Baseball Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Opening Day: Baseball Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

It’s Opening Day at ballparks around the country, and the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) offers baseball fans and others a glimpse at some baseball-related maps.

The GRMC includes a travel map locating all of the Major League Baseball stadiums.  The map also includes contact information for every major league, minor league, and independent professional baseball team in the U.S. and Canada.  

The Atlas of Sport available in the Atlas Collection features maps on the “American game,” including the map shown above (click to enlarge) depicting the number of high-school boys playing baseball in school leagues, with Iowa (site of Field of Dreams) leading the nation.

The GRMC has also created custom maps related to the history of baseball.  Black Diamonds: Negro League Baseball Teams, 1920-1949, (shown above) was created in association with the documentary Black Baseball in Indiana, a film created as an immersive learning project by students of Geralyn Strecker, Assistant Professor in the Department of English.  This map shows the location of the Negro League teams in the United States.  Photographs featured on the map are from the book Playing America’s Game by Michael L. Cooper.  The map is available for use from the CardinalScholar repository.  Copies of the map can be printed on the large-format plotter in the GRMC (charged to Bursar’s account) for exhibits, for use in the classroom, or personal use.

Another map, The Girls of Summer: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Teams, 1943-1954, (click to enlarge above) commemorates the women who played professionally beginning during World War II.  The map was created for Women’s History Month and is based on the book A Whole New Ballgame: The Story of All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by Sue Macy available from the Educational Resources Collections.  This map is also available from Cardinal Scholar.  All maps are also available via interlibrary loan. 

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

Oso, Washington Interactive Map

The New York Times created an interactive aerial map showing where houses and other structures were located before the landslide in Oso, Washington on Saturday.  Nearly fifty homes were located in the path of the mudslide made up of 15 million cubic yards of mud--three million dump truck loads left in the search field.  (The map above is from the British Broadcasting Corporation). 

Holy See/Vatican City Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News:  Vatican City Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Today marked a historic first meeting between President Barack Obama and Pope Francis in Vatican City.  Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library features several maps of Vatican City.

Vatican City is located completely with the city of Rome, Italy, and the “popout” map of Rome is a small folded map published in 2008 that includes a map of the grounds.  A 1995 National Geographic map of Italy also features an inset map of the grounds of the Holy See. 

The top map shown above was published by the Central Intelligence Agency and shows the location of the radio station, the post office, and the Papal Printing Office.  The second map shown above is a topographic map of Rome published by the Defense Mapping Agency by the War Office in 1943.

The third map shown of the Vatican City, Citta Del Vaticano, was published by the Visceglia Geographic Institute in Italian.  St. Peter’s Square is identified as “Piazza S. Pietro” on the map, and “Giardini Vaticani” marks the location of the gardens.  “Pinacoteca” is the Art Gallery located on the grounds.

Maps from the GRMC may be circulated for two weeks or longer.  The GRMC is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00.  

Map of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill from Ball State University Libraries

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Map from Ball State University Libraries

Monday, March 24 marks the 25^th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.  The Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, spilling millions of gallons of crude oil.  The map shows how the oil spill covered over 1,200 miles of shoreline.

The map above (click to enlarge) is from Mapping America’s Past: A Historical Atlas by Mark C. Carnes available from the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.  This reference atlas features maps ranging from exploration, colonization, wars, and political issues to gender, ethnicity, education, religion, disease, and other demographics.  The atlas features detailed maps about the “making of Black Harlem” in New York, airports constructed by the WPA during the Great Depression, and maps of Levittown, Pennsylvania.

For more information, please contact the GRMC Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00 at 765-285-1097.

Ball State University Libraries' YouTube Channel

Moving Pictures:  Ball State University Libraries’ Map Collections on YouTube

The Ball State University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository (DMR) provides online access to hundreds of digitized primary source materials, including artwork, architectural drawings, films, photographs, oral histories, and maps and atlases.  Historic maps and atlases from the GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) in Bracken Library can be accessed through the repository, and now can be viewed on YouTube.

The University Libraries’ YouTube channel allows users a different format for viewing some of the resources from the Digital Media Repository.  The Muncie and Delaware County Historical Maps Collection YouTube video includes historic plat maps of Muncie, maps from historic atlases, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps dating back to the nineteenth century, and historic maps of the White River.

The Digital Media Repository provides access to several map collections:  The United States Transportation Maps collection includes historic railroad and road maps.  Ball State University Campus Maps show maps of the university dating back to the 1920’s.  American Cities Historic Maps features unique maps or urban views from 1855 through 1921.  Indiana Natural Resources Maps includes maps showing the locations of stone quarries, pipelines, and natural gas, coal, and petroleum deposits around the state.  International Historic Maps is an eclectic collection of maps from around the world, including a War Department map of Cuba published in 1911 and an 1867 map of the Ottoman Empire. Maps of the World is an excellent resource providing the most up-to-date maps of over 200 regional and national maps published by the Central Intelligence Agency.  Delaware County Aerial Plat Maps, Indiana Historic County Atlases, United States Soil Maps, and United States Topographic Maps are also available from the Digital Media Repository.

The GRMC is constantly adding resources to the DMR to enhance access to research and learning.  For more information about these collections and information about other cartographic resources, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Ireland Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Ireland Cartographic Guide Available from Ball State University Libraries

Students and other researchers of Ireland and Irish history can access a cartographic guide to resources available in Ball State University Libraries via the GIS Research & Map Collection (GRMC) Web page.  The subject guide, CartographicResources in Ball State University Libraries: Ireland and Irish History, can help researchers locate a variety of materials throughout the Library.

This guide provides a list with call numbers and locations of all of the maps, atlases, encyclopedias, and other resources available from University Libraries.  There are atlases for Celtic studies and Irish history in the Atlas Collection and also an atlas focusing specifically on Irish family histories, New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland.

Street maps for numerous cities in Ireland, nature reserve maps, topographic maps of Ireland, and maps covering Irish history are available from the GRMC.  The Irish Family Names Map features coats of arms and medieval locations, and maps showing the peat land and fishing resources of Ireland are also available.

The guide also includes a listing of a set of reproduced historical maps from the National Library of Ireland that are not yet cataloged but do circulate for two weeks or longer individually or as a set.  The maps shown above are from the Census Atlas of the United States, depicting the percentage of the population reporting Irish ancestry in the 2000 Census and the foreign born Irish population centers in 1900.

The cartographic guide is also available from Cardinal Scholar.  An Ireland map poster can also be accessed from Cardinal Scholar and used for research and learning in the classroom or for special presentations.

For more information about these resources or the cartographic guides, please contact the GIS Research & Map Collection at 765-285-1097.

Ball State University Libraries Presents Women's History Month Map Program

Women in the World:  The Geography of Women’s History Presentation

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library is celebrating Women’s History Month with special public presentations in Muncie.  Women in the World is a special maps program created by the GRMC that will be held in two different sessions—2:00 pm to 3:00 pm and 6:00 to 7:00 pm—on Monday, March 17 at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in downtown Muncie at 520 East Main Street.

The program will feature maps about women’s issues around the world.  Maps depicting education and employment inequality, women in government, healthcare issues facing women around the world, and discrimination and advancements in society will be shown.  Other maps showing contributions of women in history will also be featured in the program.

The GRMC has created a special collection of online maps for Women’s History Month available from the Ball State University Libraries’ CardinalScholar institutional repository.  These include maps about women working in agriculture, women heads of state, women in tertiary teaching, and countries with high breast cancer rates.  Type “women in the world map” in the search box to see the available cartographic resources. 

Please contact the Cornerstone Center at 765-281-9503 to reserve a spot for the program.  Free parking is available.

Online Women in GIS Map

Celebrating Women’s History Month:  Crowd-Sourced Map of Women in GIS

From Caitlin Dempsey, GIS Lounge

In honor of Women’s History Month, Dr. Linda Loubert of Morgan State University is attempting to create a crowd-sourced map of women in GIS.  Dr. Loubert requests women working with GIS, in the GIS industry, teaching GIS, or GIS students to contribute to the map.

The map is dotted with GIS professionals categorized by their industry—academia, private sector, nonprofit, government.  So far most of the submissions are based mainly in the United States.  Users can zoom in to see other GIS professional women working in various areas of a state or city.

To add personal information to the map, click “edit.”  Choose the appropriate symbol designation for the particular GIS occupation sector, and add a dot.  Users can also add photographs, maps, or relevant Web pages.

For more information about the map, please contact Dr. Linda Loubert at Morgan State University. Caitlin Dempsey is the editor of GIS Lounge.  

Maps of New Orleans Available from Ball State University Libraries

Mardi Gras Maps in the News:  New Orleans

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) is featuring a map of New Orleans, Louisiana for the “Map of the Month” exhibit.  The map is a collector’s edition aerial perspective of the city drawn by Carlos Diniz and is displayed in the windows of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.

The GRMC includes dozens of historic and modern maps of New Orleans.  The New Orleans “popout” map is a great resource for travelers.  This map folds up to pocket-size and includes maps of greater New Orleans, the French Quarter, downtown, and the Garden District.

The travel map of the French Quarter (above—click to enlarge) depicts the world famous Bourbon Street in the center.  This map is colorfully illustrated and was published as a souvenir map for Mardi Gras and other tourist events.

The GRMC also includes maps of the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, topographic maps noting the elevation lines and showing the canals and levees of the city, maps and nautical charts of the intracoastal waterway and Mississippi River, and historic bird’s eye views of the city and the harbor.

Maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer.  For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Bruce F. and Ildiko B. Meyer Endowed Lecture Cancellation

The lecture and illustrated talk with Sharon Liberman Mintz scheduled for tonight (Monday, March 3) in Bracken Library has been cancelled due to travel problems for the speaker.  Updates with information about a possible rescheduled date will be forthcoming.