j.b.krygier: geography 222: exercise 2

Geography 222 Maps and Mapping

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Geog 222 Exercise 2: Finding 'Real' Maps

Revised: 10/7/08

ASSIGNED in class Friday, September 26

DUE in class Friday, October 3

Exercise Worth: 50 pts

Introduction: Exercise 2 will help you learn to locate 'real' (printed, paper) maps using library and internet resources. Science Librarian Deb Peoples will assist students in searching for and locating maps for this exercise.

If you are having problems finding 'real' maps please contact your instructor or Deb Peoples.

Procedure:

1. Define your 'Home' for this exercise (and future exercises): (15 pts)

You will be collecting and creating a diverse set of maps and information about a particular place you are familiar with in this and future exercises. This will enable you to compare your personal knowledge of the place with the way the place is represented on maps.

"Home" may be a difficult thing to define!

Some of you may not have been born and raised in the US. You can use your non-US home for many of the exercises, but will have to choose a second home in the US for a few exercises where we are using data only available for the US. Select a place in the US you have spent some time in, enough to know the area a bit. If you have not lived in any area of the US besides Delaware Ohio, you can consider Delaware your second 'home.'

Even if you were born in the US, you may have moved around. Select one of these "homes" - the one you feel you know the best, or care about the most. It is important that you know something about the place you decide is your home for this exercise - it should not be a place you are completely unfamiliar with. Please talk to the instructor if you have any questions about defining your home!

Type 1-2 pages: Name and explain why you have chosen a particular place as your home. Describe your relationship to the place (how well do you know it, how long did you live there, etc.) in a few paragraphs. International students include some additional comments on your US home.
Once you summarize your home, go to the Claritas marketing web site and click on the circular You Are Where You Live icon in the upper left of the page. Enter the zip code of your "home" (for international students, use your US home) and the security code. You will be presented with a page of "prizm segments" which define who you are based on where you live. Describe how well Claritas has defined your home in a paragraph.

2. Finding 'Real' maps on the WWW (5 pts)

WARNING: Many WWW map sites depend on sophisticated WWW technology that can be slow or break down. Expect delays and sites that are temporarily not working. You may also be using a computer or internet browser that is not compatible with a particular mapping WWW site. Be patient! If a site is not working, revisit it at a different time or use a different computer. Given such potential problems, please do not do the exercise at the last minute. Contact the instructor at least a week before the due date if you are having persistent problems.

You can order just about anything on the WWW, including cheese, ladybugs, large chromed bearing balls, WW2-era steel pennies, and paper maps. In this part of the exercise, you will locate and order a paper topographic map of your home.

You will all order a map or two from the US Geologic Survey (USGS). International students, use your US Home for this part of the exercise. The USGS is the federal government agency responsible for maintaining different scale maps for the entire United States. You will order a copy of a USGS Topographic map at a scale of 1:24,000 (the largest scale map series for the US). This map should be of the area around your US home.

I did look into ordering international topographic maps, but for a few exceptions these maps are very expensive. Sorry international students!

You will identify the map sheet or sheets around your home as part of this exercise. You don't have to order the map: to save on postage your instructor will do it. Each map will cost you $6. Start saving now.

U.S. Homes: The first step is to go to the USGS Store which is the WWW site where the US Geological Survey sells all its maps and other products.

click on Map Locator
click Reset Map if you don't see a Google Map of the United States
zoom into - as much detail as you need - the map and locate your home
click on the Mark Points on the map button and add a marker on your home as accurately as possible
click on the marker to get available maps
you want the 7.5 x 7.5 map, so click on the Order link
print the page that results

Do not order the map! your instructor will do this for you. You will owe the Geology/Geography dept. a whopping total of $6.00 for each map you order. These maps actually make interesting gifts for that special someone.

Type 1 Page: Comment on this means of acquiring paper maps. Discuss how you located the map from around your home and any problems you had using the Topo Store and USGS WWW sites.

3. Finding 'Real' Maps of your Home in the Library (30 pts)

Believe it or not: not all maps that exist can be found on the internet! There are many cases where paper maps (on big sheets, in atlases, books, reports, etc.) contain vital information you may need.

Libraries are an excellent, although sometimes confusing, source of printed maps. Some libraries have special 'map collections' containing all their cartographic material, while other libraries, such as those at OWU, have map-related items spread throughout different campus libraries. Maps are cataloged geographically in terms of the places they represent (e.g., Ohio) as well as thematically in terms of the subject matter of the work (e.g., Glacial Landforms). Maps are found individually (e.g., as single topographic maps), in printed, comprehensive and systematically arranged collections (e.g., atlases), and as illustrative matter accompanying text in books, government documents, journals, etc. Deb Peoples, Science Librarian at OWU, will demonstrate how to locate print maps held in the OWU Libraries.

Please use CONSORT and additional library resources to locate and acquire at least one print map of the area around your home. For international students, you should choose your international home for this part of the exercise. The larger scale the map the better, but do the best you can. Make a xerox copy of the map (the part around 'home'). Details on how to search and find paper maps available at Geography 222 Library Resources pages compiled by Deb Peoples.
If you can not find a map of their home or something close to home in a print work either at OWU or through Ohiolink loan, then please set up an appointment with Deb Peoples.
If you order a book or map from another campus and it has not arrived by the time this exercise is due, please turn in a print-out of the bibliographic record of the item and turn that in with the exercise.
If you have to resort to getting a map or book from another campus, you may want to order several so at least one is viable.
Type 2 pages: Note the title of the map or its caption. Give the library call number for the map or for the item in which you found the map. Briefly describe the map. If necessary, give the page number where the map was printed. Document the search strategy you used to find the map (e.g.., what key words or subject headings did you use) or if you browsed the shelves, which shelves and why. Note any problems you had. This process may be frustrating! Finding paper maps can be really tough.

Do not find a copy of the topographic map (US Geologic Survey (USGS) 1:24,000 scale map, or the international topographic map) you located and will order in part two of this exercise. Also, don't print out a map from the internet - you must find a PAPER map for this part of the exercise.

Other map and GIS related material is not as 'tangible' as paper maps and can be called 'virtual' maps. We will explore WWW sites for generating a diverse range of 'virtual' maps in future exercises.

Exercise 2: Sum:

Please format your exercise so that it reflects the different sections above. Include headers (eg., "3. Finding 'Real' Maps of your Home in the Library") before each set of maps and answers. Turn in 4 typed pages, in addition to copies of maps you find and your selected topographic maps for me to order.

E-mail: jbkrygier@owu.edu

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