World War I Resources Available from Ball State University Libraries

Exhibit Marks Centennial Anniversary of “The War to End All Wars”

Monday, July 28 marks the centennial anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, mistakenly believed to be “The War to End All Wars.”  Ball State University Libraries has created a special exhibit to commemorate this epic event.

Visitors to Bracken Library can view a variety of resources about World War I in the lobby just outside the Schwartz Complex.  Books—nonfiction and fiction—about the war are displayed, including Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants and a book about the “Buffalo” division of Black soldiers fighting in the war.  DVD movies like “War Horse,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” and “Sergeant York” are also exhibited and available from the Educational Resources Collections.

The GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) created a poster (top above—click to enlarge) commemorating the centennial using maps and photographs from youth books in the Educational Resources Collections.  The maps show Europe before the war, the Western Front, the Eastern Front, and Europe after the war.  The poster is available for educational use from the Cardinal Scholar institutional repository and exhibited in the windows of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.

The GRMC also includes many maps and atlases depicting the events of World War I.  An original map published in 1918—The Literary Digest Liberty Map of the Western Front of the Great World War--details some of the battle lines and includes maps of the war areas showing Russian, Italian, Balkan, Palestine, and Mesopotamian campaigns and the zones of submarine blockades.

The Ball State University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository (DMR) includes several collections of resources related to the First World War, including photographs of soldiers and parades, letters, and original postcards (from the Archives and Special Collections).  The DMR also includes more than 2,000 World War I posters (above) from the Elisabeth Ball Collection from Italy, France, Belgium, England, Australia, Germany, the United States, and other countries.

The Archives and Special Collections also includes a map published by the Hungarian Geograph Institute in Budapest in 1919 showing the population by ethnicity, nationality, age, and language.  The text of the map is written in Hungarian, German, French, and English.  The map is believed to have been used for planning the division of countries and the peace agreement at the Treaty of Trianon at the end of World War I.

For more information about the Digital Media Repository or Cardinal Scholar, please contact the Archives and Special Collections at 765-285-5078.

John Dillinger Map Available from Ball State University Libraries

Public Enemies: Robberies of the John Dillinger Gang Map

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) created a map about the life of 1930’s gangster John Dillinger in 2009 to correspond with the release of the Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies.  The map and movie are based on a book by Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34.

Dillinger became known as America’s first “Public Enemy Number One” by the newly-formed Federal Bureau of Investigation following robberies across Indiana and the Midwest.  The map shows the location of robberies in bright yellow with other places of interest in gray—like Dillinger’s hometown and the Chicago theater where Dillinger was killed on this day (July 22) 80 years ago in 1934.

The map is available in PDF-format from the Ball State University Libraries’ Cardinal Scholar.  Two copies of the map are available for circulation from the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.  (Maps circulate for two weeks or longer).

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

Map of Ukraine Airspace

Maps in the News:  Ukraine Airspace Map

From The Washington Post:  Real-time data from aviation reveals that many airlines are currently routing flights around the airspace of Ukraine.

Google Smarty Pins Online Game

Are You Smarter than a Geography Major?  Google Launches Online Trivia Game

Need to test your map skills?  Google has created an online geography quiz game using its Google Maps called Smarty Pins. 

Players are assigned 1,000 “miles,” which really serve as points.  Categories for the questions are arts and culture, science and geography, sports and games, entertainment, history and current events, and featured topics—which included sub-categories of March Madness and World Cup trivia.

Google asks trivia questions about a city, country, landmark, or other location, and players must drop the pin on the correct spot on the map.  (The game positions itself in the early questions in the region of the correct location and offers clues).  If players put the pin in the correct spot quickly, bonus miles are given.  But if a player guesses incorrectly, Google subtracts how many miles off from the correct spot using the total “miles.”

Encouragement is given:  “Even Columbus took a few years to find the right way.”  “Not bad!  Are your initials G.P.S.?”  But sometimes Google mocks answers:  “Maybe next time you don’t randomly throw a dart at your screen?”  “Wow!  Did you Google that?”  (See above images--click to enlarge)  When the miles are gone, the game ends but levels of badges are awarded.

Maps of Gaza Strip Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News:  The Gaza Strip

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research & Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library houses over 140,000 maps that can be used for research and learning.  Many of the maps can be used to interpret current events.  For example, the GRMC includes a variety of maps of the Gaza Strip.

The current “Maps in the News” exhibit in the windows of the GRMC features an aerial photograph of the Gaza Strip from 2005 (above, click to enlarge).  This view of the area identifies Israeli-developed areas, the Oslo-defined settlement zones and security perimeter, the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees camps, Palestinian-populated areas, border crossings, and roads.

The GRMC also includes maps of the Gaza Strip produced by the Central Intelligence Agency and nautical charts of the Mediterranean area.  Maps of Israeli settlements in Gaza available from the GRMC date back to 1980.

The Atlas Collection, also located on the east side of the second floor of Bracken Library, includes an atlas called The Gaza Strip and West Bank: A Map Folio.  This atlas features maps showing natural resources, economic activity and land use, selected water resources, Israeli-controlled land, transportation routes and other maps.

An Atlas of Palestine: The West Bank and Gaza is also available from the Atlas Collection. This atlas includes maps depicting the history of the region, socioeconomic conditions, water resources, land use, and main Palestinian cities from the past and present. The map above from the atlas shows safe passage routes between the West Bank and Gaza and an inset map of Palestine before 1948.

Maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer. Atlases circulate for 28 days or longer.

For more information about these maps, please contact the GRMC Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 765-285-1097.

Shark Attacks Map Available from Ball State University Libraries

Tigers, Bulls, and Great Whites:  Shark Attacks Map

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) presents a unique map exhibit for its “Map of the Month” exhibit in the windows on the second floor of Bracken Library.  The “Map of the Month” for July 2014 is Shark Attacks of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico (portion above, click to enlarge).

This map was published by Sealake Products in 2006.  The map includes descriptive and historical notes about shark attacks of the last century along the eastern coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico.  The types of sharks are shown for each incident with a date, and the map includes photographs of the sharks and actual-size examples of shark teeth.

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

Iraqi Young Leaders Visit Ball State University

Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Scholars view a map of Iraq in the "Maps in the News" exhibit in the Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection in Bracken Library.  The group is visiting Ball State University from Iraq for a month to learn about social entrepreneurship attending workshops and civic meetings.

Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection Holiday Hours

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library will be closed on Friday, July 4 for Independence Day.  The GRMC will reopen on Monday, July 7 at 7:30 am.  

FIFA World Cup Story Maps

Mapping the Beautiful Game:  2014 Brazil World Cup Maps

ESRI, the supplier of the ArcGIS suite of Geographic Information System (GIS) software products, has created a gallery of Story Maps documenting the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.  Story Maps combine GIS mapping with interactive, multimedia content to depict various topics.

The World Cup Maps gallery includes a map of the Team USA roster, World Cup venues, the history of the World Cup—including previous host countries, results since 1930, and great past players.  Other maps include tourist information—Brazil beyond the Stadiums and Belo Horizonte Restaurants.  World Cup Shortlist describes information about the cities and stadiums of the World Cup.  The World Cup Dashboard allows users to track live match results and learn about the teams.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) provides comprehensive GIS support with access to ESRI GIS software on 28 computers in the GRMC lab and computers throughout Bracken Library.  The GIS Specialist in the GRMC is available from 7:30 am through 4:30 pm Monday through Friday for assistance using GIS and other mapping software.  The GRMC also provides online GIS tutorials, datasets, and in-house GIS data for use in research and learning.

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

Historic Islamic Caliphate Maps from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News:  Iraq and the Middle East

World news has been focused on Iraq and Syria as the Islamist militants fighting in the countries have now declared an Islamic “caliphate” near the borders of the two countries.  The Ball State University Libraries’ Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library includes atlases describing the history of the Middle East with maps of the original caliphate dating back to the seventh century.

The top two maps (click to enlarge) are from Historical Atlas of the Middle East published by Simon and Schuster in 1993.  The maps depict Arabia at the time of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (570 AD) to the Caliphate of Abu Bakr (632 AD).

The bottom map is from Great Empires: An Illustrated Atlas published by National Geographic in 2011.  This map shows the extent of the Abbasid Caliphate from 786-809 AD.  It was during this dynasty that the split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims occurred.

Atlases from the Atlas Collection circulate for 28 days or longer.  For more information about atlases and other cartographic resources, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

Maps of Iraq from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News:  Iraq

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

The top maps shown above (click to enlarge) are insets published by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 on the Iraq: Country Profile map in the GRMC.  The first map shows the distribution of the Sunni and Shia Muslims and the concentration of the Kurds in the northern part of the country.  The area surrounding the capital of Baghdad is shown as a mix of Shia and Sunni groups.

The map of the oil infrastructure of Iraq is also from the Iraq: Country Profile map.  This map shows the critical locations of “supergiant” oilfields that hold five billion barrels in reserve  in the northern part of Iraq, near Baghdad, and near the southern border between Iran and Kuwait on the Persian Gulf.  The locations of refineries, pipelines, and tankers are also shown.

The GRMC also includes maps of Iraq published by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services during World War II.  Other maps showing the administrative divisions of Iraq and water supply and land use were published by the U.S. Board of Economic Warfare during World War II.  And topographic maps of Iraq published by the U.S. Army Map Service and the Great Britain War Office during World War II are also included in the collection.

Other historic maps of Iraq and the Middle East are available from the GRMC.  The colorful Illustrated Map of Iraq (above) was published in the 1950’s and includes text in English and Arabic featuring landmarks, roads, railways, and wildlife of the country.

The map of Baghdad (above) was published by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency in 2006.  The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is housed in the New Presidential Palace shown on the map just above the bend in the Tigris River.  The GRMC includes several maps of Baghdad and other cities in Iraq.

The map showing concentric circles around various cities is from the Atlas of the Middle East was published by National Geographic in 2008.  Mosul, one of the cities captured by the Sunni militant group, is shown in the north.  The Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library includes numerous resources of Iraq and the Middle East, including modern street atlases and atlases depicting historical maps of the region.

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

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

Brazil Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

The World of Soccer: FIFA World Cup Map Exhibit at Ball State University

The FIFA World Cup soccer/football championship begins today in Brazil.  The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research & Map Collection (GRMC) has created a special exhibit (photograph above, click to enlarge) commemorating the competition—a 2011 map of Brazil from National Geographic with the 12 World Cup stadiums identified.

National Geographic also published the Soccer Unites the World map (above) in 2006, which features a map detailing World Cup participant nations, players, a historical timeline and statistics about the sport. The verso of this map shows the rules of the game.

The GRMC includes over a hundred different maps depicting the country of Brazil—including tourist maps, topographic maps, maps of the Amazon rain forest, and city and state maps.  The 2008 DestinationMap of Rio de Janeiro includes 3-D building views, airport terminal maps, and travel information, and the map is waterproof.  Many of the travel maps are printed in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.

The collection also includes historical topographic and thematic maps of Brazil.  Ensaio de Carta Geral das Bandeiras Paulistas is a unique map published in 1922 of Brazil showing the boundaries of colonial Brazil and the location of Bandeira camps and Jesuit missions.  Air strip maps of Brazil published by the U.S. Army in World War II are also available in the GRMC.

The GRMC also has posted special culture posters of Brazil (above) in the Libraries’ Cardinal Scholar institutional repository.  These posters feature maps and photographs from National Geographic magazines and may be printed using the large-format plotters in the GRMC.  Posters of various countries from the Cardinal Scholar are excellent resources for teachers, students, and others for presentations or bulletin board displays.

The Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library also includes a large collection of Brazil resources.  The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon was published in 2003 and includes colorful maps and photographs of the rain forest and Amazon River.  Street atlases of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Porto Allegre, and other cities are also available.

For more information about maps and other resources from the GRMC, please contact the staff at 765/285-1097.

Demographic Data Available from Muncie Public Library

Muncie Public Library Offers DemographicsNow Class

From MPL BackPage, May 2014

The Muncie Public Library is offering a free computer class, Pinpoint Info Using a Database, on Thursday, May 29 from 9-11 a.m. at Connection Corner at 1824 East Centennial Avenue.  Participants can learn how to find demographic data like prospective customers, donors, and volunteers for businesses and organizations.

The class will teach users about DemographicsNow, a comprehensive database accessible at the Muncie Public Library and on the Web page with a library card.  DemographicsNow offers a variety of simple, ready-to-to use demographic data reports.  Users may customize the reports by choosing a specific geographic area and attributes.

The database includes statistics on 23 million businesses and 206 million consumers.  Users of DemographicsNow will have access to information like population, income, housing, age, education, businesses, and retail sales.

Businesses, entrepreneurs, and not-for-profit organizations can use DemographicsNow to create reports to find and reach new customers or donors, reveal untapped markets, select merchandise, and expand markets.

For more information, visit the Muncie Public Library Web page or the Information Desk at any library branch.  To register for the hands-on class, call 765-747-8216.

D-Day Normandy Invasion Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion:  D-Day Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries’

Tomorrow, June 6, marks the 70^th anniversary of the D-Day invasion by Allied Forces on the beaches of Normandy, France, during World War II.  Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) includes several original maps and historical reproductions of the D-Day invasion.

The map exhibit for the "Map of the Month" in the front windows of the GRMC is a map of the invasion published by Michelin in 1947.  The map features a detailed depiction of the major military actions at Normandy printed in French and English.

The GRMC houses several maps produced by the Office of Strategic Services (intelligence agency) in 1943 prior to the invasion.  These maps show the locations of roads, railroads, ports and other locations used for planning the invasion and other fronts of the War.  The map above (click to enlarge) shows roads of northwest Normandy.

The Army Information Branch in New York published newspaper-type maps during World War II, and the GRMC includes several original “Newsmaps” in its collection.  The photographs above show American and Canadian troops landing on the beaches of Normandy—Canadians with bicycles.  These photographs were included in the “Newsmap” published for the week of June 8, 1944.  The map showing southern Great Britain and the northern coast of France is part of a map included in the same edition of the “Newsmap.”

The GRMC also includes a reconnaissance aerial photograph (above) of troops landing on Omaha Beach in 1944.  Landing craft can be seen along the beach and reinforced German lines are shown at the top.

The Normandy landings were code-named “Operation Neptune.”  The last map shown above, “Operation Neptune,” shows the different landing locations of the American, British, and Canadian forces.  This map is an inset included on the Normandie Jour J, 6 Juin, 1944 map.  The tourist map was published in French in 2004 and shows museums, cemeteries, monuments, and battle lines.

The D-Day Atlas: Anatomy of the Normandy Campaign is one of the many atlases about World War II available from the Atlas Collection.  This atlas was published in 2004 and features photographs and detailed maps of the invasion in France.

All maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer.  For more information, please visit or contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097 Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 4:30 p.m.

History of Ball State University Libraries

Throwback Thursday:  Bracken Library Original Floor Plan Maps

The Ball State University Libraries’ Bracken Library opened in 1975.  At that time the Library did not include even one computer, so the layout of the building has changed drastically over time as shown on these original floor plan maps (click to enlarge) published for the Library’s opening.

The lower level of Bracken Library in 1975 included “Continuations” and “Instructional Development and University Evaluations” offices.  The area where Educational Resources exists has been reconfigured today to include a computer lab area.  And the Music Listening Center space today was a “Film and Equipment Booking Counter” in 1975.

The first floor of Bracken Library in 1975 included an after-hours study area that allowed smoking (see pipe icon).  The space housing inter-library loan offices today was a classroom and study area. 

Bracken Library’s second floor in 1975 included two smoking areas—one conveniently located next to the Map Collection, which was located where the Dean’s office exists today.  Government Publications were housed in the area where the GIS Research and Map Collection is currently located.

The third floor of Bracken Library in 1975 included typing rooms.  The current location of the Library Information Technology Services offices was the Music Listening Center in 1975.  Two smoking areas were also available.

The fourth floor of Bracken Library has remained mostly unchanged since 1975, with the exception of the smoking area and the Stoeckel Archives (where Archives storage is located today).  And computers have been added to every floor of Bracken Library since its opening in 1975.

The Archives and Special Collections in Bracken Library includes a vast collection of these floor plans and other original documents from the history of Ball State University.  For more information, contact the Archives at 765-285-5078 or the GIS Research and Map Collection at 765-285-1097.

Maps in the News

Maps in the News:  Honor Killings

News of a reported “honor killing” of a woman by her family in Pakistan is shocking.  This map (click to enlarge) from the State of Women in the World atlas by Joni Seager identifies countries where honor killings regularly occur. 

“’Honor killing’ is a term used to identify a form of legally or socially sanctioned revenged exercised within a family against a woman who is deemed to have soiled the family’s honor, usually through behavior that is judged to be sexually inappropriate.”  Between 2002 and 2006 in Pakistan, more than 4,100 honor killings occurred.  According to the map, three women per day in Pakistan are murdered in honor killings.

The State of the Women in the World atlas is available in the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection and the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library.

ESRI to Provide Cloud-Based GIS Software to American Schools

ESRI to Provide Free Educational Software to American Schools

From the White House Science Fair Fact Sheet and Backgrounder, whitehouse.gov:

In continuing its support of education and in line with President Obama’s ConnectED vision of opening new opportunity through technology in the classroom, ESRI will provide free access to ArcGIS Online Organization accounts to every K-12 school in the United States.  This is the same GIS technology used by government and business.

ArcGIS Online allows users to map and analyze data, create and share content, and collaborate in the cloud via computers, tablets, or smartphones.  This commitment expands on ESRI’s successful program in pilot schools at all levels across the country.  This access will allow students to do projects of unlimited content—from global to local.  Students will be building knowledge and skills for college and career as well as building their community.

Education Week presented an article providing more information about the ESRI donation.

Indiana Summer Roads Trips Map available from Ball State University Libraries

Hitting the Crossroads:  Indiana Road Trips Map

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and the biggest season for Americans getting behind the wheel.  The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) is commemorating the summer travel season with an exhibit featuring a new map, Hit the Crossroads:  Indiana Summer Road Trips (above, click to enlarge).  The map is displayed in the front windows of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library.

The map describes some of the unique places to visit around the state.  State parks, national landmarks, and historic and memorial sites are detailed on the map.  Roadside attractions like a giant leg sundial, the world’s largest yo-yo, and the world’s largest rocking chair are also identified.  The map also features unique diners and drive-ins.

The map is part of a series of Indiana maps created by the GRMC commemorating the state’s rich history and culture.  Indiana sports history and movies that take place in Indiana are also featured on maps in the series.  The Indiana maps, including the new road trip map, are available for use in the classroom or for printing from the Cardinal Scholar Digital Repository.

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

Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection Holiday Hours

The Ball State University Libraries' GIS Research and Map Collection will be closed on Monday, May 26 for Memorial Day and will reopen at 7:30 am on Tuesday, May 27.

Segregation Map from Ball State University Libraries

Mapping History:  Sixtieth Anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education 

The landmark United States Supreme Court decision, Brown versus the Board of Education, was handed down on May 17, 1954.  The decision overturned the Plessy versus Ferguson decision which allowed state-sponsored segregation as “separate but equal.” 

The map above from the United States History Atlas (click to enlarge) is currently exhibited in and available from the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC).  The map identifies state segregation policies as they existed in 1954 at the time of the ruling.  The Brown decision allowed for integration and declared separate public schools for students as unconstitutional, an important event in the civil rights movement.

For more information about maps depicting historic events, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.