Maps and geospatial data are critical in disaster response situations. Accurate and updated maps direct first responders to areas of most need, reroute supply lines according to the post-disaster landscape, and help identify remote communities. Unfortunately, accurate and detailed geospatial data is not readily available for many parts of the world. Crowdsourced mapping programs such as Humanitarian OpenStreetMap (HOT) and Tomnod rely on volunteers to create this essential data, with a focus on the world's most vulnerable places. Groups of volunteers contribute to HOT and Tomnod in events called mapathons. This case study at Indiana University Bloomington's Herman B Wells Library asserts that the library is a natural home for humanitarian mapathons, as participants actively engage with spatial and data literacy concepts as they become spatial data creators. Through library mapathons, participants gain spatial and data literacy skills, engage with a global community, connect with other parts of the world, and are exposed to library resources. Hosting a mapathon requires very few specialized skills or knowledge, and has broad appeal. While Indiana University Bloomington serves about 40,000 students, this case study provides tips and best practices for hosting humanitarian mapathons at libraries of any size.
Indiana University (IU) Libraries hosts a three-day Primary Source Immersion Program (PSIP) for instructors, to help them integrate primary sources into existing or new courses and foster their students' information literacy skills in relation to primary sources. PSIP draws on the rich collections of IU Libraries, including University Archives, the Lilly Library for rare books and special collections, and the Herman B Wells Library Map Collections. PSIP began as a collaborative endeavor among instructors, archivists, special collections librarians, teaching librarians and collection managers, and has quickly become a support structure allowing for ongoing collaborations across a large university. This article describes the creation of the Primary Source Immersion Program, including the development of primary source-specific rubrics which were informed by the ACRL Information Literacy Framework and the SAA/RBMS Primary Source Literacy Guidelines. We demonstrate how the pre-PSIP landscape of primary source instruction on campus evolved to be more collaborative after the introduction of PSIP, briefly describe what happens during the three-day workshop, and offer several case studies which highlight resulting semester-long collaborations between instructors and librarians related to maps and spatial literacy. Finally, we discuss future directions for maps/spatial literacy that have grown as a result of PSIP.
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