GIS Day Events

Indiana GIS Day and Conference Set for November 5, 2013

From Indiana Geographic Information Council Newsletter

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.  See and learn the many new avenues for using this increasingly important technology.

The Indiana GIS Day and Conference will be held at the Indiana Government Center South Conference Center at 402 West Washington Street in Indianapolis on Tuesday, November 5 from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm.  Registration is free.  Anyone who plans, manages, or performs any geospatial activities will benefit from attending this event.  Presentations and resources are for GIS users at all levels of experience and include Arc Hydro:  GIS for Water Resources, How to Unlock the GIS Data Vault, When Good Maps Go Bad (Cartography), and How to Preserve and Integrate Historic Sanborn Maps in Your GIS.  Pre-registration is required.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) will be hosting GIS Day in Bracken Library from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Wednesday, November 20.  This event will feature learning sessions and a poster display.

For more information, please contact Jim Sparks, Indiana Geographic Information Officer, at 317-234-5889 or Angela Gibson, Ball State University Libraries GIS Specialist, at 765-285-1097.  A full agenda is available on the Indiana Geographic Information Council Web page.

Cuban Missile Crisis Maps from Ball State University Libraries

Thirteen Days in October:  Mapping the Cuban Missile Crisis

Today, October 14, marks the day in 1962 when United States photographic intelligence revealed evidence of nuclear missile—medium-range (MRBM) and intermediate-range (IRBM)—sites in Cuba delivered from the Soviet Union.  The date marks the anniversary of what became known as the “Cuban Missile Crisis” as President Kennedy set up a blockade of Soviet ships to Cuba and considered attacking Cuba if the missile sites were not dismantled and returned to the Soviet Union.

The maps above (click to enlarge) depict the geography of the world on the brink of nuclear war.  The top map is from the Palgrave Concise Atlas of the Cold War published in 2003.  The map shows the area of the United States and other countries that were threatened by Soviet missiles launched from Cuba.  The map also shows the area covered by U.S. air patrols and key military bases, including one at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The second map is from the Historical Atlas of the United States also published in 2003.  This map shows the supply route and Soviet ports used to deliver the missiles to Cuba.  The countries in blue represent NATO and U.S. allies, while the peach color represents countries allied with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.  Concentric circles show the ranges of intermediate-range and medium-range missiles launched from Cuba.

The atlases are available from the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.  Atlases circulate from the library for 28 days or longer, and the maps can easily be scanned for use in papers, presentations, and other research and learning.

For more information, please contact the GIS Research and Map Collection at 765-285-1097.

Exploration Maps Available at Ball State University Libraries

Columbus Day:  Mapping Where Christopher Columbus Discovered America

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library includes a collection of maps and atlases depicting the routes of European explorers. 

The map above (click to enlarge) shows the routes of Christopher Columbus’ journeys between Spain and the Caribbean.  The map was published by the National Geographic Society in 1986 and identified new evidence that marked Columbus’ landfall at Samana Cay, a large uninhabited island in the Bahamas.

Another map from the National Geographic Society, The Explorers, shows the voyages and travels of explorers beginning in A.D. 100 through the 1900’s and includes the exploration of the Arctic and Antarctica.

Historical Atlas of Exploration: 1492-1600 and Atlas of Exploration are also available from the Atlas Collection.  These atlases include maps and charts about the great discoveries in geography and mapping.

Maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer, and atlases circulate for 28 days or longer.

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