BTAA-GIN Collection Stories

Jose Anza Garcia and Milan Budhathoki, GIS and Data Service Center , University of Maryland Libraries At the University of Maryland's McKeldin Library, we are proud and fortunate to possess a map collection featuring over 200,000 items. It spans a wide degree of subject categories (topographic, nautical, aeronautical, etc.) and formats (print maps, atlases, raised relief models, etc.). In addition, through the library's designation as a Regional Depository Library by the Federal Depository Library Program, the map collection also holds countless government-produced documents of important historical and cultural value.  A top-down map of the library's 4th floor, which houses the map collection (red square). Examples of different storage furniture items: at left, cabinets, and at right, atlas bookcases. However, the sheer size and scope of the map collection mean that a comprehensive catalog of all its contents does not exist at this time, making it hard for the library's...

By Milan Budhathoki The Morrill Reckoning , one of the latest items added to the BTAA Geoportal, is a project sponsored by University of Maryland Libraries. It was created and fulfilled as part of a certificate practicum requirement by Dr. Lisa Carney in Master in Library Information Science program (2023). This showcase is in line with UMD's commitment to promoting Indigenous knowledge, advancing decolonization efforts, and fostering restorative justice. The initiative is made possible through a 2022-2023 Teaching and Learning Program Grant, " Decolonizing Education to meet the Demands of Climate Change ," led by Patricia Kosco Cossard at UMD Libraries and co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Picture 1:  Altered image of the Morrill Act of 1862 highlighting the words " public land ." This web based Morrill Reckoning exhibit documents the process by which land of over 30 Native American nations was forcibly expropriated and sold to fund the en...

Interviewer: Milan Budhathoki, GIS and Data Librarian, University of Maryland College Park This interview is part of our Researcher Interview series that spotlights some of the interesting work being done using maps/GIS data at the Big Ten Academic Alliance institutions. Researcher Bio Matthew McLaughlin (Matt) is a senior lecturer and mixed media artist in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland College Park. Through his artworks, Matt explores the human relationship with their environments, particularly urban and suburban spaces, and examines how we interact with and observe the spaces we inhabit and modify to fulfill our wants and needs. By manipulating images/maps and re-contextualizing symbols, his work generates fresh spatial perspectives for viewers to contemplate when they confront their own connections with the environment. Webpages: www.matthewtmclaughlin.com (personal website)  https://art.umd.edu/ (department website) How have you been incorpo...

By Kathleen Weessies Simple quiet country life sounds idyllic and peaceful for anyone fed up with the complications of modern society. But folks in the country see the limits to that charm: They want to stream shows, shop, and work online from home just like anyone else.    People in rural areas want broadband internet yesterday. Connectivity is surging forward not quite to meet that need, but pretty fast by bureaucratic standards. Since 2009 the U.S. federal and many state governments are collectively allocating an unprecedented amount of funding to rural broadband initiatives.    The dramatic transformation underway and to be seen in the near future is a delightfully fertile area of study and inquiry for researchers across many disciplines. Geospatial data relating to broadband initiatives is both plentiful and absent depending on what you need.   The state of Iowa, however, has a lovely array of datasets freely available for downl...

By Milan Budhathoki The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in early 2020 citing that the disease had high human-to-human transmission and it's severity to public health. As the COVID-19 outbreak began, many researchers and bio-pharma around the world were working diligently to find a vaccine that potentially cures SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 global pandemic. Development of a successful vaccine would take several years and it is a tedious process that involves complex science, and thorough scrutiny by the government (i.e, authorizing body) before administering it to humans to prevent/cure disease. In-contrast to the traditional pipeline in vaccine development, COVID-19 pandemic had led to an urgency in developing vaccines at record speed. In the past, not many people were interested in the vaccine development model/science and business until COVID-19 pandemic hit hard on humanitarian and economic development. Figure 1: Vaccine Development Pipeli...

By Milan Budhathoki This interview is part of our Data Provider Series, which highlights local governments and institutions that offer open GIS data. In each interview, providers tell us about their missions and data resources. We hope this will be a great way for readers to learn more about local GIS developments and new initiatives. Name: Julia Fischer Title: Director, Data Services and the Maryland Geographic Information Officer (GIO) Division/Department: Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT) Website: https://imap.maryland.gov Please briefly describe your role and what is the mission of your agency? Julia: As the Maryland Geographic Information Officer (GIO) and the Director, Data Services within the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT), I am responsible for leading, advancing and promoting the data services program. This program consists of three main technologies: Business Intelligence (BI), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Open Data (OD)...