If you’ve been following Falvey Library’s social media, blog, and in-person events this week you already know all about Geography Awareness Week. On Tuesday, we hosted an open house featuring some highlights from The John F. Smith, III and Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection and other map holdings from Distinctive Collections. Visitors especially enjoyed browsing through several nineteenth-century grade school geography books. In case you missed it, many maps can be found online in the Digital Library. Here is one of my favorites:

Walker’s Statistical Atlas of the United States: Based on the Results of the Ninth Census 1870 with Contributions from Many Eminent Men of Science and Several Departments of the Government.

See the full atlas in the Digital Library here: https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:611320

Geological Map of the United States, 1874.

Published in 1874 and compiled by Francis A. Walker, the superintendent of the 1870 census, this is the first statistical atlas – that is, the first national atlas that took data from the United States census and published visualizations in the form of maps and charts. (Hint: take note and check out the Falvey Data Visualization Competition!)

Part I of the atlas shows maps of the physical features of the U.S., including geological formations, woodlands, river systems, rain-fall, and temperature. Parts II and III feature thematic maps and graphs of “Population, Social and Industrial Statistics” and “Vital Statistics.” There are maps showing the Black population, the population of those with “foreign parentage,” wealth, debt, birth rates, death by specific diseases, and so much more.

In a section titled, “The Progress of the Nation,” several maps show the density of general population (ahem, “excluding Indians not Taxed”) in a series of maps from 1790 to 1870. The 1870 map includes the addition of Native American reservations to the map.

Inspired by Merril Stein’s recent demo of PolicyMap, an online GIS data mapping and analytics tool, here is a demographic map showing the population density in the United States in 2020 (the source is the 2020 census).

PolicyMap. (n.d.). Number of people per square mile in 2020 [Map based on data from Census: US Bureau of the Census, 2000 Longform]. Retrieved November 16, 2023, from http://www.policymap.com.

Learn more about statistical atlases and the U.S. Census Bureau here: https://www.census.gov/history/www/programs/geography/statistical_atlases.html

Rebecca Oviedo is Distinctive Collections Librarian/Archivist at Falvey Memorial Library.

Geography Awareness Week begins Monday, Nov. 13. Established by a presidential proclamation more than 25 years ago, National Geographic created the annual public awareness program to demonstrate the importance of geography. From National Geographic: too many people are “unable to make effective decisions, understand geo-spatial issues, or even recognize their impacts as global citizens.” Aiming to raise awareness of these issues, more than 10,000 Americans participate in Geography Awareness Week annually. Join Falvey Library’s Digital Scholarship Lab and the Department of Geography and Environment for an exciting lineup of Geography Awareness Week events. Check out the full list of events below.

GEOGRAPHY AWARENESS WEEK: NOVEMBER 13-17, 2023

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13

GlobePlotters Meeting

6:30-7:30 p.m.; Location: Mendel G83

Join the Villanova GlobePlotters, a student chapter of YouthMappers, for a night of using GIS technology for humanitarian aid mapping projects around the world. No GIS or mapping experience is required! We’ll show you how to get started with mapping.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14

Open House: Geography Virtual Reality exhibit in the CAVE

2-3 p.m.; Location: Old Falvey, Room 203

Come join us at the Villanova Virtual Reality CAVE located on the Mendel Field side of Old Falvey in Room 203. CEET software developer Andrew Grace will host a variety of visualizations produced by Geography staff and students. Visualizations will include 3D models of our beautiful campus captured by drones, immersive 360 panoramas, and much more!

Open House: Falvey Library Map Collections Tour

3-4 p.m.; Location: Falvey Library 205

Peruse georeferenced maps and highlights from The John F. Smith, III and Susan B. Smith Antique Map Collection and other map holdings from Falvey Library’s Distinctive Collections. Rebecca Oviedo, Distinctive Collections Archivist, will show a selection of historic items from early printed maps of the 16th and 17th centuries, 19th century local real estate atlases, to 20th century military maps, and Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian, will show some georeferenced historical maps of Villanova’s campus.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15

Policy Map for Practical Purposes

12-1 p.m.; Location: Zoom

Introduction and practical insights to using Policy Map, the interactive mapping and analytics platform that brings together a data warehouse of 21st century Census and policy material from over 50,000 current governmental, proprietary, and open resource agency indicators. No technical skills are required to make understandable data visualizations or reports from information across multiple siloed agencies.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16

GEV Colloquium Speaker: Jon C. Malinowski

“Ghosts in the Landscape: The Challenges of Creating a Historical Atlas”

5:30-6:30 p.m.; Location: Mendel 154

Dr. Jon Malinowski, Professor of Geography at the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, will discuss the rewards and pitfalls of bringing historical geography research to a wider audience. In 2022, Dr. Malinowski self-published The West Point Landscape: 1802-1830 and is currently revising and expanding the book for the West Point Press. He will address archival and less obvious data sources, technical obstacles, and the pitfalls and revelations of a multi-year project. This talk is co-sponsored by GTU (Gamma Theta Upsilon), the international honor society in geography.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Geospatial Career Panel

12:30-2 p.m.; Location: Mendel G60 Classroom

Come meet geospatial professionals and learn about the many applications of GIS in your career. Panelists will discuss their own career paths, tips for GIS jobseekers, and more. Please come prepared with your own questions for the panelists!

Geography Trivia 

2:30-3:30pm; Location: Mendel G60

Break out that map knowledge and join us for an afternoon of pub-style geography trivia hosted by the GEV Student Association! Teams of 2-4 people can register using the form on the GeoWeek website. Snacks will be provided, and prizes will be awarded to the top-scoring team.

ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS

Alumni Blog Posts

Catch up with GEV alumni during Geography Awareness Week by reading short blog posts about how geography has been woven into their lives and careers. Hosted on the Falvey Library Blog.

Geography Student Poster Display

Stop by Falvey Library room 205, the Digital Scholarship Lab Lab in Room 218A (9 a.m.- 3:00 p.m., Monday-Friday), and the GEV suite hallway near G61 on the ground floor of Mendel to learn about the latest undergraduate and graduate research at Villanova.

Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observations.

A brief sampling of Falvey Library online video related to Earth Day and our rapidly changing planet:

• Jack Dangermond: An ever-evolving map of everything on Earth | TED Countdown
• Geographers on Film Series Collection at Library of Congress and Geographer on Film collection items

For Falvey Library video subscribed content visit an introduction to Streaming Video at Falvey or try one of the selected library subject headings below:

• Climate/climate change
• Carbon sequestration
• Energy
• Environmental history
• Environmentalism
• Environmental policy
• Geographic information systems/GIS
• Global warming
• Sustainable agriculture
• Sustainability 
• Water conservation

For more video dig further in:

• Academic Video Online – AVON (Alexander Street Press)
• O’Reilly for Higher Education
• NASA video gallery

Merrill Stein is Political Science Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.

Geography Awareness Week begins Monday, Nov. 15. Established by a presidential proclamation more than 25 years ago, National Geographic created the annual public awareness program to demonstrate the importance of geography. From National Geographic: too many people are “unable to make effective decisions, understand geo-spatial issues, or even recognize their impacts as global citizens.” Aiming to raise awareness of these issues, more than 10,000 Americans participate in Geography Awareness Week (Nov. 15—Friday, Nov. 19) annually. Join Falvey Memorial Library, the Department of Geography and the Environment, the Department of History, and Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU) for these Geography Awareness Week events:

Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster Display (Monday, Nov. 15–Friday, Nov. 19)

Falvey Memorial Library’s Digital Scholarship Lab and Room 205; 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

Please visit Falvey Memorial Library’s Digital Scholarship Lab and Room 205 to view student posters from the Villanova Student Undergraduate Research Symposium. Check out Falvey Memorial Library’s blog to view daily posts from current and former GEV students on their past GIS mapping and geography projects!

Falvey Forum: Creating Interactive GIS Maps with Leaflet and R (Wednesday, Nov. 17)

Virtual Workshop; 12:30–1:30 p.m. 

Join Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 12:30–1:30 p.m. for a virtual workshop entitled “Creating Interactive GIS Maps with Leaflet and R.” You’ve likely used ArcGIS Online to display maps online, but have you considered using free and open-source tools for web mapping? Leaflet is one of the most popular open-source JavaScript libraries for creating interactive maps. Here’s an example Interactive Map Tracking Charges & Enforcement Related to Covid-19 created with Leaflet by two researchers in Canada. This workshop will introduce you to Leaflet for R (a statistical programming language), an R package, which makes it easier to integrate and control Leaflet maps.

REGISTER HERE. A Zoom link will be sent to registrants one day prior to the workshop.

GIS Day Lecture: Signe Peterson Fourmy, JD, PhD, Villanova University, on “Digital Mapping & Last Seen Ads”  (Wednesday, Nov. 17)

Virtual Workshop; 5:30–6:30 p.m.

Please join us virtually on Wednesday Nov. 17, 5:30–6:30 p.m. as Signe Peterson Fourmy, JD, PhD, Director of Research and Analysis of the “Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery” digital humanities project, will be discussing mapping the ads of formerly enslaved people after emancipation.

Formerly enslaved people placed thousands of “Last Seen” ads in newspapers after emancipation searching for family and friends. By mapping these ads, the “Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery” project makes visible the forced dislocations that not only reflect the personal loss and trauma of slavery but also the geographic impact of the Domestic Slave Trade and post-emancipation migration. This interactive GIS mapping feature of the project allows users to visualize how this displacement affected individuals, when they and their loved ones were sold, and to explore the origins of those who formed post-war Black communities.

Biography:

Signe Peterson Fourmy earned her JD from the University of Houston Law Center in 2001 and her PhD in History at the University of Texas at Austin in 2020. Currently, she serves as the Director of Research and Analysis at Villanova University for the digital humanities project, “Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery.” She is also a lecturer in the Department of History at UT Austin.

REGISTER HERE. 

GTU Honor Society Talk & GEV Colloquium Lecture: Gordon Coonfield, PhD, on “How Neighborhoods Remember: Mapping Memory and Making Place in Philadelphia” (Thursday, Nov. 18)

Mendel Science Center, Room 154 and Virtual Livestream; 5:30–6:30 p.m. 

Join us on Thursday, Nov. 18, 5:30–6:30 p.m. in Mendel Room 154 or register virtually as Gordon Coonfield, PhD, Department of Communication and Media Studies will be discussing his mapping project: Kensington Remembers.

Biography:

Gordon Coonfield, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication at Villanova, utilizes multimedia to document the ways in which changes to the built environment impact cultures of memory. His Kensington Remembers project incorporates story mapping, photography, and ethnographic writing to explore vernacular memorial sites in one of Philadelphia’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

 REGISTER HERE.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

Mark your calendars! Falvey Memorial Library will be holding the 2021 Falvey Forum Virtual Workshop Series this fall. Workshops will be held most Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. and will run approximately an hour in length.

The 2021 Falvey Forum is a series of virtual workshops dedicated to advancing research tips, techniques, and technologies. Drawn from Falvey Memorial Library’s successful Brown Bag seminar series, the conference’s 11 sessions will cover a wide variety of research and library-oriented information aimed at invigorating and improving research, informing new pedagogy, and encouraging the integration of advanced academic research into personal and professional lives.

In conjunction with the 2021 Falvey Forum series, Falvey’s Digital Scholarship Program is pleased to partner with Villanova University’s GIS Laboratory in the Geography and the Environment Department to co-sponsor a selection of introductory virtual digital research workshops that focus on GIS mapping and spatial analysis tools.

Workshops will be led by some of Falvey Memorial Library’s expert librarians as well as members of the Department of Geography and the Environment.

Those interested in attending any of the workshop sessions may scan the QR codes on the right of each workshop description with their phones or simply click on the invite image above to register.

If you have any questions about the workshops, you can reach out to Library Events staff at libraryevents@villanova.edu.