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Map Library Blog

Kathleen Weessies Monday, September 24, 2018 - 9:05am Categories:
Alligator in Canada by Coronelli, 1695

This map depicts a very accurate rendering of the Great Lakes for its time.  Illustrations sprinkled throughout the map show Native Americans engaged in various activities including drying fish and being eaten by an alligator.  Explorer reports from the Gulf of Mexico must have been consulted and mixed in with more northerly reports as we see depictions of palm trees and alligators dotted throughout the Great Lakes and into Canada.

The region, and the map, is called ‘La Louisiana’ to strengthen the claims of King Louis the 14th of France.

Vincenzo Coronelli was an Italian...

Continue reading "Here There be 'Gators!"...
Kathleen Weessies Monday, September 17, 2018 - 8:36am Categories: Collections

In 1860, one-quarter of the foreign-born population in Michigan was from Germany.  These two maps of Michigan appeared in two popular German-made atlases, made when many western Europeans were immigrating to the United States.  

‘Nordlicher Theil’ shows us the entire journey immigrants could take from New York, up the Hudson River, along the newly-built Erie Canal and through the Great Lakes to Michigan.

Thirty years later, the atlas containing Neueste Karte was referred to as “Rolls Royce” of nineteenth century atlases.  However we can see that the geography of Michigan is...

Continue reading "German Michigan"...
Kathleen Weessies Monday, September 10, 2018 - 8:55am Categories: Collections
The Birth of a Myth Note: The following maps will be on display in the MSU Map Library the week of September 10, 2018. They were both generous gifts of Ron Dietz.

The French were enjoying the pinnacle of their influence in the Great Lakes when this map was published. It illustrated Charlevoix’ history and travel journal which saw wide distribution and many printings. Mapmaker Nicholas Bellin’s work was highly regarded and so this map helped shape many people’s perceptions of the region. In many ways it was a great improvement in Great Lakes mapping.

Michiganders, however, can’t fail...

Continue reading "On Display This Week: The Birth of a Myth"...
Kathleen Weessies Friday, August 31, 2018 - 3:57pm Categories: Collections

Joan Blaeu, like his father before him, was the official cartographer to the Dutch East India Company. This affiliation brought his mapmaking firm advantageous intelligence on the far eastern lands due to the Dutch monopoly on the spice trade.

Atlas Maior was the culmination of more than 60 years of work. The House of Blaeu published several atlases since the founding of the firm in 1596, including Het Licht der Zeevaert, Theatre du Monde ou Nouvel Atlas, and Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.

When this atlas was released in 1665 in multiple volumes, it was the most expensive published...

Continue reading "“The most magnificent work of its kind ever produced” --Sotheby’s"...
Kathleen Weessies Thursday, June 28, 2018 - 3:07pm Categories: Events

Bob and his crew are actively moving the MSU map collection to the 2nd floor of the East Wing.  We anticipate the move completing in mid-August in time for Fall 2018 semester.  We plan to stay open during the move, just let us know what you want to find and we will track it down!

Amanda Tickner Tuesday, May 8, 2018 - 2:49pm Categories: Events

This summer we are having a week long series of 3D themed workshops! All workshops will be held in the Digital Scholarship Lab between 3:00-5:00.

Monday June 11
Intro to 3D Modeling and Printing with OnShape

Curious about how 3D printing can meet your needs? Join us to explore the history of 3D printing, the basics of hardware and software, and local resources available for design and production. In this hands-on session, participants will learn the basics of 3D modeling to design a product, for possible print at MakeCentral: Makerspace.  Participants will need a...

Continue reading "Summer in 3D: a weeklong series of 3D data workshops"...
Amanda Tickner Tuesday, January 9, 2018 - 10:07am Categories: Events

We are offering five workshops this spring semester.They are free and open to anyone who wishes to attend.

If you have any questions about the workshops or topics you would be interested in seeing a workshop on please email Amanda Tickner, GIS Librarian at atickner@msu.edu

 

Introduction to QGIS: Make a Simple Map with Vector Data

Friday, January 19 • 3:00–4:00 pm

... Continue reading "Spring 2018 Workshops"...
Kathleen Weessies Thursday, October 12, 2017 - 9:09am Categories: Uncategorized

Michigan's 83 counties are divided into villages, townships, charter townships, and cities.  Collectively these units are known as Minor Civil Divisions.  The differences between them relate to the degree of power they have over their administrative structure, their taxing powers, territorial integrity, and authority over services (Verberg, 1990).  When it comes to matters of property taxes and voting, all state residents look to either their city or township.  A city may annex land from a general law township, but a township may not annex land from a city. The U.S. Bureau of Census...

Continue reading "What are Michigan's Minor Civil Divisions?"...
Amanda Tickner Monday, September 11, 2017 - 1:45pm Categories: Events
The Visualization Community Seminar Series is a place for anyone interested in visualization/data visualization to learn about emerging ideas, research and methods. Faculty, students, and community members are invited to attend sessions where an invited visualization practitioner(s) will share their research and methods. The goal of this seminar series is to build a community of practice around visualization that crosses disciplinary boundaries and techniques. Anyone with an interest in the topic of visualization is welcome and encouraged to attend! Feel free to bring your lunch. Seminars... Continue reading "Visualization Community Seminar Series"...
Kathleen Weessies Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 11:49am Categories:

During Fall Semester 2017, MSU students, faculty and staff have access to a new map database MapVault.  MapVault provides access to  maps of countries around the world.  Most maps are topographic, but it also contains some Geological, Aeronautical, Nautical, Tourist and Thematic maps. Maps are delivered as a streaming tile service either through the MapVault web application or through ArcGIS or QGIS. 

We welcome your feedback about this product, particularly concerning your anticipated use of this product, shoudl we acquire it.  Please email your feedback to Kathleen Weessies, Head...

Continue reading "Fall 2017 Trial Access to MapVault (link fixed)"...

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