast cancer is highest in the industrialized countries.  Europe and North America, home to under one-fifth of the world’s women, account for half of the world’s breast cancer cases.”

The map shows the darker green countries having the highest rates of breast cancer.  The lowest rates are the countries in bright yellow.  The map also shows the number of women who die each week (using data from 2002), with the United States and India holding the highest numbers.

The Atlas Collection and the atlases included in the GRMC cover a wide-ranging list of topics and themes and geographic locations from all over the world.  The Atlas Collection houses over 2,500 atlases, and the topical maps from atlases can be easily scanned and inserted into papers and presentations for the classroom or research—adding visual interest and impact.

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