Michigan State University

Map Library

Map Library Blog

Kasey Wilson Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - 3:00pm Categories:
Image of Manitou County from "Map of the State of Michigan and the Surrounding Country," Exhibiting the Sections and the Latest Surveys.  By John Farmer. Published in Detroit in 1855.

From 1850-1856, James Jesse Strang (image below) lived on Beaver Island as a self-appointed king among the Mormon adherents who declared allegiance to him after the death of Joseph Smith.  Strang commanded a loyal following from his congregants but it often brought the Strangite Mormons into conflict with the judiciary in Mackinac.  These disagreements drove the Mormons to seek local and state political office and culminated in the election of Strang as a state legislator.  It was through this office that Strang would seek to change the fortunes of his community and alter the geography of...

Continue reading "Mormonism and Michigan's County Formation"...
Kathleen Weessies Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - 11:36am Categories:

This three hour workshop gives participants the opportunity to learn QGIS, the free and open source geospatial software package. The workshop content revolves around solving a research/planning question using data about Detroit. Skills included in the workshop are making a color-shaded choropleth map, sub-setting data, using census data, geocoding within QGIS, joining datasets, creating buffers and more. If you have taken other library workshops on QGIS, this workshop will review and build on your skills.  If you are totally unfamiliar with QGIS this workshop will give you a solid ...

Continue reading "Learn QGIS at our Half-day Workshop"...
Kathleen Weessies Friday, March 18, 2016 - 2:20pm Categories: Uncategorized

We are hosting two more fun and useful workshops this semester!

Finding Geospatial Data This workshop will describe places and strategies for finding geospatial data of various types, with an emphasis on free, public resources as well as library resources. There will be time at the end to answer questions, conduct individual searches and brainstorm about individual project needs. Monday March 21st 3-4:30 PM in the Main Library 3 West No registration needed.

Create a 3D Historical Map Flythrough Using ArcScene Learn to use the ArcGIS 3D Analyst tool ArcScene to create a 3D...

Continue reading "Geospatial Workshops, Spring 2016"...
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 5:17pm Categories:
In 1927, Clyde Newnom authored a guidebook to Michigan titled Michigan’s Thirty-seven Million Acres of Diamonds.The author, in his introduction, explained the use of the word ‘diamonds’ poetically: “Her [Michigan’s] hand is overflowing with vast natural resources and great wealth.” Clyde was not suggesting literally that Michigan might include diamonds as one of these natural resources of note.

A lucky few, however, have found diamonds in the Great Lakes area. Michigan’s most notable find was Frank Blackmond’s 11-carat diamond found in 1894 near Dowagiac in southwest Michigan. Several...

Continue reading "Diamonds in Your Back Yard?"...
Tuesday, February 9, 2016 - 1:06pm Categories:


Part of the black-ink plate to the 1912 Lansing topographic map.

From the 1880s to the 1950s, the U.S. Geological Survey used engraved copper plates in the process of printing topographic and geographic quadrangle maps. Copper alloy engraving plates were inscribed with a mirror image of the points, contour lines, symbols, and text that constitute a topographic map. Each plate was inscribed with details for a single color of ink. Every sheet of paper had to be impressed multiple times to make a complete color map. In order to make large numbers of prints, USGS transferred the...

Continue reading "Copper Plates in Map Production"...
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 - 12:35pm Categories:

East Lansing and MSC, 1926

This map of East Lansing and the Michigan State College campus shows every land parcel and every campus building. It also includes the city’s sanitation and sewage treatment infrastructure, which mainly involved piping sewage to the Red Cedar River (a practice long since discontinued). The City of East Lansing passed its first zoning ordinance effective August 13, 1926 in the form of a 12-page booklet which is attached to the map. The ordinance created five use districts in the city (excepting the college lands) which carefully separated fraternity and...

Continue reading "East Lansing and MSC, 1926"...
Amanda Tickner Tuesday, January 5, 2016 - 1:04pm Categories: Uncategorized

We will be offering many fun and useful workshops this semester!

Print your Neighborhood: 3D Printing From A Topographic Map: No 3D printing experience necessary. Use simple applications to prepare a file to 3D print a small area relief map of your favorite place or research area. Please bring a laptop with Autodesk 123D loaded (it can be downloaded for free here) Tuesday January 26th 3-4 PM (in the Makerspace Series) No registration needed - just show up to the Makerspace on the second floor of the library

QGIS Workshop 1: Choropleth Mapping will demonstrate how to make a...

Continue reading "Spring Semester 2016 Workshops"...
Kasey Wilson Thursday, December 10, 2015 - 5:03pm Categories: Uncategorized

In his speech to the US Congress on September 24, Pope Francis stated that “Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War.” This common refrain can be heard throughout the current dialogue on the refugee and migrant situation in Europe and elsewhere but, what does it really mean?

Following the Potsdam Agreement, there were approximately 23 million people displaced either by the war’s effect or through the forced expulsion of Germans from Eastern Europe. These population movements are reflected in our map from 1952, showing an astounding...

Continue reading "The European Migration Crisis in Perspective"...
Thursday, December 10, 2015 - 5:03pm Categories: Uncategorized

The History of Cartography v.5 (Cartography in the 19th Century) is seeking contributors to write entries on the following topics.

If you are interested in writing one (or more) of these, please contact

Claudia Asch

Research Assistant

Volume 5, History of Cartography

http:www.geography.wisc.edu/histcart/

claudia.asch@sas.ac.uk

Cluster Entry Term Words Contracted

1.1.1 Property Mapping Property Mapping in the Caribbean 2000

1.1.1 Property Mapping Property Mapping in Portugal 2000...

Continue reading "Call for authors: History of Cartography, volume 5"...
Thursday, October 29, 2015 - 6:46pm Categories: Uncategorized

In 1986 MSU cartography student Brenda Mathenia made this map of campus that highlights the 14 library locations and their collections. The back summarizes the collections and services of the libraries at that time. Over the intervening 29 years we've changed drastically both in size and composition. Our collections are larger and our locations are fewer. Our computing and study spaces are vastly enhanced and modernized. One thing hasn't changed one iota though, and that is expressed in the last sentence: "The MSU Libraries are constantly growing and changing, responding to the...

Continue reading "1986 Map of MSU Libraries"...

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