August – November 2019
Compiled by Mike Smith
Conference updates:
If weren’t able to attend the WAML conference, or attended but didn’t make it to either of the workshops, here are the slide decks and other documentation:
- Best Practices in Map & Geospatial Librarianship by Janet Reyes, UC Riverside.
- Basic Python for Map & GIS Librarians by Kim Durante, Stanford University, and Phil White, University of Colorado Boulder
We wanted to be sure you had access to all of the workshop materials for later use. If you want to run through these notebooks on your own, we highly recommend that you download and install the Anaconda Python distribution, as it comes with Jupyter Notebooks that you can run locally on your personal computer. After installing Python/Anaconda, you’ll want to install GeoPandas and Folium (open up a command prompt type: pip install geopandas). Let us know if you have any questions.
The workshop slides are available here: http://bit.ly/WAMLpython
All workshop data are available on GitHub to download from here: https://github.com/outpw/WAMLpy
All notebooks (both completed and blank) are available to download here:https://github.com/outpw/WAMLnotebooks
If you want a visual of the complete notebooks, they’re available as HTML for you to view online:
- Intro to Python and Pandas: https://outpw.github.io/Intro%20to%20Python%20and%20Pandas%20Completed.html
- GeoPandas Primer: https://outpw.github.io/GeoPandas%20Primer%20Completed.html
- Joins and more Plotting: https://outpw.github.io/Joins%20&%20more%20Plotting%20Completed.html
- Webmapping with Folium: https://outpw.github.io/Webmapping%20with%20Folium%20Completed.html
(Hot tip: you can also find Phil’s Mapbox presentation here: https://outpw.github.io/)
- Nevada’s Earth Science and Mining Geoscience Data Repository: The W.M. Keck Open Data Repository provides a centralized location where users can explore geoscience data related to earth sciences and mining research throughout the state of Nevada.
- View the digital program and watch video recordings from the Mapping Grand Canyon Conference held earlier this year.
Other News
- Introducing H-Maps, a network about the making, circulation, use and preservation of maps: H-Maps is an international digital forum in the historical study of the making, circulation, use and preservation of maps from the ancient to the contemporary period. Because of its international nature, H-Maps welcomes contributions in world languages, including (but not limited to) English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. H-Maps is a collaboration between the International Society for the History of the Map (ISHMap) and H-Net to further substantive inquiry among a growing number of global scholars with an interest in the history of maps and mapping.
The goal of H-Maps is to advance the work of scholars, curators, archivists, collectors, students, and others interested in aspects of map history of any place, scale, type, or historical period. H-Maps welcomes cross-disciplinary and non-traditional interpretations and encourages contributions related to new approaches in research, curation, teaching, and tools for analysis. H-Maps commissions and publishes reviews<br />of work relevant to the field as a part of the H-Net Book Review Project. H-Maps will announce and review conferences and exhibitions, and post calls for papers, fellowships, and employment opportunities.
The H-Maps international advisory board and editorial team invite you to subscribe to our network and join the conversation!
Quick guide: How to subscribe, login, post, add keywords, and reply to H-Maps
Questions? Interested in joining the H-Maps team? Contact the editors at editorial-maps@mail.h-net.org.
- A eulogy for Mapquest Once the dominant mapping site, the decline of Mapquest is a story of disruptive competition and corporate complacency. Earlier this week Mapquest was sold by corporate parent Verizon to System1, an ad-tech company you’ve probably never heard of for an undisclosed amount, which was “not material enough for Verizon to file paperwork.” That’s a metaphor for how far Mapquest has fallen since its heyday as the dominant online mapping site roughly a decade or so ago. [Search Engine Land]I can’t remember the last time I was there, but Mapquest still lives.
Let’s check out the taco scene in San Diego.
Conference, Classes & Exhibitions
September 21, 2019 – January 20, 2020 – San Marino, California
The year 1919 was significant for so many reasons but none would affect the art scene and cultural life of the San Gabriel Valley more than the founding of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. And we have Henry and Arabella Huntington to thank for bestowing on us their incomparable legacy. An exhibition called Nineteen Nineteen, at the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery showcases 275 items from Henry and Arabella Huntington’s vast collections, some of which have never been displayed. The thread that ties them all together is that they were all acquired in 1919. In January 1919, President Woodrow Wilson and Allied heads of state gathered at the Paris Peace Conference to make new maps of a changed world. The carving up of ancient empires created new nations in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa, while regional promoters published maps to highlight Southern California’s capacity for growth. High above Los Angeles – at the Mount Wilson Observatory – the world’s largest telescope was on a nightly quest to chart the universe. In a world turned upside down, maps offered a welcome measure of predictability. What the charting of territory that occurred that year meant and its resulting significance are explored in the ‘Maps’ section. On view is a first edition of ‘Traite de Paix,’ the Treaty of Peace signed at Versailles on June 29,1919, with a map showing new territorial configurations; an album of autograph signatures gathered at the Paris Peace Conference by T.E. Lawrence, otherwise known as Lawrence of Arabia; rare maps depicting population, transportation, and demographic data in Los Angeles and the nation at the time; and original astronomical photographs of the moon and constellations.
September 27, 2019 – January 5, 2020 – Lethbridge, Alberta
Created by the Cushing Memorial Library & Archives at Texas A&M University, Worlds Imagined: The Maps of Imaginary Places Collections invites visitors of all ages to explore the intersections between maps, fantasy literature, and popular culture. Of course, not all maps show places that exist or ever have existed anywhere on Earth. From maps of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary Middle-earth to the Marauder’s Map from Harry Potter’s universe, explore a variety of imaginary worlds from literature, games, film and other media at the Galt Museum & Archives, 502 1 St S.
March 14-15, 2020 – Miami
The 27th Annual Miami International Map Fair will be held at HistoryMiami, 101 West Flagler Street. There will be a private VIP Preview and Sale on March 13. Speakers include:
Todd T. Turrell Historical and Modern Mapmaking in the Bahamas
Dr. Ronald E. Grim Mapping of the Nation in the 19th Century
Paul “P.J.” Mode Deconstructing Persuasive Cartography
Contact Hilda Masip (HMasip(at)historymiami.org), Phone 305.375.1618.
April 21-23, 2020 – Istanbul
The ICA Commission on the History of Cartography and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) – Department Istanbul will jointly host the 8th International Symposium on the History of Cartography: Mapping the Ottoman Realm: Travelers, Cartographers and Archaeologists. The venue will be the Library of the DAI, located in the heart of Istanbul, next to Taksim Square. The symposium is open to everyone with an interest in the cartography of the (former) Ottoman countries during, but not limited to, the 16th to 20th centuries. The symposium will focus on two main themes: “Cartography of the Ottoman Countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa” and “Mapping Archaeological Sites, Landscapes and Excavations in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and 20th Centuries.” Registration will open in the autumn of 2019. The organizers invite the submission of abstracts for long (25 min) and short (10 min) oral presentations. These need to reach the organizers by the 1st of November 2019. Questions regarding the symposium can be directed to: Imre Demhardt – ICA Commission on the History of Cartography: demhardt(at)uta.edu or Andreas Schachner – German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Department Istanbul: andreas.schachner(at)dainst.de.
(If you’re attending ALA Annual and in town early:)
June 18, 2020 – Lake Forest, Illinois
The Chicago Map Society will take our annual field trip to the MacLean Collection at 5:30 pm. The MacLean Collection is one of the premier map destinations in the United States, with close to 40,000 individual items, and we’re grateful for their generosity in sharing their collection. This meeting is intended to be a hands-on learning experience for CMS members, as we will solicit information from attendees to focus on a number of county atlases with our resident expert, Michael Conzen. These atlases provide a window of insight into a county’s history, demographics, and development, and we look forward to our members learning more about their hometown, county of residence, and family history at the meeting. Michael Conzen is Professor of Geography at the University of Chicago and the co-author (with Diane Dillon) of “Mapping Manifest Destiny: Chicago and the American West,” published by the Newberry Library; he is co-editor (with Peter Larkham) of “Shapers of Urban Form: Explorations in Morphological Agency,” published by Routledge, and a contributor to the recently published book, “Teaching Urban Morphology.”
For other events, see:
Cartography – Calendar of Meetings and Events
Exhibitions
New Maps & Websites of Interest
- Recent story maps worth mentioning: Race to Everest, follow Edmund Hillary’s journey to the top of the world through vivid photos, personal history and 3D maps; History and the city, old maps and new views show Manhattan through space and time; Contribute to a graffiti map & learn about street art, add your favorite graffiti to a crowdsource map, and learn some graffiti history; The Bare Earth, How lidar in Washington State exposes geology and natural hazards (great imagery here); and The Geography of Wine.
- From Esri UK: Want to know more about the World Database of Protected Areas (WDPA) that’s now available in the Living Atlas? Read our blog to explore the dataset yourself and find out how it’s being used to protect our planet.
- Ever wonder where your house was located millions of years ago? Thanks to software engineer Ian Webster, now you can. His interactive map tracks how the globe has changed over the course of the last 750 million years. I found it fascinating clicking through San Diego over time. Lots of change between 260 and 240 million years ago!
- A new edition (11th) of the National Geographic Atlas of the World is available, with 448 pages, 500 maps, and 60 color photographs.
- The maps are still a-changin’: Recent changes in the political map of the world depict some of the most important changes in the world political map from 2014 to the present.
- Explore Loch Ness Monster sightings via Google Earth.
- Looking for a Canadian Federal Elections Results Adjusted to Have Equal Sized Ridings Map? I thought you were.
- Check out the Transit Maps Store for holiday gift-giving options.
- 10 Really Amazing Maps by Alejandro Polanco Masa for Medium.com, such as this early depiction of Antarctica:
World Mercator map projection with true country size and shape added. Even with a greatly reduced size, Greenland is still very big. But NOT that big. Visualization by @neilrkaye.
These colorful maps reveal the hidden logic of your city’s street names: Erin Davis, a Portland, Oregon-based artist and cartographer, has been visualizing urban centers based on street name data for months. Her most recent series, which maps cities based on their suffixes—like Ave. versus Drive—is a fascinating new way to understand how cities evolve over time…. Click through to explore Davis’s maps, dubbed “The Beautiful Hidden Logic of Cities.“ [Fast Company] Prints are available. Also, just in time for Halloween, The Graveyards of Europe. (See also, Graveyards of the Contiguous U.S.A.)
Publications about Mapping
- The Rise and Fall of the Exuberant Airline Map: A new book reveals how airline flight maps have evolved over the past century, from exoticizing to stylish to more basic…. In their new book Airline Maps: A Century of Art and Design (Penguin Books, $30), released on October 29, authors Maxwell Roberts and Mark Ovenden present this pictorial history—complete with homages to previous map genres and plenty of art deco and mod aesthetics. [CityLab]
- The Amazing Pictorial Map That Captured the Soul of Los Angeles: Meet Joseph Jacinto Mora, the king of California pictorial cartography, by Glen Creason [CityLab]
- Fascinating! The Untold Story Of The Secret Mission To Seize Nazi Map Data: How a covert U.S. Army intelligence unit canvassed war-torn Europe, capturing intelligence with incalculable strategic value, by Greg Miller [SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE | November 2019]
- New book: Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World (and the corresponding website: https://brilliantmaps.com/)
Where Do Fantasy Maps Come From? By Jonathan Crowe (from The Map Room) Welcome to the third installment of a series exploring the look and feel of fantasy maps. In this series, I argue for the existence of a default fantasy map style, tease out its key elements, and say something about where it came from and where it’s going. “What Does a Fantasy Map Look Like?” is an attempt to separate a fantasy map’s design language—which is broadly understood but just as broadly ignored—from the territory it describes. I followed that up with “Fantasy Maps Don’t Belong in the Hands of Fantasy Characters,” which argues that because the default fantasy map style is aimed at a modern audience, it would be out of place inside a fantasy story set in a premodern society. Which turns out to have been a controversial thing to say (even if it is, you know, true). This time I’d like to spend a few moments exploring the origins of the default fantasy map style. We’ve established that fantasy maps don’t much look like real-world maps of the premodern era—that they adopt, to use Stefan Ekman’s phrase yet again, a “pseudomedieval aesthetic”: the maps are modern in function and sensibility, but adopt design cues intended to signify old maps.- Speaking of The Map Room, some notices:
Book of Niehues Ski Resort Art Now Available The Man Behind the Map, the coffee table book of Jim Niehues’s ski resort maps whose crowdfunding campaign I told you about last year, is now available for sale. The book is nearly 300 pages long, contains more than 200 ski resort maps, and costs $90. That seems high, but printing a full-color book in small or print-on-demand batches don’t come cheap. - The Washington Post Maps Fall Foliage Fall foliage maps, which show the best times and places to observe autumn leaves, have been a thing for a good long while. The Washington Post’s take on them is something earnestly next level, with a detailed explanation of the biology and satellite images showing the change in color across the United States.
- First High Resolution Map of the U.S. Food Supply Chain: A team of researchers used data from several federal sources and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to produce the first high resolution map of how food moves around the United States. The map shows flow lines representing the volume and end and start point of food flows between counties in the United States. [Geography Realm]
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