University Libraries Hosts Visitors from China

Visitors from China in the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection

University Libraries and the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection hosted a group visiting Ball State University from China on November 30. The group consisted of officials affiliated with seven universities in China and the Sino-American University Cooperation and Exchange Office. The universities included Xi’an Shiyou University, Nanjing Normal University, Soochow (Suzhou) University, Shandong University at Weihai, Gansu Agricultural University, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, and Southwest Jiaotong University.

The visitors were thrilled to see so many maps of their hometowns and provinces in the Map Collection here at Bracken Library. The Collection includes new city maps, historic city plans, bird’s-eye-view maps of cities in China, topographic maps, and various thematic maps and atlases. Many of the maps and atlases from the Collection are printed in the Chinese language.

Ming-Ming Kuo, Collection Development Librarian, and Suzanne Rice, Assistant Dean for Public Services, organized and provided the tour of the University Libraries for the visitors.

Thanksgiving Break Hours in the GRMC

Thanksgiving Break Hours in the GRMC

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection will be closing for Thanksgiving Break at 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, November 21. The GRMC will reopen at 8:00 A.M. on Monday, November 26.

GIS Exhibit on the History of the White River

Online GIS Exhibit on the History of the White River

An exhibit showcasing the history of the White River in Muncie entitled, “The Life of a River: A History of the White River in Muncie in Maps and Photographs,” is now available:
http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/collections/gcmc/whiteriver/White%20River.html Users can also access the exhibit through the main GRMC Web page under “GIS Special Resources:” http://www.bsu.edu/library/collections/gcmc/


This exhibit was created by Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist, using a combination of historic maps from the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection, historic photographs from Archives and Special Collections and the latest GIS technologies available in the GRMC. The exhibit focuses on the changes that the river has experienced through time both culturally and physically. The GIS maps were created using a process known as geo-referencing (establishing the relationship between page coordinates on a planar map and known real-world coordinates) overlay and overlaying original historic maps from the GRMC with current GIS data to show the changing course of the river and the location of Delaware Indian settlements (above) and industries in relation to the current city geography.

The exhibit provides a remarkable resource for researchers, educators, and historians about the White River in east central Indiana. Contact Angela Gibson in the GRMC for more information about this exhibit and other GIS resources.

New GIS Resources at University Libraries

New GIS Resources Available in University Libraries’ Geospatial Resources and Map Collection

by Angela S. Gibson, GIS Specialist, Geospatial Resources & Map Collection

Ball State students and faculty now have new Geographic Information Systems (GIS) resources to use for learning, teaching and research through the University Libraries’ Geospatial Resources & Map Collection (GRMC).

Online Google Map for Visitors to the University Libraries

Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist, created an online visitors’ map of Ball State University that uses Google Maps API technology. Google Maps is a free Web mapping service application and technology provided by Google that powers many map-based services. The University Libraries’ Visitor Map is an added benefit to those visitors not familiar with Ball State University. The map highlights all library locations, parking garages, and food courts. Points of interest around campus such as Beneficence and Shafer Tower are also highlighted. Users are able to use the full range of Google technology such as pan and zoom, and have the option of street view, satellite view, or a hybrid of both. Images of each building and a link to their campus map Web page are embedded in the map. The Google map for visitors to University Libraries can be found at www.bsu.edu/library/collections/gcmc/visitormap

New Delaware County Oblique Photography

The GRMC now houses the complete set of Indiana’s Delaware County oblique aerial photography. The Delaware County GIS office donated a copy of the photography to the GRMC for University and community use.

Oblique photography is the technical term used to describe an aerial photograph that is taken at an angle. A feature such as a house, a building, or an overpass can be seen in its entirety. You can rotate the image and see the front door, the back door and both sides as well. This viewpoint is more familiar to users and provides almost instant 3-D modeling. These datasets are available for use by anyone inside or outside of the University. The datasets can be used by students and faculty who are working on surveying, 3-D modeling, and landscaping and urban planning projects. Geographic data and 3-D models from this program can be imported into Google Map for further analysis and sharing of data.

BusinessMAP Software by ESRI

BusinessMAP 4.5 is now available in the GRMC for students and faculty. This powerful GIS software prepackages North American street and zip code data, demographic data, Dun & Bradstreet business listings, contact manager links (ACT!, GoldMine, Outlook/BCM,
and Excel), and many other resources for analysis via GIS. Users can easily create reports, charts and maps of their study area. They can also do drive-time analysis and ring study analysis of their project site. This software is especially useful for anyone interested in marketing or demographic analysis. To test or use the software, visit the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.

For more information on these new resources or any other GIS applications, contact Angela S. Gibson, GIS Specialist.

University Libraries Celebrates GIS Day, November 14

University Libraries Celebrates GIS Day

GIS Day is being celebrated nationwide on Wednesday, November 14. GIS is a “collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.” This is the definition of GIS according to ESRI, an annual sponsor of GIS Day.

University Libraries will be celebrating GIS Day in the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection on Wednesday from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Visitors can try out new GIS software including BusinessMap 4.5, see online maps created with Google Maps API, view the Delaware County Oblique Photography, and explore online exhibits using GIS technology. Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist, will be available to demonstrate the new technology and provide more information about using GIS for applications in almost every discipline and field.

The annual GIS open house sponsored by the Geography Department and the Office of Wireless Research and Mapping will also be held on Wednesday in Cooper Life 469.

Geography Awareness Week, November 11-17

Geography Awareness Week: Passport to Asia

November 11 -17 is Geography Awareness Week. National Geographic has been celebrating Geography Awareness Week since 1987, and this year’s theme is Passport to Asia. The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection has a variety of resources featuring Asia.

New maps of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are available in the GRMC. Maps of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand were also recently acquired. Maps of East Timor, Asia’s newest country, are also available from the GRMC. A tourist map of Phuket and southern Thailand features places of interest, and the Streetwise Tokyo map displays current tourist destinations. New tourist maps of Hong Kong and Singapore are also available for checkout, as well as city plans of Sri Lanka and China.

The Atlas Collection houses a large collection of recent atlases of Asia. The State of China Atlas: Mapping the World’s Fastest Growing Economy offers a variety of maps about different topics in China. Researchers of history will be interested to find historical atlases of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Central Asia. The Atlas of Asian-American History is another excellent resource for historians available in the Atlas Collection. The East Sea in Old Western Maps features maps of the sea located between Japan and the Korean peninsula.

Contact the staff of the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection for more information about these resources or any other questions at (765) 285-1097.

University Libraries Hosts International Festival

University Libraries Welcomes the World with International Festival

The annual Rinker Center for International Programs’ International Festival was held in the lobby of Bracken Library on Friday, November 10. The festival featured booths representing over thirty countries from around the world. (Ball State University is home to international students from 91 countries).

Students shared information about their home countries, displaying artifacts, artwork, maps, photographs, food and drinks. Music from around the world played throughout the festival, and a fashion show exhibited the beautiful clothing worn across the globe.

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection provided maps used during the festival. Displays featured maps of Africa, Iceland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands from the Map Collection. “The Americas” section of the festival used several maps from the GRMC for their display. Maps of all of Latin America, South America, the Caribbean, Colombia, Uruguay, and the Amazon rainforest were featured for the festival. Many of the international students were surprised to find a map of their hometown in the GRMC.

University Libraries is a great destination for international resources. In addition to the thousands of maps and atlases in the GRMC and Atlas Collection, researchers can explore the Educational Resources Collections’ variety of materials to support learning about cultures, including videos, pictures, artifacts, flags, globes, kits, international dolls, musical instruments, realia and more.

Find international music resources using the “World Music” Media Finder on the University Libraries’ Web site. This media finder will locate CD’s, books, scores and thousands of titles and artists featuring music from all over the world.

Rare books, art books, copies of The Bible and great works of fiction and poetry can be found in many different languages in the Archives & Special Collections. Pamphlets from the French Revolution, Nazi atlases, brochures, and books, and many other materials are located in the Archives, and historic photographs, speeches, magazines, films, and oral histories are available on the Digital Media Repository on the University Libraries’ Web site.

The Digital Media Repository also includes images from the Architecture Library’s Visual Resources Collection. High quality images of architecture from around the world are featured, along with photographs taken during the World Tour and CAPAsia trip. The Architecture Library also includes books on international architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning.

Visit the University Libraries’ Web site located at www.bsu.edu/library/
for more information about international resources available from this great destination for research and learning.

New and Notable in the GRMC, October 2007

New and Notable in the GRMC, October 2007

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection hosted many different classes during the month of October. Over 130 students from Social Studies Methods, History, Education Library, and English attended instructional sessions learning about maps and atlases and GIS resources in the GRMC.

Students working on class projects also used the resources of the GRMC during October. Architecture students working on a project in Cincinnati borrowed historic and current maps for their work. Students in landscape architecture are planning an urban park in downtown Muncie, so they visited the GRMC to borrow maps and to collect GIS data. Other landscape architecture students studied historic maps of Muncie to learn about the location of streetcar lines, and historic preservation students used maps and atlases of New Albany for an upcoming project. The GIS Specialist created custom maps using data and resources for students in urban planning, foundations of education, and journalism. A professor of language and linguistics acquired GIS maps for a project on Mexican-Indian dialects in Mexico. And a professor in natural resources is using physical maps of Australia from the GRMC in his classroom for a special project.

The GIS lab received updated software during the month of October. Oblique aerial photography of Delaware County was installed on the GIS lab computers, and ESRI BusinessMap 4.5 software was also added to the lab.

The GRMC Web site was also updated with a third online map tutorial, Using Maps and Atlases in Social Studies Lessons. This tutorial explains how K-12 teachers can teach lessons about a large variety of topics by featuring images and information from maps and atlases. The tutorial is located under the “Maps and Atlases” section of the GRMC Web site at http://www.bsu.edu/library/collections/gcmc/

International Festival at University Libraries

International Festival at University Libraries

The Rinker Center for International Programs is sponsoring the annual International Festival on Friday, November 9 in the lobby of Bracken Library from 9:00 to 4:00 P.M.

The International Festival features over twenty booths displaying food, music, clothing, maps, and cultural artifacts from around the world. Visitors can explore the displays about various countries and groups, taste the different foods, listen to music, and mingle with students from around the world.

A special display will feature international resources available from University Libraries, including maps, international music, flags, globes, videos and foreign films, photographs, realia, kits, and more. International resources are available from the Educational Resources Collections, the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection, the Music Collection and Music Listening Center, Archives and Special Collections, and the Architecture Library. Many of the University Libraries’ international resources are available from the Digital Media Repository located at http://libx.bsu.edu/

Admission is free to the International Festival. For more information, contact Debra Goens at the Rinker Center for International Programs.

Host of National Geographic "Explorer" Visits Ball State University

National Geographic "Explorer" Host Lisa Ling to Speak at Ball State University

National Geographic’s Geography Awareness Week is November 11-17, but the celebration of geography begins early this year as Ball State University welcomes Lisa Ling, host of National Geographic “Explorer.” Ling will be a guest lecturer at the Pittenger Student Center Cardinal Hall at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, November 8.

Ling will present “National Geographic Reports: A Global Perspective,” in which she will discuss issues impacting our world and solutions for helping those in need. Ling will feature video clips from her television program, “Explorer,” and there will be a short question-and-answer session and meet-and-greet following the presentation.

Ling’s lecture is sponsored by Excellence in Leadership, Asian American Student Association, Housing and Residence Life, the Multicultural Center, and the Department of Telecommunications. The event is free and open to the public.

Festival of Maps Chicago Begins November 2

Festival of Maps Chicago Begins November 2

November 2 is the official opening of The Festival of Maps Chicago. According to the website overview, “The Festival of Maps Chicago is a citywide celebration that joins over 30 cultural and scientific institutions in a unique collaboration to display humanity’s greatest discoveries and the maps that record our boldest explorations.” The festival features globes, artifacts, artwork, and hundreds of unique maps, including the map Charles Lindbergh carried with him on the first nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927.

The participating institutions include the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago History Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Brookfield Zoo, and the Newberry Library. The Festival of Maps Chicago includes amazing exhibits, lectures, seminars, and films.

The Festival of Maps Chicago runs through January 31, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.festivalofmaps.com/

New Maps in the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection

Weekend Excursions Using New Maps from the GRMC

Autumn is a great time to pack up a picnic basket and take a weekend excursion to southern Indiana. The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection recently acquired new maps that may help with planning the perfect weekend adventure.

The Indiana Wine Trail: Down the Lazy River, Southeast Indiana map suggests “kicking back to enjoy a leisurely drive, stopping along the way to discover the quaint charm of the region and visit six artisan wineries.” Swiss immigrants planted vineyards near Vevay two hundred years ago to produce America’s first commercial wines. Now travelers can explore this wine trail to sample a taste of that history. The wineries located on this trail are located in Guilford, Batesville, Madison, and Vevay.

Indiana Uplands Wine Trail map features wineries located in south central Indiana. These wineries include the popular Oliver Winery in Bloomington, the Butler Winery and Vineyard in Bloomington, the Carousel Winery in Bedford, the French Lick Winery, the Winzerwald Winery in Bristow, Turtle Run Winery in Corydon, and Huber’s Orchard and Winery in Starlight. The map suggests travelers on this trail stretch their tour over two days—one for the northern section and one for the southern section.

Another map recently acquired by the GRMC is called Wineries of Indiana. This map includes 40 wineries located all over the state—from Whiting over to Rockville down to Evansville and east over to Modoc. The map claims “wineries offer close to home adventures with an educational flare.” More information is available at http://www.indianawines.org/

These maps were a generous gift from Jacqueline Luzar, Ball State University alumnus.

Maps in the GRMC check out for two weeks. Contact the staff for more information.

World War II Display in Bracken Library

World War II Display in University Libraries

The exhibit, Shared Sacrifice: Scholars, Soldiers, and World War II, will be on display from October 15, 2007 through January 4, 2008 outside the University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections and the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.

This exhibit will focus on Ball State University’s contributions to the war effort, soldiers from Muncie, and life on the home front, as well as additional resources found in the Archives and the Geospatial Resources and Map Collection. Ball State’s contribution will be documented through photographs from the Army Specialized Training Program. The activities of Muncie’s soldiers will be shown through photographs, letters, and other ephemera from former Dean Victor Lawhead’s papers and Joseph Fisher’s scrapbook, as well as books featuring the recollections of local soldiers. The home front section of the exhibit will contain ration books, Red Cross materials, newspapers, and government publications. An additional feature of this exhibit will be World War II resources such as items from the Nazi Collection and the 376th Bombardment Group Archive, as well as other printed materials and wartime maps.

Maps and photographs featured in atlases about World War II are featured in a special display on the windows of the GRMC. Authentic wartime news maps created for the Armed Forces are also included, along with Army Map Service maps of France, wartime newspaper maps from the Chicago Tribune, and a nautical chart of Nantucket Island that was used by the Nazis during the war.

An online exhibit will also be available later in the month at www.bsu.edu/library/collections/archives/exhibits.

Indiana October Festivals Map in the GRMC

Fall Festivals Map in the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection

Amber Lukes, student assistant in the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection, created a special display of fall festivals for the month of October. Amber chose some of the most popular fall celebrations for the special Indiana map. The map includes classic fall festivals like the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, the Riley Festival in Greenfield, and the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon in Lafayette. The map also includes activities for Halloween like the Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie in Fishers.

Amber is a senior and has worked in the GRMC since January. She is majoring in residential property management.

Vera Bradley GIS Project in the GRMC

Vera Bradley GIS Project in the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection

Students at Ball State are taking advantage of an exciting immersive learning experience with Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., an internationally-known company based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In two classes at the Miller College of Business, Dr. Rod Davis and Dr. Jennifer Bott are instructing a cohort of 15 students to work with Vera Bradley Designs representatives to design roll-out plans for a signature store grand opening in three new markets. Faculty at the Miller College of Business concluded that working with Vera Bradley Designs would be a great immersive learning experience for their students.

The class is working in three groups of five students. Each team will focus on a particular city and will determine the best way to identify information about competitors and cities. The assignment requires the students to create a city report, company report, team report, and a presentation, among other outcomes. Students will research the company and the market, and perform a strategic planning analysis, known as a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis. During a class presentation, Stephen K. Duecker, Information Services Librarian, identified five databases that the students would find useful in their research. Angela S. Gibson, GIS Specialist, also gave a brief presentation to the class regarding the capabilities of GIS and how incorporating demographic GIS data and maps into their research would greatly benefit their project.

Dr. Davis and Angela then met to decide the best way to use GIS for both the students’ self-learning and achieving the project goals. A portion of the project’s grant money was set aside to buy trial licenses of ESRI’s Business Analyst Online, a software package which combines GIS technology with demographic, consumer, and business data to deliver on-demand analysis, graphic reports, and maps over the Web.

Students from this class are also visiting the GRMC to map potential business competitors. To do this,
Angela is using a feature called geo-coding in the ArcGIS software. Dr. Davis said, “The Libraries’ instruction session helped students to identify avenues for information. Students did a good job finding data and understanding what is available.” Commenting on the immersive learning experience, Dr. Davis said, “The students are able to apply what is being taught in their classes to real life experiences. They realize this is not your typical class."

For more information about using GIS in a classroom project, contact the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection staff.

New South Wales Topographic Maps in the GRMC

Geospatial Resources & Map Collection: Maps from Down Under

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection purchased a set of topographic maps of New South Wales, Australia. The maps were acquired from the Department of Lands in New South Wales. The maps feature topography on one side and aerial photography of the area from 2002 on the verso, and the scale is 1:25,000.

The location of these maps is concentrated around the area of the Ball State University Australia Center in Lennox Head. Last summer the Australia Center Director Paul Wohlt (Assistant Professor in Anthropology) requested the maps for use in Australia for the fall semester. Students from Ball State University used the maps in the classroom and for field work during their time in Lennox Head.

These topographic maps/aerial photographs are available for checkout from the GRMC. The maps circulate for two weeks.

The GRMC encourages recommendations for purchase of maps and atlases needed for research and learning. Please contact the GRMC for more information.

Guided Tours of Christy Woods at Ball State University

Fall Tree Walks at Christy Woods

The Ball State University Field Station & Environmental Education Center is hosting guided tours of the trees in Christy Woods. The Fall Tree Walks at Christy Woods are held each Saturday in October at 1:00 P.M. Field Station & Environmental Land Manager John Taylor serves as the guide for the tours. The tours meet outside the Orchid Greenhouse and last about 45 minutes, and admission is free and open to the public. Parking is available along Riverside Avenue and in lot G13, south of the Orchid Greenhouse on University Avenue just west of West Quad.

September 2007 GRMC Events

What’s Happening in the GRMC? September 2007 Edition

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection served as a second classroom during the month of September. Many different classes visited the GRMC for instructional sessions and tours, including English, Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages, and Foundations of Education.

Students from the College of Architecture & Planning also used the resources of the GRMC for special classroom projects. Landscape Architecture students working on a regional planning project of the White River borrowed maps showing vegetation, soils, recreational areas, transportation, and wildlife. The students were also able to access digital data and custom maps in the GIS lab in the GRMC.

Jay County High School students enrolled in English 103 used maps from countries all over the world to create culture packets for a class assignment. Anthropology students used maps and atlases of Africa for a research presentation. Biology students borrowed ecological maps of the Mississippi Delta for use in their classroom. And elementary education students used maps of Sweden and Scotland for special lessons.

A professor of Language and Linguistics was able to have custom maps of areas of Mexico created using the GIS lab. The maps showed areas where Mexican-Indiana dialects are spoken. Students working on an immersive learning project were able to access census data and have custom maps created in the GIS lab.

The resources of the GRMC were also used for recreational purposes during September. Two students planning a trip down the Mississippi River reviewed topographic maps and atlases to review the course of the trip. And topographic maps of an obscure wilderness area in Canada were used by another visitor planning a fishing expedition.

Visit the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library for resources for the classroom, for research projects, and for recreational excursions--for fun!

GRMC Website Features Online Map Tutorials

Learning about Maps: Online Map Tutorials from the GRMC

Interested in learning about the basic parts of maps? Need to brush up on some geographic skills? The main Website for the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection has added a new feature: custom map tutorials.

Users wishing to learn about maps can now access the site at their own convenience. The first tutorials are from a developing series on maps and cartography. The Elements of a Map is a tutorial that teaches about the main geographic features found on every map, like legend, scale, and directional indicators. The tutorial features colorful examples of elements of maps from the Map Collection. The second tutorial Topographic Maps teaches users how to read topographic maps and how the maps are used in industry and development projects. Teachers of geography and other subjects are encouraged to use the tutorials in their classroom or for review purposes with their students.

These online resources are available under the Maps and Atlases section of the main GRMC page located at http://www.bsu.edu/library/collections/gcmc/ After completing the tutorials, users are asked to provide feedback, including suggestions for topics of future tutorials. Please contact the GRMC to suggest subjects for other online tutorials or with any questions regarding their use.

Department of Natural Resources Web Site Resources

Autumn in Indiana via Cyberspace

Sunday, September 23, marked the first day of autumn in Indiana, so soon the beautiful changing colors of the trees will mark the season. The Department of Natural Resources has posted a “Leaf Cam” on its Web site. The “Leaf Cam” shoots still photographs of various forested sites around Indiana and refreshes every 15 minutes. Viewers can watch for the peak color changes of fall in the coming weeks. The locations of the cameras are Hilltop Cabins in Brown County, Conner Prairie in Noblesville, French Lick Resort, The Fort Golf Course in Lawrence, Lafayette Municipal Golf Course, and Spring Mill State Park.

The Web site is cosponsored by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development and also features an interactive travel guide, listing campgrounds, festivals, restaurants, contests, and other information. Interactive maps of Indiana are also available on the site.

The main Web site is located at http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/ and the “Leaf Cam” is located at http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/leafcam/