2011 - 2012
Dutch Maps
December 20, 2012
Please join us to for some fun and relaxation with colleagues and guests as we highlight many of the wonderful Dutch maps from our collection. Dutch and Flemish cartographers dominated commercial map production in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Their maps and atlases were exquisite and were often the most widely printed materials of that time. The Clark Library is fortunate to have many fine examples from this time period including a recently acquired rare Hondius atlas from 1629, maps by Gerard Mercator and Abraham Ortelius, sea charts, and to top it off some printed maps of which there are no other known copies.
Maps of Food
November 15, 2012
Our theme is "Maps of Food" so we'll have maps related to all things food, drink, and agriculture, including many beautiful antique maps with illustrations of food bounty to highlight a region's agricultural fecundity.
Perils at Sea
October 18, 2012
The event will feature maps of 17th century sea monsters, Great Lakes shipwrecks, treasure maps, pirates, more modern threats such as U-boats, and much, much more!
Travel through Maps and Narratives
September 20, 2012
We'll be celebrating the opening of our exhibit, "Travel Through Maps and Narratives: An Exhibition on Travel and Tourism". Travel, an essential activity of human societies, has evolved into an industry with social, economic and environmental impacts. From pilgrimage and exploration to trade and tourism, advances in transportation have enabled new types of travel and created new places, some existing solely for the vacationer. This exhibition will highlight changes in travel including information on early pilgrimages, exploration narratives, the grand tour of Europe, women travellers, World’s Fairs, the birth of the family vacation and specialized tourism using maps and narratives from the Library collections. We will have many other travel related items from our collection on display for the event as well.
April in Paris
April 19, 2012
This is the last open house of the semester, and follows the theme "April in Paris." The Clark Library has one of the most extensive collections of maps of Paris in the U.S. View many early maps of Paris including Turgot's plan of Paris (1739), Belleforest (1575), and the Haussmann plan for Paris, plus many other maps and guidebooks for Paris and France.
Michigan Borderlands
March 15, 2012
Our theme for this month's open house is "Michigan Borderlands". We’ll have maps and other items on display which show the dynamic history, activity, and importance of our borders with Canada and the other Great Lakes states. Some highlights include the official 1835 map showing the Ohio boundary question, a map showing the Detroit River area during the War of 1812, and maps of the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel at the time of their opening. Please join us.
Linguistic Maps
February 16, 2012
Come check out the new Stephen S. Clark Library for Maps, Government Information and Data Services. Our theme for this month's open house is "Linguistic maps". We’ll have many maps and atlases on display which show the study and location of language groups and dialects, as well as many maps that use uncommon written languages including a rare Hawaiian atlas, ca. 1850. The event is in support of the Winter LSA Theme Semester on Language.
Traveling by Train
January 19, 2012
Please join us for our first Third Thursday in the Stephen S. Clark Library for Maps, Government Information and Data Services. Our theme for this month's open house is "Traveling by Train". We’ll have many colorful and historical railroad and subway maps, timetables, guidebooks, and travel brochures from our extensive collection on view.
Maps of the Mediterranean
April 21, 2011
Our theme for this month's open house is "Maps of the Mediterranean". The event is in support of The Center for European Studies-European Union Center winter semester series “The Connecting Sea: Charting the Mediterranean Across the Disciplines” and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts’ “Water Theme Semester”. The Map Library will have on display many maps from its strong collection of maps of the Mediterranean region including early maps of Turkey, Malta, Sicily, Egypt, Gibraltar, and many other engaging and beautiful items.
Mapping Science
March 17, 2011
We will be featuring maps of science in conjunction with the Library Gallery exhibit Places & Spaces: Mapping Science, a traveling exhibit created by Dr. Katy Borner of Indiana University. The exhibit was created to demonstrate the power of maps to navigate and manage physical places but also abstract topic spaces. It introduces knowledge mapping techniques to the general public. It is meant to inspire cross-disciplinary discussion on how to best track and communicate human activity and scientific progress on a global scale. Please join us for this special event.
Water Maps
February 17, 2011
Please join us for this special Third Thursday in the Library Gallery in support of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Winter Theme Semester on Water. Some of the items that we will be featuring are early charts of the Great Lakes, a 25 ft. long scroll map for navigating the Colorado River, a World War II pilot’s cloth emergency map showing ocean currents, 17th century nautical charts, and some remarkable maps of the Mediterranean Sea . As a special feature we will be previewing MFA student Collin McRae’s short animation “Stitch”.
Maps of the Bible and the Holy Land
January 20, 2011
In conjunction with the current exhibit in the Library’s Audubon Room “Celebrating 400 Years of the King James Bible” we will be highlighting rare and modern maps depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments and maps of the Holy Land in general. Some of the items that will be on display are a map showing the shipwreck of the apostle Paul in the Mediterranean (1540), historical maps of Palestine (1630), and rare maps showing the Exodus and other historical events of the region.