Women's History Month Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Cartographic Celebration of Women’s History Month

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 a public presentation in downtown Muncie.  Mapping Notable Women around the World will be presented at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts (520 East Main Street) on Wednesday, March 29 from 6:00 to 7:00 in the Colonnade Room.

The presentation will feature maps depicting the lives of amazing women around the world and in Muncie, and women often overlooked by history books are highlighted:  A map about the life of civil rights activist Fannie Harmer (above, click to enlarge) identifies important places and events in her life.  And a map about fashion designer Ann Cole Lowe, who was the un-credited creator of Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown, will be included.  Also included is the featured “Map of the Month” in the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library--a map about Indiana native Margaret Hamilton, who wrote the computer code for the Apollo space missions.

The presentation will also feature maps about women’s issues around the world.  Maps identifying education and employment inequality, women in government, healthcare issues, and discrimination and advancements in society will be shown.  And photographs from the Libraries’ digital archives will be incorporated.

The GRMC created a special collection of online maps for Women’s History Month available from the Libraries’ Cardinal Scholar institutional repository.  These include maps about women working in agriculture, female heads of state, women in tertiary teaching, and even the travels of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  (Type “women in the world map” in the search box to access the available cartographic resources).

The presentation is open to the public and suitable for all ages.  Free parking is available.  For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.