Maps in the News: Kathmandu, Nepal and the Straits of Hormuz

Central Intelligence Agency Nepal population density

Durbar Square, Kathmandu

Himalayas and Mt. Everest

Central Intelligence Agency Straits of Hormuz

Central Intelligence Agency Middle East

Baltimore Maryland Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News:  Baltimore

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) has dozens of maps of Baltimore, Maryland, available for research and learning.  The collection includes nautical charts of the harbor area of Baltimore, U.S. Geological Survey historic and modern topographic maps that show the development of the city, and modern and historic street maps.

The Maryland Geological Survey published maps available from the GRMC of the topography, election districts, and geological formations of Baltimore from 1925 and 1939.  The Underground Railroad: Maryland’s Network to Freedom was published in 2010 and includes important landmarks of the Underground Railroad in Baltimore, and Baltimore: A House Divided is a map depicting the events of the Civil War in the Chesapeake Bay area.

The Washington Post published two maps showing the races of the residents of Baltimore in relation to the neighborhoods with the most vacant houses.  The racial map was published by The Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.  The map of vacant buildings (15,928 in Baltimore) was published in 2012 by Elliott Plack.

The GRMC is located on the second floor of Bracken Library.

Vietnam War Maps from Ball State University Libraries

Mapping the Vietnam War and the Fall of Saigon

April 30, 2015 marks the 40^th anniversary of the end of American involvement in the Vietnam War.  The war in which 58,000 Americans died ended with the communist forces of North Vietnam overtaking Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and the collapse of the Republic of South Vietnam.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library houses current and historic maps of Vietnam, including maps depicting North and South Vietnam.  Original U.S. Army maps published during the war are also available for research and learning—Long Binh was a U.S. Army supply facility constructed near the city of Bien Hoa, about 20 miles north of Saigon.  The map above (second from top, click to enlarge) was published in 1967 and shows the location of ammunition supplies, antennas, a heliport, hospital, and recreation areas.

The Atlas Collection in Bracken Library also includes current travel, road, and topographic atlases of Vietnam and atlases describing the Vietnam War.  South Vietnam Provincial Administrative Maps was published by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1967. 

Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War by Harry Summers was published in 1995 and is a comprehensive cartographic guide detailing the war.  The atlas includes photographs, charts, and maps describing the landmark events leading up to and during the war.

The second map above is from Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War.  The red lines represent troop movements of the North Vietnamese infantry.  The blue boxes are the locations of the U.S. and allied forces around Saigon, including the Long Binh base.  The inset map, Evacuation of Saigon, shows where the North Vietnamese fired rockets into downtown Saigon on April 27, 1975, near the U.S. Embassy.

The events of the last days of the American presence in Saigon are described in the atlas:  The U.S. Embassy workers were tasked with calming the evacuees and organizing them for evacuation: 

At 3:58 A.M. on April 29, 1975, North Vietnamese rockets struck the U.S. defense attaché’ office compound at Tan Son Nhut, effectively closing the air base and ending the fixed-wing aerial evacuation of U.S. civilian workers, third-country contract employees and their dependents, and selected South Vietnamese civilians and their families underway since April 1.

On the afternoon of April 29, they began to move everyone out.  By 4:15 A.M. on April 30, 2,619 evacuees had been helifted from the Embassy.  But in a final betrayal, made all the more tragic by the fact that it was inadvertent, the lift was cancelled, and the final 420 evacuees were abandoned:  Believing that there was a bottomless pit (of evacuees), the White House had ordered a halt.  It was the Vietnam War in microcosm—good intentions but fatally flawed execution.

…The war was at an end.  But not all South Vietnamese forces heeded the call for unconditional surrender.  Many Air Force officers flew to bases in Thailand or to U.S. aircraft carriers, and 34 Navy warships sailed to the Philippines.

The GRMC created posters featuring photographs and maps detailing World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War for use in classroom and other educational exhibits.  The posters are available from the University Libraries’ Cardinal Scholar repository.  The Vietnam War poster (top, above) includes photographs and maps from atlases in the collection against a backdrop of the Vietnam War Memorial. 

Maps from the GRMC may be circulated for two weeks or longer.  Atlases from the atlas collection may be circulated for 28 days or longer.  For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Celebrate Earth Day with Maps

Earth Justice map of hydraulic fracturing in the U.S.

U.S. Geological Survey maps showing polar ice melt

One Planet, Many People atlas maps of Lake Chad shrinking

National Geographic map of polar ice melt

NOAA model of polar ice caps

Earth Day Maps from Ball State University Libraries

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) is commemorating Earth Day with a special exhibit of maps depicting environmental concerns from around the world and artistic maps showing different perspectives of the world.  The exhibit will be displayed in the front windows of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library through the end of April.

The GRMC includes numerous maps showing global hotspots, including maps of endangered species, the polar ice melt, deforestation, environmental disasters, and energy resources.  The Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library also includes several atlases that are related to environmental issues.  (Click above maps to enlarge).

Maps from the GRMC may be circulated for two weeks or longer.  Atlases may be borrowed for 28 days or longer.  For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Maps Class at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts

Hoosier Cartography:  Indiana History through Maps Presentation in Downtown Muncie

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) is presenting Hoosier Cartography: Indiana History through Maps in downtown Muncie tomorrow, April 21.  The class will be from 6:00 to 7:00 pm on Tuesday at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts at 520 East Main Street in the Founders Room on the second floor.  (Free parking is available).  The special program features maps from the GRMC and historic photographs from the Libraries’ Digital Media Repository.

The GRMC has been creating custom maps about Indiana history for use in fourth-grade classrooms, and these maps will be featured—Indiana political history, music history, automobile history, women’s history, Indiana authors, and sports and movies.  The program will also include historic maps of Indiana, agriculture and industry, health and welfare, civil rights, elections, education, weather and disasters, and culture and the arts.  Maps related to current events like the measles outbreak and the Religious Freedom Act will be included.  City maps and maps of Ball State University will also be shown.

The class is ideal for teachers and other researchers as it will provide links to digital resources.  This one-time workshop is free and open to the public.

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

Let's Move Campaign Creates GIS Map

Let’s Move Campaign Creates GIS Map

“Let’s Move” is a campaign to combat childhood obesity.  To commemorate the fifth anniversary of the program, First Lady Michelle Obama has launched an interactive online map to encourage people to join their local “Let’s Move” program.  The map is sponsored by the Partnership for a Healthier America and allows users to see what schools, cities, businesses, or nonprofit organizations feature programs to get young people more physically active.

The map is built on the leading GIS software producer Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform.  Users can search for a specific participant or view the map of programs near their city after entering a zip code or city or state.  The amount of participation is also shown. 

The “Let’s Move” map page includes nutritional information, action plans, and activities.  And the local projects include childcare and gardening programs affiliated with the “Let’s Move” campaign.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) offers access to the leading ESRI GIS software and online tutorials, datasets, online mapping applications, in-house GIS data, and one-on-one assistance from the GIS Specialist.

For more information about using GIS in research and learning, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

GIS Story Map of the Lincoln Assassination

Mapping the Death of President Lincoln

On the 150^th anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, leading GIS software developer ESRI has created an interactive story map of the events leading up to his death on April 14, 1865.  Users can take a geographic tour tracking John Wilkes Booth and the other conspirators on a 1865 map of Washington, DC from the collection of David Rumsey.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library provides ESRI GIS software and instructional assistance from the GIS Specialist, Angela Gibson.  For more information about using GIS for research and learning, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Map Available from Ball State University Libraries

John Wilkes Booth Escape Map Marks 150^th Anniversary of Lincoln Assassination

Today marks the 150^th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.  The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) includes many maps depicting the events surrounding the Civil War, including a map of the assassin’s escape route from the Capital.

The map, John Wilkes Booth: Escape of an Assassin, was published by Communication Design in 2007 as part of the Maryland Civil War Trails series.  The map shows the route taken from Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. to the Garrett farm in Virginia with related present-day points of interest.

According to the map, “Booth fled over the Navy Yard Bridge into Southern Maryland. With fellow conspirator David Herold, he stopped about midnight at widow Mary E. Surratt’s tavern in the village of Surrattsville.”  Surratt was later convicted as a conspirator in the plot against the President and provided storage of rifles and other supplies for Booth.

The fugitives received treatment at the house of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd (now a museum), who was also later convicted in the conspiracy.  The pair traveled to the home of Samuel Cox in Rich Hill and hid in a nearby pine thicket.  Booth and Herold crossed the Potomac River on April 21 and then the Rappahanock River in Virginia, where they found shelter at the Richard Garrett farm. 

Federal troops found the fugitives hiding in the barn on April 26:  Herold surrendered, but Booth refused.  “…the barn was set on fire. The soldiers could see Booth through the slats in the barn, and Sergeant Boston Corbett shot him in the back of the neck.”

The map also includes sites related to the Civil War near Chesapeake Bay.  Descriptions of specific sites, events, and biographies include Point Lookout State Park, the contributions of African Americans, female spies and smugglers, and the role federal troops kept Maryland in the Union.

Other maps in the GRMC from the Maryland Civil War Trails series include Baltimore: A House Divided; Gettysburg: Invasion and Retreat; Lee Invades Maryland: 1862 Antietam Campaign; and Virginia-Maryland Civil War Trails.

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

Golf Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Augusta National, Augusta, Georgia

Mapping the Masters:  World Atlas of Golf from Ball State University Libraries

World Atlas of Golf is available from the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.  The atlas by Mark Rowlinson was published in 2008 and features computer-generated maps of golf courses around the world—from St. Andrews in Scotland to Casa De Campo in the Dominican Republic.  The atlas features information about the architecture and design of the courses and illustrations of signature holes.

Atlases may be circulated for 28 days or longer.  For more information, please contact the GIS Research and Map Collection at 765-285-1097.

Boston Massachusetts Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Boston, Massachusetts Map of the Month

The “Map of the Month” on display in the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) is a map of Boston, Massachusetts, to commemorate the Boston Marathon on April 20. 

The map was illustrated by Barbara Spurll and published by Archar, Incorporated in 1977.  This pictorial map features famous people, landmarks, and fun facts about the city of Boston.  Click the map above to enlarge to view the John Kennedy birthplace, Fenway Park, and the Harvard and Yale rowing teams on the Charles River.

The map will be exhibited in the front windows of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library through the end of April.  Maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer.

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

Baseball Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Opening Day:  The Geography of America’s Pastime

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

The GRMC includes a travel map locating all of the Major League Baseball stadiums.  North America Baseball Travel Map also includes contact information for every major league, minor league, and independent professional baseball team in the United States and Canada.

The GRMC also includes historic and current U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps that show details about the location and surroundings of stadiums and how the sites have developed over time.  Dodger Stadium located on the 1966 Los Angeles topographic quadrangle map is shown above (click to enlarge) just after it was completed in 1962.

Sanborn Fire Insurance maps are available for some cities, providing details about the stadium structures.  The map of Fenway Park (above) is from a collection of 1975 Boston Sanborn maps available in the GRMC.

The GRMC has also created custom maps related to the history of baseball.  Black Diamonds: Negro League Baseball Teams, 1920-1949, (shown above) marks the locations of the Negro League teams in the U.S.  Photographs featured on the map are from the book Playing America’s Game by Michael L. Cooper.  A copy of the map is available from the Cardinal Scholar digital media repository.

Another map, The Girls of Summer: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Teams, 1943-1954, (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 Technology and Resources Collection in the lower level of Bracken Library.  This map is also available in Cardinal Scholar, and all of the maps from the GRMC can be borrowed via interlibrary loan.

The Atlas of Sport available in the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library 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 (the site of Field of Dreams) leading the nation.

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