Syria Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News:  Syria Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) has a significant collection of maps of Syria and the Middle East.  The maps include both historic and new, updated maps of the country and region.

Illustrated Syria map was published in 1943.  The map depicts agricultural and industrial products and places of interest, including parts of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and then Palestine.  An inset map shows main roads, air routes, railroads, pipelines, and political divisions.  The text is written in English and Arabic.

The GRMC also includes road maps of Syria, maps of archaeological sites, tourist maps, economic maps, and land use and population maps.  A unique tectonic sketch map showing oil wells and petroleum exploration from 1978 was published by the Foreign Scouting Service.

Four sets of topographic maps of Syria (including historic maps) at varying scales are also available.  City maps of Syria are also available from the GRMC, including a reproduction of a bird’s-eye view map of Damascus from 1575.

The top map above (click to enlarge) was published by the Central Intelligence Agency and shows the area near Ar-Raqqah on the Euphrates River where American airstrikes are targeted.  This map includes railroads and expressways.

The second map, Syria Country Profile, was published by the CIA in 2011 when the civil war there began and shows the location of an airbase near Ar Raqqah.  Inset maps include a map of the Golan Heights, the oil and gas infrastructure, ethnoreligious distribution, and population density.  The relative size of Syria compared to the eastern United States is also shown.  This map includes information and statistics for a number of geographic features.

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

Ball Brothers Documentary Film Premiere

Ball Brothers Factory Band, Digital Media Repository

Gas Boom to Glass Jars: Ball Brothers Documentary Premieres This Week

A Legacy Etched in Glass: The Ball Brothers in Muncie, a documentary produced by the Ball State University Department of Telecommunications as part of an immersive learning project, premieres on Thursday, September 25 at 6:00 pm at Minnetrista in Muncie.  The documentary tells the story of the five Ball brothers—George, Lucius, Frank, Edmund, and William.

The Ball brothers moved their glass manufacturing business from Buffalo, New York, to Muncie during the Indiana gas boom of the 1890’s.  Locating the factories on the south side of Muncie, the Ball brothers expanded their operations enormously in the early 20^th century.  The film explores the lives of the brothers, their families, the ongoing Ball legacy in Muncie, and the core values that propelled them to success as industrialists and community leaders.

The story weaves motion graphic animation, beautiful cinematography, and archival materials with interviews and analyses from expert historians.  Sanborn Fire Insurance maps (above, click to enlarge) and maps showing the Trenton gas field are featured in the film.  Historic maps from the GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) used for the film are available for viewing in the Ball State University Libraries’ Digital MediaRepository.  The map collections include:  Muncie Sanborn Insurance Maps, United States Transportation Maps, Ball State University Campus Maps, American Cities Historic Maps, Indiana Natural Resources Maps, International Historic Maps, Delaware County Aerial Plat Maps, Indiana Historic County Atlases, United States Soil Maps, and United States Topographic Maps.  The University Libraries’ YouTube channel allows users a different format for viewing some of the resources from the Digital Media Repository.

For questions about the documentary, please contact the executive producer and faculty advisor Chris Flook at 765-730-0841.  For more information about the Digital Media Repository, contact John Straw in the Archives and Special Collections at 765-285-5078.

Scotland Maps Available from Ball State University

Scot-Free:  Maps of Scotland Available from Ball State University Libraries

Since 1990 34 new countries have been created, and tomorrow residents of Scotland will vote to decide whether Scotland will join that list.  A referendum on September 18 will determine whether Scotland will become independent from the United Kingdom for the first time in more than 300 years.   The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) and Atlas Collection in Bracken Library include a large collection of maps of Scotland and the United Kingdom.

The Atlas Collection includes Scotland: The Complete Guide, which was published in 1999.  This book includes a road atlas and descriptive guides about food, genealogy, monuments, castles, and churches, festivals, music, and the history of Scotland.  A travel section lists addresses and phone numbers for tourist boards and car rental services and detailed maps of tours and places of interest.

The GRMC includes new travel maps of cities and regions of Scotland and a variety of historic and current thematic maps.  The Historical Map of Scotland (segment shown above, click to enlarge) includes colorful illustrations of places and events in Scottish history, including Sir William Wallace. 

The collection also includes the Tartan Map of Scotland and Clan Map of Scotland with graphics of the various plaids and surnames’ coats-of-arms.  The Tartan Map of Scotland map (above) shows the general location of the areas of the various clan names.

The Whisky Map of Scotland (inset above) was published in 1994 by the Scotch Whisky and Malt Whisky Association of Scotland.  The map includes information about the distilleries throughout Scotland, and the inset shows locations on the cultural “Whisky Trail.”

The GRMC also includes travel maps of regions and cities of Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee, and Aberdeen.  The Rail Map of Britain includes the railways of Scotland.  Ordnance Survey maps of Scotland and maps detailing the oil fields of the Scottish highlands and islands are also available from the GRMC.

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

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

Hispanic Heritage Month Map Exhibit at Ball State University Libraries

Hispanic-American Cartographic Resources Exhibit at Bracken Library

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) is commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) with a special map exhibit.  The exhibit includes maps, charts, and photographs from The Atlas of Hispanic-American History from the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.  Included are maps of the attack on the Alamo, the California mission system, New Spain, and styles of Latin music.  Charts and photographs also describe Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Movement.

The exhibit is posted in the front window of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library through October 15.  The Atlas of Hispanic-American History is available for circulation from the Atlas Collection.

A copy of the exhibit poster is available in the University Libraries’ Cardinal Scholar institutional repository and may be used for educational displays and research.

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

Iraq, Jamaica, Somalia, Syria, the Ukraine, and Wales Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News: Iraq, Jamaica, Somalia, Syria, the Ukraine, and Wales

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) provides cartographic resources for research and learning.  In fact the GRMC houses 140,000 maps and atlases of locations around the world, including global “hot spots” in the news.

The first map above (click to enlarge) is a portion of a road map of the United Kingdom available from the GRMC.  The map shows the locations of the NATO Summit in Newport and Cardiff, Wales.  President Obama is attending this meeting of world leaders—the largest gathering of international leaders ever to take place in Great Britain.

The second map was provided by the Institute for the Study of War.  The map shows the presence of the Islamic State (Isis) marked in red from Syria through Iraq.  The northwestern region of Syria is identified on the map as the region in which journalist James Foley was kidnapped in 2012.  U.S. airstrike targets are shown as of August 2014.

The next map is from the GRMC and was published by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency showing the regions of dispute in the country of Somalia.  Somaliland and Puntland are not recognized and are self-declared autonomous regions. 

The map of Ukraine was published on the ReliefWeb Web page.  The map shows the rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine.  The map identifies the number and locations of people displaced (IDP’s=internally displaced population) by the fighting in the country and the number of people seeking asylum as of September 1, 2014.

The last map is a Central Intelligence Agency map of Jamaica from the GRMC.  The map shows the parish boundaries, railroads, important roads, and cities.

The most updated Central Intelligence Agency maps are available from the Digital Media Repository from the Maps of the World collection.

For more information about cartographic resources from the GRMC, please call 765-285-1097.

Teachers' Resources Available from Ball State University Libraries

Back-to-School:  Educational Resources Available from Ball State University Libraries

Students, faculty, and other educators can access important classroom resources like maps, lessons, and learning games created by the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) from the Cardinal Scholar institutional repository.  Cardinal Scholar allows users to access the valuable resources from any location around the world with Web availability.

Teachers and student-teachers can find numerous custom maps, games, posters, lesson plans, map worksheets and activities, cartographic tutorials, and other resources in Cardinal Scholar.  These classroom resources were developed specifically for K-12 teachers to use and share.

Teachers and students from around the world have used the GRMC teaching and learning resources accessible through Cardinal Scholar.  A student-teacher from Shenandoah Elementary School (Middletown, Indiana) used posters featuring maps and photographs from every modern war to create a Veterans Day exhibit at her school.  Student-teacher Kevin Ginder created a bulletin board at Mount Comfort Elementary School (Mount Comfort, Indiana) using maps from Cardinal Scholar.

Kate Sutter, social studies teacher at Lebanon (Missouri) High School, displayed the Black Diamonds: Negro League Baseball map in her classroom (above, click to enlarge).  A Black History Month maps presentation from the Cornerstone Center for the Arts class and Black History Month map posters are also available from Cardinal Scholar.

Danielle Boultinghouse accessed many of the GRMC resources for her lessons while teaching at an urban school in Indianapolis.  “I used map posters of Australia during a weeklong unit.  The students loved the maps and being able to learn about a faraway place.  I also used the Ball State Cardinal Life board game in a lesson about college and used maps to teach about using scale and determining distance for math class.”  Many of the games and lessons are adaptable to use with iPads and other classroom technology.

Chelsea Wappes used Cardinal Scholar while teaching in Fort Wayne and said “Map resources are a fabulous tool for teachers.”  A graduate student studying in England used some of the cartographic tutorials available from Cardinal Scholar to teach students about how to read topographic maps.

James Carson, County Wicklow, Ireland, learned about a Jane Austen literary map available from the GRMC after using the Guide to Cartographic Resources for English/Literature in Cardinal Scholar. A guide to cartographic resources about women’s history is also available, and the GRMC created a series of custom maps about women’s issues called Women in the World now available from Cardinal Scholar, including maps about female heads of state, breast cancer (above), and even Miss Universe winners.

Ball State University students volunteering with College Mentors for Kids use map games for after-school activities with elementary students.  Russia Clue and Canada Clue are a popular twist from the original Clue board game featuring famous people, cultural objects, and the provinces of Canada or the former nations of the Soviet Union instead of suspects, weapons, and rooms.

The Rinker Center for International Programs displays the country map posters (Russia, above) from Cardinal Scholar for the weekly Culture Exchange programs.  These posters include a map of the country with photographs from National Geographic magazine and atlases from the Bracken Library Atlas Collection.

To find all of the available resources from the GRMC, click on “Communities and Collections” on the left side of the main Cardinal Scholar page.  Scroll down to the Information Technology section, and the GRMC will be listed under University Libraries.  On the GRMC page, click on “browse by title” in the middle of the page.  This lists all the resources in the collection.  For a more specific search, type in a subject such as “Africa” or “map game.”  Users can click on the title of the resource and save it for use in papers, presentations, classroom activities, or other research or print any of the games and maps.  (The GRMC has two large-format printers available for the Ball State University community).  And check the repository frequently because the GRMC adds resources every week.

For more information about using Cardinal Scholar for research and learning, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.