Number 147, Newsletter - Association of Canadian Map Libraries

              ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN MAP LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES
BULLETIN
ASSOCIATION DES CARTOTHÈQUES ET ARCHIVES CARTOGRAPHIQUES
DU CANADA
NUMBER 147/ SPRING/SUMMER 2014
NUMERO 147 / PRINTEMPS/ÉTÉ/ 2014ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN MAP LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES /
ASSOCIATION DES CARTOTHÈQUES ET ARCHIVES CARTOGRAPHIQUES DU CANADA
MEMBERSHIP in the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives is open to both individuals and institutions having an interest in maps and the aims and objectives of the Association. Membership dues are for the calendar year and are as follows:
Full (Canadian map field)... $45.00
Associate (anyone interested)... $45.00 ($35 US)
Institutional... $65.00 ($50 US)
Student... $20.00
Members receive the ACMLA Bulletin, the official journal of the Association, which is published three times a year.
Officers of the Association for 2013/2014 are:
Peuvent devenir MEMBRES de l’Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques du Canada tout individu et toute institutions qui s’intéressent aux cartes ainsi qu’aux objectifs de l’Association. La cotisation annuelle est la suivante:
Membres actifs(cartothécaires canadiens à plein temps)... 45$
Membres associés (tout les intéressées)... 45,00$
Institutions... 65,00$
Étudiant... 20,00$
Le Bulletin de l’ACACC sera envoye aux membres trois fois par annee.
Les MEMBRES DU BUREAU de l’Association pour
l’anne 2013/2014 sont:
Views expressed in the Bulletin are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Association.
The Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives gratefully acknowledges the financial support given by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Les opinions exprimées dans le Bullein sont celles des collaborateurs et ne correspondent pas nécessairement à celles de l’Association.
L’Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques du Canada remercie le Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada pour son apport financier.
1st Vice President / 1er Vice-Président
Siobhan Hanratty
Data/GIS Librarian
Government Documents, Data, and Maps
UNB Libraries
P.O. Box 7500
5 Macaulay Lane
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H5
vice.president1@acmla.org
Past President / Président sortant
Dan Duda
Map Librarian
Queen Elizabeth II Library
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, Newfoundland A1B 3Y1
tel: (709) 737-3198
dduda@mun.ca
Treasurer / Trésorier
Deena Yanofsky
Co-ordinator, Walter Hitschfield Geographic Information Centre
McGIll University
Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6
tel: (514) 398-6052
treasurer@acmla.org
President / Président
Rosa Orlandini
Librarian and Head
Map Library
102 Scott Library
York University
Toronto, Ontario
president@acmla.org
2nd Vice President / 2e Vice-Président
Wenonah Van Heyst
Dept. of Geography
Brandon University
Brandon, Manitoba R7A 6A9
tel: (204) 727-7466
fraserw@brandon.ca
Secretary / Secrétaire
Courtney Lundrigan
Reference & Instruction Librarian
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3
secretary@acmla.org
ACMLA MAILING ADDRESS / ACACC ADRESSE D’AFFAIRES
Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives /
Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques du Canada
PO Box 60095
University of Alberta Postal Outlet
Edmonton AB T6G 2S4
http://www.acmla.org
ACMLA Bulletin index available at http://toby.library.ubc.ca/resources/infopage.cfm?id=187NEW ACMLA MEMBERS 2013
Associate Members / Membres associes
Marilyn Glenn
Edmonton, Alberta
Rosemary Malaher
2 - 2001 Nordic Place
Whistler, British Columbia V0N 1B2
rosemary@malaher.org
G. Salim Mohammed
Digital and Rare Maps Librarian
Stanford University
Branner Earth Sciences Library & Map Collections
397 Panama Mall; MC 2211
Stanford, California 94305
gsalim@stanford.edu
Feng Qiu
fq@ualberta.ca
Full Members / Membres à par entières
Rebecca Bartlett
GIS and Digital Resources Librarian
Carleton University Library
Maps, Data & Government Information Centre
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6
rebecca.bartlett@carleton.ca
Talia Chung
Head, GSG Information Centre
University of Ottawa Library
3 Hartington Pl.
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1H9
talia.chung@uottawa.ca
Christine Homuth
GIS Technician
Western University
20-420 Dufferin Avenue
London, Ontario N6B 1Z6
cnhomuth@gmail.com
John Huck
Metadata & Cataloguing Librarian
University of Alberta Libraries
5-25E Cameron Library
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2J8
john.huck@ualberta.ca
Jacqueline Kreller-Vanderkooy
16 Wilsonview Ave Apt. 708
Guelph, Ontario N1G 1V4
jacqueline.kreller@gmail.com
Rhys Stevens
Librarian
University of Lethbridge Library, The
4401 University Drive
Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4
rhys.stevens@uleth.ca
Mr. Simon Trottier
Université de Sherbrooke
Bibliotheque Générale (G)
2500 Boul. Universite
Sherbrooke, Quebec J1K 2R1
simon.trottier@usherbrooke.ca
Student Members / Membres étudiant(e)s
Michael Dorn
5 Florence Road
Port Jefferson Station, New York 11776
mike3150@gmail.com
Institutional Members / Établissement membres
ARCH IVES POS0084
PO Box 025344
POS 0084
Miami, Florida 33102
University of Windsor
Serials Section
Leddy Library
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, ON N9B 3P4Bulletin Staff / Collaborateurs
Editor:
Eva Dodsworth
Geospatial Data Services Librarian
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
tel: (519) 888-4567 x 36931
email: edodsworth@uwaterloo.ca
New Books and Atlases Editor:
Peter Genzinger
Reference/Collections Librarian
Wilfrid Laurier University Library
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5
email: pgenzinger@wlu.ca
New Maps Editor:
Cheryl Woods
Map & Data Centre
Western University
London, Ontario N6A 5C2
tel: (519) 661-3424
email: cawoods@uwo.ca
Reviews Editor:
Sarah Simpkin
GIS and Geography Librarian
University of Ottawa
309E, Bibliothèque Morisset Library
sarah.simpkin@uottawa.ca
Regional News Editor:
Tom Anderson
Private Records
Provincial Archives of Alberta
8555 Roper Road
Edmonton, Alberta T6E 5W1
tel: (780) 415-0700
email: Tom.Anderson@gov.ab.ca
Geospatial Data and Software
Reviews Editor:
Andrew Nicholson
GIS/Data Librarian
University of Toronto at Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Rd. North
Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6
email: anichols@utm.utoronto.ca
GIS Trends Editor:
Courtney Lundrigan
Instructional and Reader Services Librarian
John W. Graham Library
Trinity College in the University of Toronto
Toronto, ON M5S 1H8
courtney.lundrigan@utoronto.ca
BULLETIN DE L’ACACC
NUMÉRO 147 PRINTEMPS/ÉTÉ 2014
ACMLA BULLETIN
NUMBER 147 SPRING/SUMMER 2014
ON THE COVER...
Sketch Plan of the Village of St. Eustache, After the Action Deer. 11th 1837
H.B. Parry. [Montreal, 1837?]
Reproduced as the same size as the original from an engraving in the National Map Collection, Public of Archives of Canada, 1986.
Reproduction sponsored by the Secteur des Cartes, Service des Collections spéciales, Bibliothéque nationale du Québec, Montreal, Quebec.
ACML Facsimile Map Series No. 118 (ISBN 0827-8024
Table of Contents
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE - Rosa Orlandini 2
CARTO 2014 CONFERENCE REPORT, June 17-20, 2014 3
ACMLA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, June 19, 2014 28
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN - MAPS AS TEXTS 31
- Allison Smith
PRESERVING AND DISSEMINATING CARTOGRAPHIC 42 KNOWLEDGE: THE ROLE OF ARCHIVES IN THE
DIGITAL AGE - Jonathan Dorey
BULK PROCESSING UOTTAWA’S COLLECTION OF 47
1:63,360 TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS
- Brian Bancroft and Sarah Simpkin
THE GREFFE DE L’ARPENTEUR GÉNÉRAL DU 49
QUÉBEC ONLINE - Jean-François Boucher
COMPARISON OF SIX FREE ONLINE MAPPING TOOLS 52 - Rebecca Bartlett and Joël Rivard
PRÉSENT ET AVENIR DE CARTOMUNDI – 57
VALORISATION EN LIGNE DU PATRIMOINE CARTOGRAPHIQUE - Jean-Luc Arnaud
REVIEWS
Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS and Remote Sensing: 62 A Workbook - Andrew Nicholson
Sea Monsters: A Voyage around the World’s Most 63
Beguiling Map - Francine Berish
Historical GIS Research in Canada - James Boxall 64
GEOSPATIAL DATA AND SOFTWARE REVIEWS 67
OPEN DATA WATERLOO - Eva Dodsworth
REGIONAL NEWS - Tom Anderson 69
NEW BOOKS AND ATLASES - Peter Genzinger 73
NEW MAPS - Cheryl Woods 75
GIS TRENDS - Courtney Lundrigan 77ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
2
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Carto 2014
This year marked the 48th Annual General Meeting and Conference of ACMLA and we met in beautiful
Montréal. This successful conference was made possible through the cooperative efforts of the local
arrangement committee folk from the Bibliothèque et archives nationale du Québec (BAnQ) and the
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM). This year we had the privilege of meeting in the beautiful venues
of both institutions, along with tours of BAnQ facilities and a field trip of the Stewart Museum. Fortunately
weather was on our side, our icebreaker was on a rooftop of a local restaurant and our banquet was in Park
Lafontaine. The local arrangement committee also did an amazing job coordinating volunteers, hosting
the conference website, translating content, arranging catering and much more. Our colleagues on the
local arrangements committee this year were: Micheline Picard and Sylvie St-Pierre de l’UQÀM, and Jean-
François Palomino and Jean-Bruno Giard de BAnQ. I would like to extend a special thanks to Stephen Park
and Guy Berthiaume for their kind opening remarks, Siobhan in her role as First Vice President, the IT
team at UQÀM who hosted our website, and the volunteers who assisted with translation and registration.
The program committee facilitated and created an amazing program this year. The reoccurring
theme was collaboration and cooperation in our field and beyond. In this issue of the Bulletin
are presentation abstracts and selected feature papers from the conference. I would like to
thank the members of our program committee who created this magnificent program: Erin
Forward, Siobhan Hanratty (Chair), Sarah Simpkin, Deena Yanofsky and Jean-François Palomino.
Awards
This was a special conference for several individuals. During the banquet, David Jones received an Honours
Award for his significant contribution to our association and our profession. We were graced by the presence
of Yves Tessier who received the ACMLA Honourary Membership award. Both David and Yves speeches
are published in this issue of the Bulletin. Allison Smith, a student from Carleton University received the
Student Paper award for her online exhibit, “Champlain in the Anishinabe Aki, digital repository: Samuel
de Champlain Maps as Text”. The recipient of the Cathy Moulder Paper Award is Barbara Belyea for
her article “A Map and Nine Makers”, printed in 144, Spring/Summer 2013 issue of the ACMLA Bulletin.
By-Law
During the Annual General meeting the members of the Association approved the new By-Law for the
Association. This new By-Law will come into effect during the summer of 2014. This was a very involved
and complex process and Leanne Trimble and Courtney Lundgren worked hours to ensure that we had a
sound legal document for our association. Kudos!
Board of Directors 2014-2015
We also elected our new board of directors for this upcoming year. Our new board of directors are: Rosa
Orlandini (President), Siobhan Hanratty (VP 1), Deena Yanovsky (VP 2), Rebecca Bartlett (Treasurer),
and Courtney Lundrigan (Secretary). I would like to extend a big thank you to Wenonah Fraser Van Heyst
who has been our 2nd Vice-President since 2011-2012. Previous to that Wenonah was our Secretary.
It is has been a great privilege to work with Wenonah and I wish her well in her future endeavors.
Next year’s election will be in June 2015 and will reflect the new governing model of our by-law,
which will include a Vice President of Advocacy and Communications, Vice President of
Professional Development, President-Elect, President, Past-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Without a further ado, enjoy this issue of the Bulletin! 	 - Rosa Orlandini
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
3
48th Annual Conference of the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives
(ACMLA)
June 17 - 20, 2014
While producers, distributors and users mobilize their efforts to update the mapping of the
world, librarians and archivists emphasize the importance of keeping track of cartographic
production throughout time. Cartographic sources are not only very useful for exploring the
territories that surround us, but also to understand the world that preceded us. How can maps
and other geographical sources help us understand the history of societies? What strategies are
needed to preserve our paper and digital cartographic heritage, and to increase the producer’s
awareness of the historical significance of the data? In this era of technological change, what
role can the map librarian or map archivist play in democratizing access to geospatial data?
Conference organized by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Université du Québec à
Montréal, and the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives
Program Committee
•Erin Forward, Queen's University
•Siobhan Hanratty, University of New-Brunswick
•Jean-François Palomino, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
•Sarah Simpkin, Université d'Ottawa
•Deena Yanofsky, Université McGill
Organizing Committee
•Jean-Bruno Giard, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
•Jean-François Palomino, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
•Micheline Picard, Université du Québec à Montréal
•Sylvie St-Pierre, Université du Québec à Montréal
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
4
June 17th - June 20th, 2014
Tuesday June 11th : Pre-Conference Workshops
INTRODUCTION TO ARCMAP SCRIPTS AND TOOLS
Joël Rivard, Carleton University
Gerald Romme, University of Toronto
Summarized by Andrew Nicholson
On the first day of CARTO 2014, attendees had an opportunity to participate in a selection of preconference
workshops. One of the morning workshops was entitled “Introduction to ArcMap Scripts and Tools”
presented by Joël Rivard from Carlton University Library’s MADGIC and Gerald Romme from the University
of Toronto Map & Data Library. Approximately, 25 CARTO attendees participated in this workshop.
Intended for GIS users, Joël and Gerald divided up their workshop into two sections. The first section led by
Joël focused on the use of Model Builder as a visual-based programming tool for building complex geospatial
queries in ArcGIS. After a short break, the workshop resumed with a second section lead by Gerald which
focused on the use of the Python text-based programming language in ArcGIS, especially the use of scripts
for performing complex tasks.
For both the Model Builder and Python sections, Joël and Gerald had the participants utilize the same
datasets from the City of Toronto Open Data Website. These included the “Centreline”, “Greenspace”,
“Schools”, and “Wards” shapefiles. For the ModelBuilder potion of the workshop, Joël walked the workshop
participants through the steps of accessing the data and opening the ArcMap and Model Builder applications
to first project the Wards layer and then select a particular Toronto Ward. The clipped layer was then
put into a more complex Model Builder query, which had participants selecting and then clipping out
the matching features found within the “Centreline”, and “Greenspace” shapefiles that were located
inside the selected Toronto Ward. After building the model, participants then used the “Validate” and
“Run” commands to process the selection and perform the clip. The Model Builder part of the workshop
concluded by having participants use the “Iterate” function on the Toronto data allowing for batch clipping
of shapefiles, based on multiple criteria, such as “collector” or “major arterial” roads in the “Centreline” file.
For the Python component of the workshop, Gerald first had the participants open the Python Command
Window in ArcGIS, and enter some simple commands such as “print text” which saved the value of “text”
as a variable. Participants were next inputting the import command for “arcpy” which tells the Python
program that we now want to access ArcGIS commands to process GIS files. Participants then used Python
commands to query the number of rows that were contained in the “Centreline” data layer, typing “arcpy.
GetCount_management” and selecting “Centreline” which the program then told us containing 60415
rows. The participants next confirmed this as the correct number when they opened the “ Centreline”
attribute table in ArcMap. They then converted that number into a variable using the “print” command.
The Python workshop next turned to checking the Directory of shapefiles using the “arcpy.env.workspace” and
the “fclist” commands. At this point Gerald had planned to steer the workshop participants to the “PythonWIN”
application which would allow for easier Pythons script creation and saving. As it happened, PythonWIN” was
CARTO 2014 CONFERENCE REPORT
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
5
unavailable in the lab, so Gerald improvised by taking the participants to another Python shell application known
as IDLE which is essentially a Python GUI interface. From here the participants, ran through several Python
scripts, which Gerald had pulled together for the workshop and allowed for the projecting of the Toronto Open
Data files. Participants finished up the workshop by performing the Selection function using SQL Syntax saved
from the previous Model Builder session and bringing into a Python script to perform the clipping process.
CATALOGUING MAPS IN RDA (BILINGUAL)
Karen Jensen, Concordia University Libraries
Emanuel Actarian, University of Ottawa
The workshop aimed to provide participants, through presentations and practical exercises, the basic knowledge
and skills needed to describe and index cartographic materials in print and electronic form, according to RDA.
OPENSTREETMAP
Simon Mercier, Mapgears
Cet atelier sera l’occasion pour les participants d’en connaître davantage sur OpenStreetMap, une plate-forme de
diffusion cartographique open source. Les participants apprendront comment contribuer à ce projet alimenté
en crowdsourcing et comment, avec le logiciel libre QGis, utiliser les données sources qui y sont diffusées.
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
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Wednesday June 18th: Conference Presentations
PRESERVING AND DISSEMINATING CARTOGRAPHIC KNOWLEDGE IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Jonathan Dorey, School of Information Studies, McGill University
Full length paper printed on page 42
This year, the theme of the conference, preserving and disseminating geospatial knowledge, touches upon
three overlapping questions: how do we preserve maps and other geographic sources regardless of format;
how do we use this cartographic heritage to understand the past and its contemporary traces; and what is
the role of the map librarian and archivist in democratizing access to geospatial data? These questions are
not only asked in the cartographic realm: government and community archives, public and school libraries,
documentation centres and museums, all memory institutions are facing the same challenges. Preservation
through use is one possible avenue to answer these questions. The enemy is not technological obsolescence
or a lack of understanding of the information, but rather the act of forgetting: no longer knowing how to
read a map, not knowing the historical context of the map, no longer having access to historical data, etc.
This presentation will address each of these three points—preservation, use and access—by reconciling
the preservation role and the dissemination role of professionals as well as the access role of users.
TOUCH HISTORY : POUR QUE LA GÉOMATIQUE ET L’HISTOIRE SE CONJUGUENT À L’ÈRE DU
NUMÉRIQUE
Louis-Pascal Rousseau, McNeil Center for Early American Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Le projet Toucher l’histoire / Touch History vise à développer une plate-forme informatique intégrant
les archives sur le patrimoine bâti (cartes anciennes, photographies d’époque, documents de recherche,
etc.) des villes, de manière à pouvoir visualiser le développement de ces dernières en continu tout au
long de son parcours historique. Résumé à sa plus simple expression, il s’agit de créer un modèle de
carte urbain en 4D (c’est-à-dire intégrant la 3D ainsi que la dimension temporelle) qui pourra répondre à
des besoins précis des villes en termes de conservation du patrimoine, d’aménagement du territoire et de
gestion des archives.
Toucher l’histoire / Touch History est un outil technoculturel de pointe s’adressant à toutes les
villes à caractère hautement historique et patrimonial qui désirent optimiser leurs décisions
concernant l’aménagement de leurs territoires ainsi que la préservation et la mise en valeur de leur
patrimoine. Il a aussi comme utilité de rendre accessibles les archives historiques d’une ville par le
biais de la carte interactive 4D, qui fait office d’outil de recherche visuel et tactile pour permettre
aux usagers d’aller sélectionner un document précis relatif à un bâtiment et une époque spécifique.
Ce projet fait l’objet d’un processus de réflexion qui pourrait mener à une collaboration entre la Ville de
Québec et le réseau de recherche interuniversitaire en sciences humaines numériques SHANTI (Sciences,
Humanities and Arts Network of Technological Initiatives). Cette communication sera faite par un représentant
de chacun de ces milieux, de manière à mettre en relief ses potentiels techniques et historiques de ce projet.
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
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ARCHIVAL MAPS, HGIS AND INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPES
Daniel Rueck, Department of History & Classical Studies, McGill University
What can be learned about Indigenous land practices from maps and survey data produced by government
departments and officials who were determined to eliminate those practices? This paper presented my HGIS
research on Indigenous environmental history on the Prairies and in the Montreal area. First, I discussed
the maps, data, and diaries of land surveyor Otto Julius Klotz (Dominion Land Survey), and my HGIS
analysis which reveals elements of the pre-railroad Prairies as well as the process by which Indigenous pe
oples were dispossessed and the land radically transformed. Second, I presented my HGIS work on the work
of William McLea Walbank (Dept. of Indian Affairs) in Kahnawake (a Mohawk territory near Montreal),
where he attempted a radical land redistribution in the 1880s. I also discussed some of the theoretical and
practical problems associated with the use of HGIS for historical research on/with Indigenous peoples.
Full length paper will be made available in issue 148 of the ACMLA Bulletin
CARTOGRAPHIER LA GUERRE
Marcelle Cinq-Mars, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
La Première Guerre mondiale fut une source d’innovations scientifiques et technologiques. Comme bien
d’autres domaines, la cartographie s’est adaptée aux besoins spécifiques des militaires durant ce grand
conflit mondial. Elle s’est non seulement adaptée au terrain, mais aussi aux stratégies nouvelles et au
développement des besoins créés par le développement de l’armement.
Dans un premier temps, la présentation dressera l’historique de l’évolution de la cartographie durant la
Première Guerre mondiale, à l’aide de nombreux exemples tirés de la vaste collection de Bibliothèque et
Archives Canada. Ensuite, la présentation survolera les possibilités de recherches offertes par la collection,
question au goût du jour en cette année de commémoration du Centenaire du début de la Grande Guerre.
CARTOGRAPHIC INTACTNESS AND THE THREE MILES TO ONE INCH SECTIONAL MAPS OF
WESTERN CANADA
Larry Laliberté, GIS Librarian, University of Alberta
Brian Harley wrote that the blank spaces on a map are sometimes as beckoning as their densest line work.
Echoing his statement, this presentation looked at the process of georeferencing and performing raster
to vector conversions of the 3-miles to 1-inch sectional maps of Western Canada, to extract measures of
line work density. These density measures or “Cartographic Intactness” could serve as a useful spatial
metric when aggregated up to the Western Township grid for establishing thresholds of the early 20th
Century human foot print on the West, and delineating areas undisturbed by the cartographer’s pen.
GéoPhoto+: Toward a Collective Directory of Aerial Photographs!
Stéfano Biondo, Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval, cartothécaire
The speaker presented the new interface for cartographic and textual research, GéoPhoto+, which will allow
for the identification of all the collections of aerial photographs of the Centre GéoStat held by the Library
of the Université Laval. This geographic information dissemination system enables remote consultation of
the Centre’s whole set of indexes of aerial photographs using one single, fast and user-friendly interface. It
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
8
displays—as a footprint—over 160,000 aerial photographs from the federal and provincial governments.
GéoPhoto+ not only offers the option to print or send a command by email, it also provides access to each
photo’s metadata, such as the flight line number, the photograph’s number, year, scale, season, emulsion, etc.
GéoPhoto+ was designed to easily integrate collections of aerial photographs from different institutions.
Its decentralized management module allows each institution to easily index new additions of aerial
photographs in the collective directory.
REVEALING OUR PAST: USING WEB GIS FOR DISSEMINATION OF HISTORICAL AIR PHOTOS
AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS
Barbara Znamirowski, Trent University
As part of its Historical GIS (HGIS) initiatives Trent University Library’s Maps, Data and Government
Information Centre is developing a Regional Environmental History Atlas. The primary goals of the project
are to create a discovery tool for current and historical information, encourage research and teaching that
fosters new ways of understanding our region, and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration within the
university and with regional partners and members of the public.
This talk reviewed the project, focusing on two main components: web dissemination of historical air
photography and topographic maps. It included an overview of how we got started, key procedures, and
lessons learned. Key technical (scanning, georeferencing, web development) and administrative components
such as budgeting and management were also covered.
A demonstration of the project web site showed how ArcGIS for Server is being used for search and discovery
and downloading of air photos and topographic maps.
The presentation highlighted functionality of the system and some of the key decisions we faced in designing
a system that would respond to diverse researcher needs while meeting technical considerations such as
storage and packaging of products for downloading.
CARTOMUNDI NEW DEVELOPEMENTS
Present and Future of CartoMundi – Online promotion of the Cartographic Heritage
Jean-Luc Arnaud Directeur de recherche au CNRS, Maison Méditerranéenne des sciences de l’homme, Aix-
Marseille Université.
Full length paper printed (in French) on page 57
CartoMundi gathers a set of IT resources dedicated to the promotion of the cartographic Heritage. It is developed
by the Mediterranean House for Social Sciences in Aix-en-Provence under the hospices of Aix-Marseille University.
CartoMundi presents two peculiarities
1. First of all, it’s an international collective catalog opened to all the map libraries, independently of their
size, their status or their location – the web site is trilingual: English, French and Spanish.
2. The CartoMundi interface is organized on the basis of an interactive planisphere that offers tools to research
the documents by location. With only a few clicks, it allows users to search and select a document, to retrieve
the locations where it is available and, if it has been reproduced, to display the reproduction in high resolution.
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
9
Under the public interface, CartoMundi also includes a collaborative platform. It provides partners with
tools to manage their collections. This platform is already operational but a second step of development is
in progress and is mainly dedicated to geomatics. Geomatics aspects become increasingly important for the
management and dissemination of cartographic heritage. In this context, CartoMundi expects to facilitate
the work of map librarians in this field. According to this goal, we explore, test and disseminate tools and
methods that are more effective and less time consuming than the recording of the coordinates following
the cataloguing standards. The four examples that follow are the first results of this work.
1. Generator of sheet indexes
This tool is already operational. It allows a map librarian who has no knowledge in the field of geomatics,
to create quickly and easily digital georeferenced sheet indexes. Data produced by this generator can be
used either directly in CartoMundi or in other systems from exported files. This generator is very useful for
most of the series but it works only for sets which limits of sheets follow a grid of meridians and parallels.
For other forms of cutting, it remains necessary to use the services of a GIS specialist.
2. Graphic process
For the series published before the 20th century it is common that the datum requested to build a sheet
index according to the geomatics rules, are not available. In this case we favour a graphical method.
For each series, we start from its sheet index - on paper: original or drawn. After being scanned as a raster
image, it is georeferenced from landmarks. On the basis of this document, we draw a vectorial sheet index.
This one is stored in a shapefile (SHP) which can then be integrated into CartoMundi.
This method has several advantages. It is easy to implement - even by an inexperienced geomatician, it is
very fast and it is applicable to any scales.
3. Large scale maps
Large scale maps – cadastral, Insurance… - have two peculiarities. They are not built according to geodetic basis
and they do not bear coordinates. Otherwise, these maps often have perimeters that follow streets or roads.
To build the sheet indexes of these series, we need a base map that displays the roads network. Google
Map and its drawing functionalities are a very helpful tool. For each document we trace the polygon that
corresponds to its perimeter. When all the sheets have been drawn, the result is exported (from Google Map)
in a KML format file. This file is transformed into a SHP format file that can be integrated into CartoMundi
(see for example, the cadastral map of Cairo: http://www.cartomundi.fr/site/E01.aspx?FC=48758).
Currently this transformation is done by a geomatician, to avoid this step and simplify the process, we
planned the development of drawing tools integrated into our system.
4. Integrated drawing tools
This feature is not yet developed. On the basis of a planisphere online, it will allow all the map librarians, without
any particular training, to produce the polygon corresponding to the covered perimeter of any document.
Thus, in a single operation, the catalogers will be able to produce the textual description of a document
and the corresponding polygon.
Conclusion
The catalogue of CartoMundi has been produced with a network of partners. The most important are the
French National Library and the National Institute of Geography. Besides these two establishments, we have
currently 15 actives partners in France and in Europe.
Several Canadian map libraries take part in the directory of CartoMundi. Those who wish to be more deeply
involved are welcome.
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AUTOMATING THE ARCHIVE: BUILDING UOTTAWA’S HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHIC MAP INDEX
Sarah Simpkin, Bibliothécaire spécialisée en SIG et géographie / GIS and Geography Librarian, Université
d’Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Full length paper printed on page 47
In spring 2013, staff at the Geographic, Statistical and Government Information Centre (GSG) at the
University of Ottawa embarked on a project to digitize a collection of 600+ Canadian topographic
maps dating from 1907-1959. Our priorities were twofold: (1) to create a web index of our holdings to
establish coverage; (2) to automate the process of georeferencing the maps in order to increase their
versatility in future projects. This presentation provided an update on the project, an introduction
to the tools we are using, and initiated a dialogue about similar initiatives across the country.
RE-IMAGINING PAPER MAP COLLECTIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY INFORMATION LANDSCAPE
Talia Olshefsky, McGill University
Deena Yanofsky, McGill University
In today’s tight fiscal environment, budget cuts, staff reductions, and frequent branch closures more
and more librarians find themselves having to re-evaluate the way they manage their collections.
This is particularly true for map librarians; the proliferation of digital cartographic resources
coupled with a reduced demand for print maps has forced many map libraries to find practical, cost-effective
ways to manage a print map collection that best serves the needs of the 21st century user.
In 2012, the map and air photo collection at McGill University was moved across campus, from the former Walter
Hitschfeld Geographic Information Centre to the centrally located Humanities and Social Sciences Library.
After receiving over 60,000 largely uncatalogued sheet maps, a small team undertook the enormous task to
inventory the collection, capture useful metadata, address storage and arrangement issues, and reimagine
the ways in which this collection could be made visible, accessible, and useful to our community of users.
Following a brief review of the policies and practices that underlie traditional map collection management,
this presentation shared share our experiences, the challenges we faced, and the unique tools and solutions
we developed based on existing literature and best practices.
ACCESSIBILITY AND THE MAP/DATA LIBRARY
Leanne Trimble, Ontario Council of University Libraries
The majority of academic libraries express their commitment to providing services equitably to all
students, faculty and staff. In Ontario, this commitment is now legislated in the form of the Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The act is broad in scope and covers everything from
the built environment, to customer service, to information and communications. When it comes to
geographic information services and collections in our academic libraries, how accessible are we? How
accessible could we be? This presentation took a hard look at our assumptions about how a disabled
person would use the services of a map or data library, with a focus on our websites and discovery tools,
particularly those involving web maps. We reviewed the work that has been done at Scholars Portal
to assess and improve the accessibility of our Scholars GeoPortal service. Finally, we provided some
concrete recommendations for improving the accessibility of map and data libraries to all of our users.
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OPEN SOURCE MAP MAKING AND SHARING
Yves Baudouin, UQAM
Simon Ouellet, UQAM
Since computer assisted map making came into use in the 1960’s in Canada, and up until the beginning of the
21st century, the wide range of software developed has been mostly commercial. With the Internet opening up
to the civilian domain in the early 1990’s, the variety of applications has been extended, as have the sharing
and consultation tools. However, one can see that an Open source environment has always existed, responding
to different mapping needs, and is now evolving in significant ways. Hence, map libraries must also take into
account and reflect this parallel environment. Of course, the financial aspect is a key element in the choice of
this environment, as is the user’s desire for autonomy and knowledge-sharing. This phenomenon has grown
worldwide; from North America to Europe, Africa and Asia, public institutions, organizations and businesses
now turn to Open source software as an effective solution to their needs due to the level of maturity and stability
of this environment. In fact, it is not uncommon for international (United Nations, World Bank, etc.) calls for
tender to require that open source solutions be included in the propositions. In the following presentation, we
will thereby demonstrate several Open source tools in an attempt to illustrate how this environment functions.
Thursday June 19th: Conference Presentations
OPTIONS FOR USING LIDAR, RADARSAT AND WORLDVIEW2 IMAGERY TO STUDY THE IMPACT
OF FLOODING
Cynthia Dietz, University of Manitoba
Frequent and some severe flooding of Winnipeg, MB and surrounding areas involving the Red and Assiniboine
Rivers and their tributaries has occurred in the last fifteen years. The U of Manitoba has teamed with the
Provincial government and PCI Geomatics to study the persistence and frequency of flooding due to diverted flood
waters and snow melt events in a region of the La Salle Basin. Change detection and wetland characterizations
using recent and historical WorldView-2 imagery and LiDAR and RADARSAT-2 products will be used to study
and analyze the changes over time involving small drains and ponds in frequently inundated agricultural areas.
ENTRE LE PAPIER ET LE POLYGONE : L’UTILISATION DE MAPWARPER DANS LE PROCESSUS
DE DIFFUSION NUMÉRIQUE DES CARTES ANCIENNES
Léon Robichaud, Professeur agrégé, Département d’histoire, Université de Sherbrooke, co-directeur,
Laboratoire d’histoire et de patrimoine de Montréal / Montréal, plaque tournante des échanges
La diffusion des cartes anciennes numérisées s’est généralisée depuis quelques années grâce aux nouveaux
outils qui accélèrent le processus. Parmi ces outils, l’application gratuite et en ligne MapWarper se démarque
par sa convivialité, par l’intégration du calcul de la marge d’erreur et par la possibilité d’exporter en
plusieurs formats (GeoTiff, PNG, KML, WMS). Contrairement aux SIGs complets qui imposent une lourde
courbe d’apprentissage et aux processus qui imposent une série d’étapes complexes, MapWarper est conçu
spécifiquement pour géorectifier les cartes anciennes sur une plate-forme web qui est gratuite, collaborative
et intuitive. Dans le cadre de cette communication, nous présenterons un projet en partenariat entre Montréal,
plaque tournante des échanges et Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec visant à géorectifier les plans
d’assurance-incendie de Montréal au XXe siècle. Après avoir comparé MapWarper à d’autres outils
semblables, nous présenterons notre processus et nous explorerons différentes options pour la diffusion
des planches géorectifiées. Développé par Tim Waters (Geothings.net), MapWarper est utilisé par la
New York Public Library pour la géorectification collaborative de cartes et plans de la ville de New York.
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COMPARISON OF SIX FREE ONLINE MAPPING TOOLS
Rebecca Bartlett, GIS and Digital Resources Librarian, Carleton University
Joël Rivard, Cartographic Specialist, Carleton University
Full length paper printed on page 52
In an effort to explore and familiarize themselves with online mapping tools, Carleton Library GIS-trained
staff members Rebecca and Joël held an online mapping tool competition during the 2014 Sochi Winter
Olympics. Each challenger used three online mapping tools at random from the six tools that were
selected, then proceeded to map the hometowns of Canadian Olympians who had won medals at the
Games. The presentation compared and contrasted the free versions of the following online mapping tools:
•BatchGeo 	 •MangoMap 	 •GeoCommons
•CartoDB 	 •MapBox 	 •WorldMap
VOLUTION DE LA CARTOGRAPHIE À LA VILLE DE MONTRÉAL ET SA DOCUMENTATION
Richard Mongeau, Ville de Montréal
Suite aux récentes avancées des technologies et logiciels, les champs d’activités du mesurage et de la
représentation du territoire sont maintenant praticables en 3D. De l’étape de la collecte des données jusqu’à
la diffusion des plans, il n’est plus obligatoire de transposer notre environnement réel 3D sous forme 2D.
De l’évolution de la cartographie de base jusqu’à la maquette numérique 3D du territoire, le cheminement
parcouru par l’Équipe de la cartographie et des levés spéciaux de la Ville de Montréal est fortement tributaire de
la pratique de la profession d’arpenteur-géomètre. À plusieurs reprises depuis les années 1960, cette équipe a
innové dans l’application de la technique de la photogrammétrie: restitution numérique, réseaux de contrôle à
référence spatiale et modélisation 3D selon la norme CityGML. Afin de protéger le public, l’arpenteur-géomètre
est assujetti à une certaine responsabilité lors de la production de documents, plans et cartes. Il est soumis
à des règles strictes d’exercice de sa profession. Une des prescriptions importantes est leur documentation.
Avec l’ère numérique, les métadonnées et données descriptives sont devenues inhérentes aux processus
de traitement des données géospatiales. L’adhésion aux principes de la Charte d’éthique de la 3D vient
renforcer cette démarche dans le cas des représentations en 3D. Dans le cadre de ces activités de cartographie
à la Ville de Montréal, la Division de la géomatique a mis en place des normes de pratique à ces égards.
ADVOCACY FOR A CARTOGRAPHIC DIGITIZATION REGISTRY & DISCUSSION
Léon Robichaud, University of Sherbrooke
Erin Forward, Queen’s University
Cartographic digitization projects are sprouting up all across the country. As more and more collections of maps are
digitized, the importance of keeping track of these maps and making sure they are widely accessible is becoming
a greater challenge. This presentation provided an overview of several registry options including an overview
of the registry work being done at the Université de Sherbrooke followed by a project proposal of how ACMLA
can assist with the access to digitized, georeferenced, vectorized and HGIS projects from across the country.
BUILDING A PAN-CANADIAN GEOMATICS STRATEGY
Deena Yanofsky, McGill University
Colleen Beard, Brock University
It is an exciting time to be involved in the Geomatics sector in Canada. As groups from across the country
are coming together to address the future of the industry, ACMLA has an opportunity to play a major
role in the development of a Pan-Canadian Geomatics Strategy. Initiated by NRCan GeoConnections,
Deena walked us through the development of the strategy that seems to be gaining much interest and
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momentum. The Canadian Geomatics Community Round Table (CGCRT) - representatives from industry,
academia, professional associations, NGOs, and federal, provincial and territorial governments – is focused
on issues and concerns that affect professional practices and activities across the geomatics (geographic,
geospatial, location information) domain. In order to facilitate a future “Team Canada” approach, the
Round Table has elected a Steering Committee to develop a Pan-Canadian Geomatics Strategy. More
interestingly, the government has taken a facilitating role that allows the private sector and citizen/
community collaboration to take the lead in its design. The objective of the strategy is to “better meet the
needs of, and enable the ever-growing Geospatial Community that depends on reliable, accurate and fit-for-
purpose geospatial services and expertise” (Pan-Canadian Geomatics Strategy, 1st DRAFT, Jan. 2014).
The strategy is based on seven dimensions: identity; the market; business models; data sources;
education and capacity building; legal and policy interoperability; and, leadership and governance.
Deena is a member of the Steering Committee and was Task Team Co-Lead for the Education and
Capacity Building dimension, that identified key issues regarding the skills and training required for a
sustainable work force and a geospatially-enabled society. Going forward, working groups have been
assigned to each of the dimensions to prioritize the objectives identified in each area, identify actions,
and make recommendations. For example, one of the outcomes identified of the Education task team is to
influence “curriculum changes in the K-12 school system and cross-disciplinary teaching in colleges and
universities that enhances the Canadian public’s geospatial skills and develops capacity in geomatics”. The
strategy strives to bring many groups together within the geospatial community to create a shared vision
that will re-position the Canadian geomatics sector for future success. ACMLA is one of these groups!
Deena emphasized the influential role that ACMLA members can play in the development of
the strategy. At the same time, one of the key points that she made was that the strategy can be
equally influential for the association as a planning and decision-making tool, as it identifies
priority tasks for our community. For example, the need for librarians to develop policy to help
guide data producers towards open data standards and long-term data management practices.
By becoming actively involved with the strategy, the association will be able to gain insight from
the Round Table - a ‘hub’ of shared intelligence – and be part of the Canadian geomatics ‘story’.
Colleen continued on Deena’s theme of ‘What’s in it for ACMLA?’. After praising Deena for her efforts
in taking a lead role in this initiative, with the interests of ACMLA and our profession at the helm,
Colleen insisted that her own involvement in government policy is normally not one of enthusiasm.
But this initiative is taking a different approach – the government is not dictating the outcome but
rather taking a facilitating role and allowing the geospatial community as a whole to define its goals.
Acknowledging that there are real problems with the current geomatics industry in Canada, taking an
active role is one that association members need to take part, especially with the education and data
dimension objectives.
So how does one catch the interest of ACMLA members? Other than it directly relates to our #2 objective
“To encourage and support activities which further the awareness, use, and understanding of geographic
information”, consider our profession from these perspectives:
Do you think your job is sustainable without advocating geo-literacy on campus?
Most of what we do or should be doing is in the interests of advocating for literacy, which translates
into “capacity building”, whether it’s hosting a GIS Day or influencing the curriculum with embedded
course instruction and/or assignment design. A “build it, and they will come” strategy may not apply.
Do you get involved with the teacher students in your Faculty of Education geography courses?
The route to capacity building is indeed education. At Brock, we host over 200 geography teacher
students a year with map appreciation, geography curriculum, and geospatial skills sessions. In the
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past we have also hosted a GIS workshop for all the Niagara school board geography high school
teachers. Ontario is the only school curriculum in Canada that has a Geography program, and yet some
Ontario universities are considering omitting Geography from their teacher education programs.
Do you feel competent with your knowledge of search and retrieval of [quality] location-based
information?
We are perceived by students and faculty as the ‘trusted bridge’: connecting users with
accurate, authoritative, and accessible data. But how do we ensure that the data produced by
the geomatics sector is AAA quality data? Nowhere in the strategy’s data dimension was data
preservation or archiving initially mentioned. We are considered the leaders with data archiving
and ACMLA must ensure geospatial data is included in the research data management process.
In general, do you think the average Canadian citizen is geo-literate and able to contribute to a
reliable VGI?
Not likely! Certainly not an isolated incident, but if the Memorial University story is any indication, where
many students were unable to locate the Atlantic ocean on a map, we surely have work to do. Perhaps the
St. John’s Declaration is a start!
Although Deena will continue to represent ACMLA as the strategy unfolds, a Task Group should be formed
to define the associations’ role and priorities.
The strategy can be located at www.cgcrt.ca
INFORMATION SESSION REGARDING A POTENTIAL EDUCATION AGREEMENT FOR TERRASAR-X
SATELLITE DATA
Larry Laliberté & Barbara Znamirowski
This session provided information regarding the status of discussions between Natural Resource Canada’s
Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO), Infoterra GmbH and Canadian universities
towards an Education Agreement for TerraSAR-X satellite data. Information regarding the potential agreement
and a draft of the license were presented.
A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE SHERBROOKE PROJECT
Doris St-Jacques, Library and Archives Canada
In June of 2013, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) acquiredthe largest and most complete collection
of War of 1812 documentation, including books, maps, manuscript reports and correspondence,
among other unique items. This acquisition was made possible through a partnership between
Library and Archives Canada and the future Canadian Museum of History, and with the support
of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Friends of Library and Archives Canada.
The collection once belonged to Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, former Governor of Nova Scotia from 1811
to 1816 and Governor in Chief of British North America until 1818. As both a statesman and a military
leader during the War of 1812, Sherbrooke had a profound influence on the formation of Canada during
the pre-Confederation period. These itemsfrom the War of 1812 era, have remained in the Sherbrooke
family exclusively for the last 200 years and are considered an important addition to LAC’s collection.
The efforts of a multidisciplinary team at LAC have been essential throughout the Sherbrooke project.
This approach has allowed the materials to be acquired, assessed, receive conservation treatment, be
described, re-housed, digitized, placed in optimal storage conditions and made available to Canadians
online, all within a tight timeframe. This paper provided a brief overview of the project with particular
focus on the Conservation treatment, digitization, and the many challenges presented by the collection.
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COMMENT PRENDRE SOIN D’UNE COLLECTION DE CARTES GÉOGRAPHIQUES – LES CONSEILS
D’UNE RESTAURATRICE
Marie-Claude Rioux, restauratrice, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
La restauratrice de Bibliothèque et Archives nationale du Québec se propose de répondre aux
questions des membres de l’Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques du Canada
en ce qui a trait à la préservation et à la conservation des collections de cartes et plans. Ainsi, les
responsables de collections et les cartothécaires pourront obtenir des informations sur divers enjeux
liés à la conservation préventive ou curative dont, notamment, la mise en réserve, la manipulation, la
consultation, les fournitures de conservation et la restauration des cartes et plans. Ceux-ci seront invités,
au cours des semaines précédant le colloque, à soumettre les problèmes auxquels ils sont confrontés
dans la gestion de leurs collections, au quotidien. Ces cas de figure serviront de base à la présentation
au cours de laquelle des démonstrations techniques et des échanges de procédés illustreront de manière
concrète les enjeux, les risques et les solutions en matière de préservation des cartes géographiques.
LA GESTION DE L’INFORMATION GÉOGRAPHIQUE AU MINISTÈRE DES TRANSPORTS DU
QUÉBEC
Marc Chikhani, Ministère des Transports du Québec
Gaétan Poulin, Ministère des Transports du Québec
La raréfaction de la main-d’oeuvre spécialisée, les changements technologiques et les nouveaux paradigmes
dans la communauté géomatique ont poussé la Division de la géomatique du ministère des Transports du
Québec à rationaliser ses processus de stockage, d’accès et de diffusion de l’information géospatiale. Nous
avons implanté un processus d’automatisation cartographique des quelques 1700 cartes produites en
récurrence à des fins d’inventaire, d’exploitation et d’opération du réseau routier du Ministère pour remplacer
le processus manuel qui s’étalait sur trois ans et nécessitait l’intervention de deux cartographes à temps
plein. Nous avons également utilisé des logiciels libres et ouve rts pour stocker et donner accès aux nombreux
jeux données. PostGres-PostGIS est utilisé comme source principale de donnée géospatiales au Ministère et
le logiciel de catalogage Geonetwork permet de les visualiser, de consulter les métadonnées et de gérer les
accès en téléchargent tant pour les utilisateurs internes que pour les partenaires externes. Geonetwork est
utilisé largement par les gouvernements et organismes pour la diffusion de leur information géospatiale. Le
logiciel Geoserver qui lui y est rattaché peut diffuser sous forme de service web du matériel cartographique
en format matriciel (WMS) ou vectoriel (WFS). Le choix de ces solutions pour servir d’outils de base à l’équipe
géomatique, afin d’en assurer l’interopérabilité future, repose sur l’adhésion à des normes internationales
pour le stockage, la diffusion et la description, tel l’ISO 19139, le CSW et un ensemble de normes de
l’Open Geospatial Consortium, auxquelles le Ministère se conforme en matière de données géospatiales.
TERRITOIRES , UN OUTIL RASSEMBLEUR POUR NAVIGUER DANS LE SAVOIR
Anne-Marie Plante, conseillère et chargée de projet en géomatique
Martin St-Hilaire, conseiller en aménagement du territoire
Trente ans de documents d’aménagement colligés en un seul site! C’est le défi qui a été lancé à la Direction
de la géomatique et de la statistique du ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation
du territoire. Ainsi, par le lancement de l’application Territoires, l’année 2013 en aura été une décisive
et enrichissante pour l’aménagement du territoire au Québec. Cette application se démarque comme
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un outil indispensable pour obtenir non seulement un portrait de la planification actuelle du territoire,
mais également pour reconstituer l’évolution de son occupation. Avec la mise en ligne de Territoires, le
Ministère a revu la totalité de ses outils de consultation des documents d’aménagement du territoire pour
donner un accès plus facile, convivial et moderne à plus de 100 000 documents, dont plusieurs n’étaient
auparavant accessibles qu’en version papier. La présentation offrira un survol de l’application géomatique
gouvernementale Territoires destiné au milieu municipal et régional en soutien à l’aménagement, au
développement et à l’occupation du territoire.
Friday June 20th Conference Presentations
HOW CAN I USE THIS MAP IN MY ASSIGNMENT? A SIMULATE D WORKSHOP
Rosa Orlandini, Map and GIS Librarian / Cartothécaire, York University Libraries / Université York
With the explosion of cartographic information, teachers and students are rediscovering that they can use
maps as a primary source in their research papers and assignments. Taking this into account, the student is
faced with several questions: (1) How do I interpret and understand this map? (2) Is this map appropriate
for my research or assignment?
Recently the Map and GIS Librarian at York University conducted several upper-level undergraduate
workshops in Anthropology, Communication Studies, and History that focus on the importance of evaluating
maps as an information source for a given discipline. The students visit the Map Library and are given a tour
of maps that are relevant to what they are learning in a course. The students break into 4-5 teams. Each team
is given one print map that they have to interpret and evaluate using pre-established criteria. After they
complete the evaluation, one student from each group reports back to the class and discusses their findings.
The map evaluation criteria used in the workshop uses the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency guidelines
and focus on the Purpose & Audience, Authority, Objectivity, Accuracy, Currency and Context of the maps.
This presentation introduced the workshop methodology and the evaluation criteria for maps. This was
followed by a simulated version of the workshop. At the end of the session, participants were asked for
input on the experience and how the evaluation criteria could be improved so that more librarians and
teachers can use it in the classroom.
UN NOUVEL ALLIÉ POUR EXPLORER ET DÉCOUVRIR LES CONN AISSANCES GÉOSPATIALES
DU GOUVERNEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Nathalie Michaud, Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec
Isabelle Desrosiers, Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec
Depuis 2004, le portail « Le Québec géographique » renseigne les internautes sur les différentes facettes de
la géomatique et de l’information géographique (IG). Il expose et met en valeur l’expertise, les réalisations
et les connaissances des ministères et organismes dans ce domaine.
Avec le temps, et grâce à la collaboration de ses partenaires, le contenu du portail « Le Québec géographique
» s’est enrichi. Il est aujourd’hui un incontournable, tant pour les amateurs que pour les professionnels,
pour rechercher des données géographiques ou pour rester à l’affût de l’actualité et des connaissances
géospatiales issues du gouvernement.
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Les dernières années ont été marquées par la démocratisation des technologies géospatiales. Les
citoyens, plus que jamais, interagissent avec des cartes et utilisent l’IG dans leur quotidien. Pour
répondre à cette nouvelle réalité, un outil de recherche et de découverte des connaissances géospatiales
gouvernementales est actuellement en cours d’implantation, et l’objectif est de l’intégrer au portail au cours
du printemps 2014. Cet outil, tout en renforçant le caractère géographique du portail, aura l’avantage de :
•faciliter l’accès aux connaissances géospatiales du gouvernement du Québec;
•améliorer l’adéquation aux besoins exprimés par la clientèle du portail;
•limiter la duplication de l’information à travers le portail;
•simplifier la mise à jour du contenu du portail par les partenaires.
La conférence fera d’abord état du contexte ayant mené à l’implantation de l’outil au sein du portail.
Une présentation de ses principales fonctionnalités et une courte démonstration suivront. Enfin, des
renseignements concernant l’évolution souhaitée pour le portail seront livrés.
LE GREFFE DE L’ARPENTEUR GÉNÉRAL DU QUÉBEC EN LIGNE
Jean-François Boucher, chef du Service des registres du domaine de l’État Ministère des Ressources naturelles
Full length paper printed on page 50
Le Greffe de l’arpenteur général du Québec est un registre public qui contient les documents préparés
sous l’autorité de l’arpenteur général du Québec et selon ses instructions. Ces documents décrivent les
travaux d’arpentage effectués sur les terres du domaine de l’État depuis la fin du régime français. Ils
servent à représenter le morcellement des terres, à rétablir les arpentages dans les cantons (townships)
et sur certaines portions de la frontière provinciale ou à décrire les limites de certains territoires
administratifs ou à statuts juridiques particuliers. Dans les années 90, un système de gestion a été
développé afin de rechercher l’information dans une base de données descriptives pour permettre la
diffusion des documents. Afin d’assurer la pérennité du registre, d’optimiser sa gestion et d’améliorer la
prestation de services à la clientèle, le Bureau de l’arpenteur général du Québec a entrepris de moderniser
le système en passant à l’ère du numérique. La solution retenue a été de numériser les documents
d’archives existants, d’introduire la signature numérique pour les documents préparés après juin 2013,
d’utiliser la géomatique afin de référencer l’information et de conserver les documents numériques dans
une application corporative de gestion électronique de documents. Dès avril 2014, une application Web
permettra à la clientèle d’effectuer des recherches géolocalisées de documents, de consulter ces documents
en ligne ou de les commander afin d’en obtenir une copie. Enfin, cette solution permet au Bureau de
l’arpenteur général du Québec de respecter ses obligations légales en matière d’archives et de diffusion.
STUDENT PAPER AWARD WINNER : SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN – MAPS AS TEXTS
By Allison M. Smith
Full length paper printed on page 31
Allison made a presentation about an online exhibit that she created last year as part of the 400th
anniversary commemoration of Samuel de Champlain’s expedition to the Ottawa area in 1613. This
exhibit explored the “language” of Champlain’s maps, their shared authorship, and the way that
this narrative has evolved and come to be presented as the modern maps of the commemoration.
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
18
BANQUET
Thursday June 19th
Espace La Fontaine
Photos courtesy of Joan Winearls
Photo courtesy of David Jones
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
19
Photo courtesy of David Jones
Photo courtesy of Joan Winearls
Photo courtesy of Joan Winearls
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
20
ACMLA Awards
The ACMLA Executive was honoured to recognize four individuals for their outstanding contributions to
the Association of Canadian Map Library and Archives. Winners were announced and recognized during
the Carto 2014 Banquet.
Honourary Member
The Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA) bestows an honourary life
membership on a member who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of map librarianship
or to a more significant understanding and appreciation of maps. To quote Heather McAdam
(Honours Award recipient 2007), “these are individuals who have assumed leadership roles within
the Association and have championed the Association beyond the confines of institutional walls.”
Award Recipient: Yves Tessier
Nominated by: Joan Winearls, Grace Welch and Stéfano Biondo
French version to follow
Nomination of Yves Tessier for Honorary Membership in ACMLA/ACACC
It is with great pleasure that we nominate Yves Tessier, for Honorary Membership in the Association of Canadian
Map Libraries and Archives /Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques du Canada. Yves was
one of the great pioneer map librarians in Canada, and one of the four founding members of ACML/ACC in 1967.
He had a profound effect on the shaping of the profession in Canada throughout his long career. It was Yves,
at the very first conference who proposed proper French terminology for map librarianship coining the new
terms “Cartothécaire”, and “Cartothéconomie” to complement the then recently established term “Cartothèque”.
From that first meeting, Yves was actively involved in all aspects of the Association. In 1969, he or ganized the
third conference of the new association at Laval and arranged for the first joint session between ACML/ACC and
the Special Libraries Association, Geography and Map Division. This meeting established a long tradition of joint
sessions with related associations. In that same year, Yves, with Joan Winearls, compiled the first directory of
Canadian map collections, an important initiative that promoted sharing of knowledge and expertise among
map librarians across Canada. In 1973, Yves compiled the first directory of map libraries in Quebec (1973).
One of Yves particular interests was the evolving field of computer cataloguing for maps and the development
of a National Union Catalogue for Maps (NUC). Yves became the NUC committee Chair in 1970. It was Yves’
vision that the project include: the standardization of cataloguing rules; be automated from the beginning;
and be administered by a national archival or library institution. This vision was realized when the rules were
codified under the National Archives of Canada, and later, in cooperation with the National Library, the National
Union Catalogue itself was finally achieved. In 1970-71, Yves developed a system of automated cataloguing of
maps in the Laval collection, called CARTESS. CARTESS was one of the very earliest automated map cataloguing
systems in Canada. In 1986 at a meeting of Quebec map libraries, Yves spoke about the use of microcomputers
for the bibliographic control of collections, this at a time when few map libraries even had computers.
In addition to his NUC activities, Yves was also involved in other Association initiatives. He was a member of
Directory Committee and the Map Microreproduction Committee; he functioned as the francophone coordinator
for the Association and in the early 90’s acted as Chair of the ACMLA-NAC Liaison Committee (1992). He was a
contributing editor to the Bulletin for several years and the regional editor for Quebec in the late 1980s. Yves’
extensive contributions to the Association were recognized when he received the ACMLA Honours Award for
Outstanding Achievement in 1991.
Collaboration and cooperation were themes that defined Yves’ career. His 1974 paper on cartographers
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
21
and their organizations called for increasing cooperation between the cartographic community and map
librarians. In a 1978 Bulletin article he called for cooperation between map librarians and map archives
and and identified some areas of potential collaboration such as working toward a better understanding
of historical sources. As Chair of the ACMLA-NAC Liaison Committee he organized several meetings with
senior management of the NAC to explore ways in which the two organizations could work together to
benefit the Canadian map user community, especially through enhanced access to Canadian maps and atlases.
This interest in collaboration is best illustrated by his work with Quebec map libraries. Yves was the doyen of map
librarianship in Quebec, organizing Quebec map librarians so they had a forum for regularly meeting and sharing
knowledge. He assisted colleagues in finding out what local maps were available and put pressure on provincial
and local governments to distribute their mapping to Quebec map libraries. He even produced a map showing the
size of Quebec university map collections, possibly the first visualization of map collections in Canada. He regularly
reported on the state of government cartography in Quebec and also the state of Quebec university map collections.
For many years he edited and published Cartologica, a useful aid for the Laval cartographic community and beyond.
Yves graduated with a B.A. in history from Laval in 1962, and in 1964 was hired as the first map librarian at
Laval University. In 1969 he obtained a BLS from the University of Ottawa followed two years later by an M.A.
in History (Laval). He also holds a Masters in Public Administration (1982).
Throughout his career, Yves willingly shared his knowledge and expertise through teaching (he lectured at
Laval in education technology, geography and computer science), and presentations at conferences, meetings
and workshops. Yves published extensively – besides papers in the ACMLA Bulletin, he also published
in many cartographic and geographical journals (The Cartographer, Cahiers de géographie de Québec,
Revue de carto-Québec, Documentation et bibliothèques). His range of topics is impressive: computer
cataloguing, microreproduction for maps, (Laval’s CARTESS, Cartomatique cataloguing systems, and the
use of MIRACODE to reproduce the maps on microfilm), recommendations for selecting basic cartographic
collections, access to government mapping, the cartographic community, early maps (acquisition,
conservation, cataloguing, bibliography, microreproduction and facsimile publishing) and library orientation
for maps. He compiled several bibliographies of maps and atlases including a union list of atlases in Quebec
university libraries. One of his finest endeavours was the production in 1992 of a full-scale reproduction,
meticulously printed on acid-free paper, of Champlain’s magnum opus Carte de la Nouvelle-France (1632).
The Association owes much to Yves Tessier. His career was defined by vision, leadership and collaboration with
his colleagues across Canada and within Quebec which greatly helped to develop Canadian map librarianship.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nomination d’Yves Tessier à titre de membre honoraire au sein de l’ACMLA/ACACC
C’est avec le plus grand plaisir que nous nommons Yves Tessier, à titre de membre honoraire au sein de l’Association
of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives/Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques du Canada.
Yves était l’un des grands pionniers des cartothèques au Canada et l’un des quatre membres fondateurs de l’ACML/
ACC en 1967. Durant sa longue carrière, il a grandement façonné la profession au Canada. À la toute première
conférence, ce fut Yves qui a proposé une terminologie française adéquate pour le bibliothécariat cartographique
concevant les nouveaux termes « Cartothécaire » et « Cartothéconomie » pour compléter le terme récemment
établi alors de « Cartothèque ».
Dès cette première réunion, Yves a été activement impliqué dans tous les aspects de l’Association. En 1969, il a
organisé la troisième conférence de la nouvelle Association à Laval et a géré la première session commune entre
l’ACML/ACC et l’Association des bibliothèques spécialisées, division de géographie et cartographie. Cette réunion
a déterminé une longue tradition de sessions communes avec les associations connexes. Dans la même année,
Yves et Joan Winearls, ont compilé le premier répertoire de collections de cartes canadiennes, une importante
initiative qui promouvait le partage de connaissances et d’expertise parmi les cartothèques du Canada. En 1973,
Yves a compilé le premier répertoire des cartothèques du Québec (1973).
L’un des principaux intérêts d’Yves était le domaine en développement du catalogage informatique pour les cartes
et l’élaboration d’un catalogue collectif national pour les cartes (NUC). Yves est devenu le président du comité
NUC en 1970. C’était la vision d’Yves que ce projet comprenne : l’uniformisation des règles de catalogage, leur
automatisation dès le début
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
22
et leur administration par une institution nationale d’archives ou de bibliothèques. Cette vision a été réalisée
lorsque les règles ont été codifiées par les Archives nationales du Canada et plus tard, en collaboration
avec la Bibliothèque nationale, le Catalogue collectif national a lui-même finalement été réalisé. En 1970-
71, Yves a développé un système de catalogage automatisé des cartes dans la collection de Laval, appelé
CARTESS. CARTESS était l’un des premiers systèmes de catalogage automatisé au Canada. En 1986, dans
une réunion des cartothèques québécoises, Yves a parlé de l’utilisation de micro-ordinateurs pour le contrôle
bibliographique des collections, ceci au moment où très peu de cartothèques possédaient des ordinateurs.
En plus de ses activités NUC, Yves était aussi impliqué dans d'autres initiatives de l'Association. Il était membre
du Comité du répertoire et du Comité de microreproduction cartographique; il a agi à titre de coordonnateur
francophone pour l'Association et au début des années 1990, a agi comme président du Comité de liaison de
l'ACMLA/NAC (1992). Il a été le rédacteur participant au Bulletin pendant plusieurs années et le rédacteur
régional pour le Québec à la fin des années 1980. Les grandes contributions d’Yves à l'Association ont été
reconnues, lorsqu'il a reçu en 1991, la récompense honorifique de l'ACMLA pour réalisation extraordinaire.
La collaboration et la coopération étaient des thèmes qui ont défini la carrière d’Yves. Son document de 1974
sur les cartographes et leurs organisations a fait appel à une plus grande collaboration entre la communauté
cartographique et les cartothèques. Dans un article du Bulletin de 1978, il a demandé la collaboration entre
les cartothèques et les archives cartographiques, identifiant certains domaines possibles de collaboration, tel
que travailler vers une meilleure compréhension des sources historiques. En tant que président du Comité de
liaison ACMLA-NAC, il a organisé plusieurs réunions avec la haute direction de NAC, pour explorer les façons
par lesquelles les deux organisations pourraient travailler ensemble, afin d’en faire profiter la communauté
canadienne des utilisateurs de cartes, particulièrement par l'accès amélioré aux cartes et atlas canadiens.
Cet intérêt à collaborer est mieux démontré par son travail avec les cartothèques québécoises. Yves était le
doyen de la cartothéconomie au Québec, organisant les cartothèques québécoises, pour qu’elles aient un
forum pour se rencontrer fréquemment et partager des connaissances. Il a aidé des collègues à découvrir les
cartes locales qui étaient disponibles et a mis une pression sur les gouvernements provinciaux et locaux, pour
distribuer leurs cartographies aux cartothèques québécoises. Il a même produit une carte démontrant la taille
des collections des cartes des universités québécoises, possiblement la première visualisation de collections
de cartes au Canada. Il a régulièrement fait des rapports sur l’état de la cartographie gouvernementale au
Québec et aussi sur l’état des collections de cartes des universités québécoises. Pendant plusieurs années,
il a édité et publié Cartologica, une aide précieuse pour la communauté cartographique de Laval et au-delà.
Yves a obtenu un bac en histoire de Laval en 1962 et a été embauché en 1964, comme premier cartothécaire
à l’Université Laval. En 1969, il a obtenu un B. Bibl. de l’Université d’Ottawa, suivi d’une maîtrise en
histoire (Laval) deux ans plus tard. Il détient également une maîtrise en administration publique (1982).
Pendant toute sa carrière, Yves a volontairement partagé ses connaissances et son expertise par l’enseignement (il
a donné des cours à Laval en technologie d’enseignement, géographie et science informatique), et des présentations
à des conférences, réunions et ateliers. Yves a beaucoup publié – en plus de documents dans le Bulletin de
l’ACMLA, il a aussi publié dans plusieurs revues cartographiques et géographiques (The Cartographer, Cahiers
de géographie de Québec, Revue de carto-Québec, Documentation et bibliothèques). La gamme de ses sujets est
impressionnante : catalogage informatique, micro reproduction pour les cartes (CARTESS de Laval, systèmes de
catalogage Cartomatique et utilisation de MIRACODE, pour reproduire les cartes sur microfilm), recommandations
pour choisir les collections cartographiques de base, l’accès aux cartographies gouvernementales, la communauté
cartographique, les cartes anciennes (acquisition, conservation, catalogage, bibliographie, micro reproduction et la
publication de reproduction) et l’orientation en bibliothèque pour les cartes. Il a compilé plusieurs bibliographies
de cartes et atlas, y compris une liste collective des atlas dans les bibliothèques des universités québécoises. L’une
de ses meilleures réalisations fut la production en 1992 d’une reproduction pleine échelle, méticuleusement
imprimée sur papier désacidifié, du magnum opus de Champlain Carte de la Nouvelle-France (1632).
L’association doit beaucoup à Yves Tessier. Sa carrière a été définie par la vision, le leadership et la collaboration avec
ses collègues dans tout le Canada et au Québec, ce qui a grandement aidé à développer la bibliothéconomie canadienne.
Nommé par
Joan Winearls, Grace Welch et Stéfano Biondo
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
23
Nomination de Yves Tessier comme membre honoraire :
Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques du Canada/
Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives, Juin 2014
ADRESSE EN RÉPONSE À L’ASSOCIATION
Mesdames et Messieurs /Ladies and Gentlemen
Le président sortant de votre association, monsieur Danial Duda, m’a informé récemment de ma
candidature pour devenir Membre honoraire de l’Association des cartothèques et archives cartographiques
du Canada, the well known ACMLA. C’est avec une grande surprise que j’ai appris cette décision.
Cette marque d’appréciation a rappelé à ma mémoire un passé très riche en expériences professionnelles des
plus stimulantes avec tous mes collègues québécois et canadiens.
This “ breaking news” in my rather quiet life was particularly significant to me : this year is the fiftieth anniversary
of my landing in the so promising meadow of map librarianship early June 1964 ! This was a discipline virtually
being at that time.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of you of the sorts of challenges facing the new-comer in maps
in the library world at that time. Simply stated: he or she had to design their own professional life nearly from
scratch, to create their comfort level vis a vis their collections and services to the best of their knowledge, and
much of that knowledge was still to be acquired and created if lacking.
À cette époque en 1964, les bibliothèques étaient encore très centrées sur le livre, comme en a témoigné longtemps
l’expression « non-livre », le « non-book materials », pour désigner tous les supports documentaires autres que
le livre. À la Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval par exemple, un seul autre service comportait le suffixe « -thèque
», c’était la cinémathèque, une percée avant-gardiste pour l’époque. La cartothèque a suivi.
À ce moment, les professeurs de géographie de l’Université Laval ont fait des pressions sur la direction de
l’université pour que la bibliothèque offre des services documentaires concernant aussi les cartes géographiques
et anciennes, les atlas et les photographiques aériennes. Ils affirmaient que ces nouveaux médias serviraient
non seulement aux géographes mais aussi à toute personne ayant besoin d’information géographique et
cartographique. Ils ont fait don à la bibliothèque universitaire de leur collection pédagogique de cartes et d’atlas
et ils ont recommandé très fortement l’engagement d’un de leur diplômé les plus prometteurs… Devinez qui !
Ainsi est née la Cartothèque de la Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval en 1964.
Fifty years ago, no academic formal training in map curatorship existed for new-comers in the field. They had to
dive in the pool hoping for the best. By chance in 1966, the Geography and Map Division of the Special Libraries
Association organized in Philadelphia a one-week seminar on map librarianship. This historic meeting was a
delight to attend for me, not only for the basic professional knowledge to acquire, but also … for meeting an
elegant lady, Ms. Joan Winearls.
I was in league with her on many issues, like the organisation with two other persons of the first annual meeting
of your association in 1967, the compilation of the first Directory of Canadian Map Collections in 1968, and the
basic and sometimes crucial issues in the life of the association. I would like to acknowledge publicly her generous
affability and long dedication to the association.
From these “good old days”, your association went its way until today, gaining a solid maturity, if I judge by the
issues treated in the programme for the present annual meeting.
I can see a very interesting balance between the technical/practical issues and the theoretical approaches in
your professional preoccupations.
Prenons par exemple quelques éléments du programme du congrès de 2014 : les aspects techniques des
outils géomatiques, le catalogage avancé, les institutions nationales. Ce sont tous des thèmes se rapportant à
l’organisation pratique du travail.
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
24
Mais notons aussi : la préservation et la diffusion du savoir géographique à l’ère numérique, la démocratisation
de l’accès aux données spatiales, les tendances de la cartographie moderne, la « géolittératie » (quel beau mot
nouveau pour moi !), ce sont tous des sujets d’intérêt théorique et social.
Because of this meaningful balance between theory and practice in your approach to your profession and
organizations, I strongly feel that your association has more than a professional status and a concern for map
repositories; it has gained the solid status of a learned society in cartology/une société savante de cartologie.
Puis-je vous rappeler simplement que le Glossaire français de cartographie publié à Paris par le Comité français
de cartographie a défini la cartologie comme étant la science de l’étude théorique et pratique des cartes.
Comme c’est une société savante de cartologie qui me fait l’insigne honneur de me conférer cette marque de
reconnaissance de membre honoraire de votre association, je l’accepte avec ma plus grande considération et
avec l’expression très sincère de mes meilleurs remerciements!
Votre association deviendra de nouveau…la mienne !
Your association is mine again…forever !
Yves Tessier
19 juin 2014
ytessier@megaquebec.net
The Unexpected Dream
Grace, Joan, Stéfano, Yves
Photo Courtesy of Marie-Andrée Drouin
A common will to share
In esteem for a commitment
A collective way of expression
Bridging the Past and the Present
The company of friends more than colleagues
Retired but closer to his beloved profession
My most sincere thanks to all
For this memorable event
Affectionately
Yves Tessier
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
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Honours Award
The ACMLA Honours Award is awarded to a person who had made an outstanding contribution in the field
of map/GIS librarianship. The contribution may either be for a specific activity or for general services
and contributions such as continued membership in the Association with active participation either
as an executive officer, committee chairperson, or committee member. Normally, membership in
ACMLA is a prerequisite, however that does not preclude considering outstanding non-members.
Award Recipient : David Jones
Nominated by Danial Duda
The Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA) recognizes individuals who have made
significant contributions to map librarianship at the local, regional, national, and international levels through
their granting of the Honours Award for Outstanding Achievement. David Jones is one such individual who has
done a great deal for map librarianship and the ACMLA since he became Map Librarian for the University of
Alberta William C. Wonders Map Collection in the mid-1990s until his retirement. David served on the ACMLA
Executive from 2000 to 2009 and within that time period he was president from 2005-2006.
David’s career spans four decades of librarianship. While a doctorate candidate in Molecular Biology at McMaster
in 1970, David decided to make a career change and received his MLIS at Western in 1971. His first professional
position was with Humber College in Toronto where he worked for nine years from 1971-1980. He then made
his move to Alberta where he became the Assistant Science Librarian at the University of Alberta. Over time,
David became the Collections Coordinator for the Science and Technology Library and then another career shift
entered David’s life – the William C. Wonders Map Collection.
In the early 1990s the University of Alberta Library assumed the administration of the Map Library from the
Geography Department. The one library building that had room for the largest academic map collection in
the country was the Science and Technology Library which became the new home of the collection. Several
librarians were tasked with administering the collection with one of them being David. Eventually, the several
became only one – David. Shortly thereafter, David joined professional groups like the Western Association
of Map Libraries (WAML), the Canadian Cartographic Association (CCA), and ACMLA, but gave the majority
of his time to our organization. One of his major achievements as Map Librarian was to convert the map
catalogue from 24 – 3 inch binders of hand-written entries into a keyword searchable database. This project
lasted roughly a decade and was completed in 2006. Another highlight includes convening CARTO 2000
in Edmonton, one of the few times that brought ACMLA, CCA, and WAML together at a single conference.
David’s passion for maps was always at the forefront with his service ethic. His interest in learning more and
more about maps was always evident. This along with his enjoyment of meeting and helping people made him
a dedicated reference librarian. As quoted in LISAA, the University of Alberta Library and Information Studies
Alumni Association newsletter, “Everyday I learn something new, and most days I also meet someone new. Helping
identify a client’s spatial data needs and, in most cases, finding the appropriate map(s) in the WCWMC, or from
other sources, is rewarding for both myself and the client.”
David not only promoted his map collection at the local or national stages but took it overseas to the International
Conference on the History of Cartography held in Budapest in 2005. Here David highlighted the Austro-Hungarian
maps in the Collection, one of its treasures. Another of his projects to highlight interesting maps was to curate
an exhibition titled – Journeys Beyond the Neat Line: Expanding the Boundaries of Cartography – an exhibit of
two people who documented their personal journeys through text and maps. This exhibit was highly praised.
In the fall of 2013, David’s career at the University of Alberta was further recognized with him being granted
the title Librarian Emeritus. I believe that something needs to be kept in mind with David’s achievements, those
highlighted and the many unmentioned due to space - David completed these accomplishments being a half-time
Map Librarian. The other half of David’s time through most of his tenure as Map Librarian was still performing his
duties as a Science Librarian. And, to top all of this off, David always had time to mentor people in the profession.
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
26
Many of us have received calls from David encouraging us to become involved with ACMLA or to
encourage or support our careers. I can vouch for this at the local level since I am one of those
people. And so it is a great honor for me to nominate David Jones for the ACMLA Honours Award.
Nominated – Danial Duda
Seconded – Andrew Nicholson and Larry Laliberte
David Jones’ acceptance speech
It is a great honour to receive this ACMLA Honours Award. This award is very special to me. I have always
appreciated ACMLA for its support of map libraries and in return have done what I could to support our Association
In the summer of 1995 I was given the responsibility for the William C Wonders Map Collection - as part of a
group of 4 Librarians in the SciTech LIbrary at the University of Alberta.
One of my 1st activities was to join ACMLA and to attend the 1995 annual conf - that year at UBC. This was where
I first met my ‘carto family’. Since then I attend all but 2 of our conferences and annual meetings
These conferences and meetings have been an annual highlight where I could 1) reconnect with colleagues
& friends; 2) catch-up on activities in other map libraries and hear about innovative programs programs and
initiatives; and 3) learn about both technological advances and changes in policy environments.
These always left me excited and recharged.
Work on and with the Executive in a variety of roles & position - conf convenor; VP, Pres, Past Pres., committee
chair. and on various campaigns was always rewarding, both personally and in support of our goals as ACMLA.
I have had the pleasure of working with many Map Librarians - learning much from the ‘old guard’ - who were
not so old then but had much more experience than me. I now see myself as part of our current ‘old guard’ - I
remember filing catalogue cards. Now I am inspired by the energy, enthusiasm and technical prowess of our
younger ‘new guard’ who bring their vitality to role of ‘Map Librarian’ - connecting the spatial data user to the
appropriate resources - both print and digital. - and bringing new energy and focus to our Association.
ACMLA is wonderful organisation, and has been for almost 1/2 a century. Our new by-laws will position us well
for the next 1/2 century. I encourage those of you who have not already gotten involved in ACMLA activities to
do so - and thank and appreciate those of you who already are involved.
Again - my heartfelt thanks for this honour
David Jones
Map Librarian Emeritus
William C. Wonders Map Collection
University of Alberta
June 2014
Photo courtesy of Larry Laliberté
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
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Cathy Moulder Paper Award
The Cathy Moulder Paper Award is awarded to an individual who has researched, written and
published a paper of significant value in the ACMLA Bulletin. The paper is considered for its solid
contribution to map librarianship, curatorship or archiveship
Award Recipient : Barbara Belyea
Article Title : A Map and Nine Makers
ACMLA Bulletin Number: 144, Spring/Summer 2013
ACMLA Student Paper Award
The Student Paper Award is awarded to a student from Canada or studying in Canada
currently enrolled in a post-secondary institution (college or university) who has written an
original paper related to the interests of the ACMLA. Primary consideration for the award is
given to the essay’s originality and its contribution to new knowledge and inight in GIS or
cartography. Other considerations include the author’s demonstration of the relevance of the
subject, the quality of the presentation and documentation, and the literary merits of the essay.
Award Recipient : Allison Smith
Allison’s winning paper is printed on page 31
Photo courtesy of Larry Laliberté
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
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Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives /
Association des Cartothèques et Archives Cartographiques du Canada
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
535 avenue Viger Est, Montréal
June 19, 2014
12:30-14:30
1.0 Establishment of Quorum; Call to Order
Quorum was established and the meeting was called to order at 12:46 PM. Courtney Lundrigan made a final
call for submission of proxy forms.
2.0 Opening Remarks from the President, ACMLA
President Rosa Orlandini gave opening remarks and welcomed members to the AGM and Special Meeting.
3.0 Approval of Agenda
The agenda was approved (Moved: Andrew Nicholson; Seconded: Cynthia Dietz; Carried).
4.0 Approval of Minutes Annual General Meeting 2013
http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/docs/minutes/ACMLA_AGM_2013.pdf
The 2013 AGM minutes were approved (Moved: Virginia Pow; Seconded: David Jones; Carried).
5.0 Business Arising from the Annual General Meeting 2013
By-law Review Task Force – The work of the By-law Review Task Force will be discussed under new business
and the proposed Special Resolution. RO thanked the members of the By-law Review Task Force for their work.
6.0 President’s Report http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/docs/commrpts/president_report_14.pdf
Rosa Orlandini pointed members to the President’s Report, which is available on the website. In March, Rosa
attended a meeting with other information association leaders about advocacy issues. ACMLA has agreed
to become involved, and will contribute resources and a regular representative. Rosa acknowledged Deena
Yanofsky and her role in the Canadian Geomatics Community Round Table (CGCRT). In closing, Rosa thanked
Second Vice President Wenonah van Heyst for all her hard work with the executive, as she will not be
running for office again.
7.0 First Vice President’s Report: http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/docs/commrpts/1stVP_report_14.pdf
Siobhan Hanratty highlighted her areas of responsibility, including a number of defunct committees. She
hopes that if the association’s new governance structure is accepted, we can consider new committees
with renewed commitments to the association and our profession. The mentorship program has also been
quiet – Colleen Beard is still interested in providing mentorship, so please contact her if you are interested
in participating in any capacity. Membership numbers are down slightly, but it may be attributed to the free
membership included in the conference registration fees. The Awards Committee report (http://www.acmla-acacc.
ca/docs/commrpts/awards_report_14.pdf) and a Membership Report (http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/
docs/commrpts/membership_report_14.pdf) are available on the website under the First Vice President’s
Report. Final main area of responsibility is the conference. Siobhan thanked the Local Arrangements and
Program Committees for their work on this year’s conference. The venue for the 2015 conference has not yet
been finalized. The executive will keep the membership informed of any updates on next year’s conference.
Jean-François Palomino asked about the possibility of having a 3-year timeline of conference venues. Siobhan
responded that it was something we are working toward, but expressed concern that many institutions
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
29
would not be able to commit to hosting a conference 3 years in advance.
8.0 Second Vice President’s Report: http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/docs/commrpts/2ndVP_report_14.pdf
Wenonah van Heyst pointed members to her report on the website, and the individual reports from committees
in her portfolio. Wenonah thanked Eva Dodsworth for another year of success with the Bulletin, and also
thanked contributors (see report at http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/docs/commrpts/bulletin_report_14.pdf).
Our Historical Maps inventory and business are declining, and Wenonah recommended that members make
purchases in the event that the program may be concluding (see report at http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/docs/
commrpts/historical_maps_report_14.pdf). Larry Laliberté and Virginia Pow both handled our publications
this year, and Wenonah thanked them for their service to the association (see report at http://www.acmla-acacc.
ca/docs/commrpts/publications_report_14.pdf). Wenonah thanked members of the Web Committee
for their work (see report at http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/docs/commrpts/web_report_14.pdf) and Siobhan
Hanratty reminded the membership that our new domain is active and the old one will be going away in July.
Jean-François Palomino asked about the possibility of archiving the current conference site. Siobhan Hanratty
suggested that going forward, we may want to consider hosting the conference website on our own domain. At
the very least, we will be collecting the programme information, but hopefully also the presentation materials.
9.0 Treasurer’s Report
Deena Yanofsky introduced three financial documents: our final budget for 2013, a proposed budget for
2014, and a summary of what we have spent to date in 2014. Erin Forward asked if there is a way to join
and renew memberships, and update member contact information online. Leanne Trimble responded that
the functionality is available in Membee, but has not been implemented. Deena is proposing a deficit budget
again. Grace Welch provided an audit of our finances for 2011 and 2012. Deena can make it available to
members, but will not be posting the report online, as it outlines our financial and accounting practices.
Peter Genzinger asked if we can be audited by one of our own members. Deena responded that we can, and
that Grace was working with a set of guidelines. There was no conflict of interest.
Cynthia Dietz asked why there is no projected income. Deena responded that do not expect to profit from our
activities as a not-for-profit organization. Barb Znamirowski asked for clarification about SSHRC cutting the travel
funding and wondered if there are alternative sources of funding. Andrew Nicholson clarified that the alternatives
provided by SSHRC were not in line with the association’s goals and professional development activities.
Motion to accept the financial report: Stéfano Biondo; Seconded: Sarah Simpkin; Carried.
10.0 Past President’s Report
Dan Duda reported that all those who requested travel funding for this year’s conference will receive funds.
Yves Tessier will receive an Honorary Membership, presented by Joan Winearls and Grace Welch at tonight’s
banquet.
Motion to accept the executive reports: Erin Forward; Seconded: David Jones; Carried.
11.0 New Business
a) Special Resolution: Continuing the association under the provisions of the Canada Not-For-Profit
Corporations Act and authorizing the Directors to Apply for a Certificate of Continuance (includes proposed
by-law changes)
Courtney Lundrigan introduced the Special Resolution (full text documents in both English and French
available on the homepage at http://www.acmla-acacc.ca/index.php), and summarized the proposed changes
to by-laws and Rules of Procedure document. Copies are also available from Courtney Lundrigan (courtney.
lundrigan@utoronto.ca or secretary@acmla-acacc.ca) upon request.
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
30
Motion to pass the Special Resolution: Leanne Trimble; Seconded: Sarah Simpkin; Carried.
Daniel Brendle-Moczuk asked whether there were provisions in the proposed new by-law to elect executive
members between annual meetings, should a vacancy arise. Courtney responded that the proposed new
by-law contained a significantly reduced number of clauses to allow for maximum flexibility. The procedure
for filling executive positions between annual meetings would remain the same (the remaining executive
members would appoint someone to stand until the next annual meeting, when he/she would be able to
run to continue in the position), and that this would now be covered in the Rules of Procedure document,
which is much easier to amend than the by-law.
Votes in favour of passing the Special Resolution: Full – 31
Votes in favour of passing the Special Resolution: Associate - 1
12.0 Nominations Report
Dan Duda made 3 calls for nominations from the floor for each position. There was one nomination for each
executive position:
President: Rosa Orlandini
Vice President 1: Siobhan Hanratty
Vice President 2: Deena Yanofsky
Secretary: Courtney Lundrigan
Treasurer: Rebecca Bartlett
Past President: Dan Duda (no election required)
All officers were acclaimed and Dan introduced the 2014-2015 executive.
13.0 Elections
See Point 12.0.
14.0 Any other business
Working Groups - Erin Forward proposed a working group to collaborate on creating an inventory
and undertaking digitization of Canadian historical topographic maps. Erin encouraged members to
think about whether we want to go bigger than topographic maps and include other HGIS projects.
Colleen Beard asked for clarification on the process of forming task forces. Courtney Lundrigan
clarified that two members would need to propose a task force/working group to the executive, and
one could be formed. Andrew Nicholson asked who would be responsible for drafting and carrying
out the terms of reference. Courtney responded that when a proposal was made, the executive
members would determine whose portfolio matched the proposed task force’s mandate closest,
and the group would report to the executive and membership through that executive member.
Erin Forward asked whether we could have space online to read about the progress of task
force/working groups. Siobhan Hanratty responded that our current website allows for private
space on the website that is not publicly visible, and encouraged members to make use of it.
15.0 Adjournment
Motion to adjourn: Colleen Beard
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
31
ACMLA Student Award Winner
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN - MAPS AS TEXTS
Allison M. Smith
Carleton University
ACMLA Student Award Winner
Presented at CARTO 2014
An Online Exhibit : http://champlain.graeworks.net/exhibits/show/samueldechamplainmapsastexts
This exhibit explores the “language” of Champlain’s maps, their shared authorship, and the way that
this narrative has evolved and come to be presented as the modern maps of the commemoration.
Abstract
This article, which was originally presented as an
online exhibit, explores the “language” of Champlain’s
maps, their shared authorship, and the way that this
narrative has evolved and come to be presented as
the modern maps of the 2013 commemoration of
Champlain’s expedition to the Ottawa-Gatineau area.
Introduction
Samuel de Champlain is best remembered in Canada
as an explorer of the North American east coast and
the eastern Canadian watershed. But he was also
an accomplished writer and mapmaker, producing
numerous large-and small-scale maps, of which
23 survive today (Litalien, 372-374). This exhibit
will examine four of his maps that relate to his
1613 expedition to the Ottawa River area. It is this
expedition, this region, and people who lived here,
that are the subjects of the recent 400th anniversary
commemorations as well as the “Champlain in the
Anishinabe Aki” colloquium. Accordingly, the exhibit
will also consider the map at the 2013 “Canada’s
First Tourist” exhibit at the City of Ottawa Archives.
No digital image of the large wall-sized map from
the Archives exhibit was available for this online
exhibit but the Archives was able to provide a link to
a modern online map that is similar in style from the
Canadian-American Center at the University of Maine.
The maps by Champlain in this online exhibit include
one from 1612, a year before his first trip up to
the Ottawa River. It shows his conception of the
area based on information from others and is the
most decorative of the three. The second map by
Champlain was made in 1613, the year he made
his first trip to the Ottawa River and is the focus of
the recent commemoration. The third map is an
incomplete work created by Champlain in 1616 and
includes the discoveries of his 1616 trip to the Ottawa
River area. The fourth map was made by Champlain
in 1632 and is the most detailed of the four. This
exhibit will use these four maps by Champlain as
well as the modern maps as primary sources in an
analysis that builds on five theoretical approaches.
There are varying theories about how Champlain
learned his mapmaking skills. One is that it was
while he was a young man working as a fourrier or
junior officer reporting to the maréchaux des logis,
the lodging master for the French army. In the late
16th century detailed maps of France were produced
by this lodging service as they moved through
the countryside, ahead of the army, finding and
documenting towns and their respective facilities
in which to accommodate the army. (Buisseret, 257-
9) Another theory is that Champlain was a painter,
who, in fact, made his first voyage to New France
in 1603 as a passenger who came along to paint
pictures of this previously unseen (by Europeans)
land. (Buisseret, 256) The “painter” theory tends
to imply that his technique was self-taught. But it
has also been suggested that Champlain’s original
maps were just rough sketches, accompanied by
detailed descriptions that he provided to an engraver
for formal production as maps (Litalien, 372).
But regardless of how he came to make maps, one
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
32
work. British historical geographer Catherine Delano
Smith says “a ‘map maker’ is rarely if ever a single
person.” The idea that the person who holds the pen
might actually be responding to his own experiences
as well as those of others, as well as being under the
influence of yet others “could provoke map historians
into useful further thought on the notion of ‘whose
map is it’?” (Smith, 199). We know from Champlain’s
accounts that he was in regular contact with local
native people and, as was pointed out earlier, that
there was content on his maps that could only have
come from non-Europeans. There are also strong
indications that Champlain’s maps were a reflection
of the engraver’s input. It is also possible that content
of Champlain’s maps could have been influenced
by the King, who funded his exploration, by fellow
expeditioners with whom he travelled, and even by
the French public, who were intrigued by news of the
“New World.” According to French historian Christian
Jacob “The main task of the history of cartography
is to interpret maps according to the categories of
the culture which produced and used them” (Jacob,
196). If this is indeed the case, the Champlain maps
present an interpretive challenge for us today,
given the diversity of those who influenced him.
Champlain’s maps are further complicated by the
multiplicity of symbols that they display and that
should be read as the social constructs that they are.
Harley quotes D. F. McKenzie saying “maps clearly
ACMLA Student Award Winner
Figure 1. Champlain's Map from 1612
1612 Carte geographique de la Nouvelle Franse faictte par le sieur de Champlain Saint Tongois cappitaine
ordinaire pour le Roy en la Marine.
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
33
qualify as texts inasmuch as they are ‘constructions
employing a conventional sign system’” (Harley,
Historical, 84-5). Five years after Harley’s death in
1991, Jacob expanded on Harley’s earlier statement
saying: “According to Harley, the map is a semio-logical
trap and a frightening ideological weapon; it
gives an objective and natural appearance to what is
mostly a cultural and social construction. It presents
a seemingly objective and irrefutable appearance of
factual and topographical information (the world
as it is), but beyond this facade lies an elaborate
rhetoric of power which organizes the iconography,
Maps as Tools
the social filtering and construction of the territory
and the discourse of place names” (Jacob, 194).
Champlain’s 1612 map depicts a sparsely populated
landmass, inhabited by virtually naked and what
will have appeared to be “uncivilized” people.
The map tells of a land offering an exotic array of
plants and an abundance of fish and fur-bearing
animals. The rhetoric of this semiotic text calls
out to Europeans like a present-day grocery store
flyer offering all manner of goods for the interested
buyer, and real estate for the deep-pocketed
developer. Clearly these maps, with their rich
artistic displays were also tools of communication.
ACMLA Student Award Winner
Figure 2. Champlain's Map of his 1613 Expedition
1613 Carte geographique de la Nouelle Franse en son vray meridiein [document cartographique]
Faictte par le Sr. Champlain, Cappine. por le Roy en la marine.
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
34
Champlain’s 1613 map (Figure 2), which reflects the
voyage that is the subject of the 2013 commemoration,
labels numerous features, including people, such
as the Algonquins and Iroquois, rivers, such as Les
Trois Rivieres, and lakes, such as Lac Champlain
and Lac St. Louis. But a key difference between the
map of 1612 and this 1613 map is the inclusion
of Hudson’s Bay which had only been explored by
Henry Hudson in the years 1610-1611. A map that
included this newly explored bay was published in
Amsterdam in 1612 referring to the area, in Latin,
as “Recens investigati ab M. Henrico Hudsono Anglo”
(Wroth, 85). Champlain’s 1613 map reflects this
newly discovered (by Europeans) bay. As well, like
the 1612 map before it, it shows mountains across
the entire region. But it has distinctive clusters of
mountains blocking the pathway that Champlain
hoped to use to get to Hudson’s Bay. As a tool
and a guide for future explorers, this map directs
the viewer not to consider the Ottawa River as a
way to get to Hudson’s Bay. Did this information
about the Ottawa River come from Champlain’s
own observation, or was he told by the Algonquins
and Tessouat that there was no way through?
The mountains that are seemingly blocking the way
to Hudson’s Bay on this 1613 map are indicative
of Harley’s suggestion that “Our maps are always
an argument” (Harley, Historical, 86). If we read
Champlain’s map as a text, his argument seems
to be: there is no passage to Hudson’s Bay by this
route. However, while Harley, in 1989, stressed the
need to read maps like texts, historian and visual
anthropologist Elizabeth Edwards, in 2005, spoke
of a “concern over the dominance of the semiotic,
discourse around objects—and certainly images—
[and how they have] been inflected through textual
metaphors of “reading,” of the signs and symbols to be
decoded.” But I will argue that as historians we need
to be alert to both ways of reading images: we need
to read maps critically as texts, but also allow them
to speak to us on other sensory levels (Edwards, 37).
Historian Jennifer Evans says “images do not passively
mirror historical change but actively constitute
claims to representation”(Evans, 433). Her comment
echoes Harley’s view, that maps make an argument.
However, we must also recall that in these “actively
constituted claims” and “arguments” we are hearing
the voices of multiple speakers. While texts have a
lexicon of words, the speakers in these maps have a
lexicon of representations or symbols. And where
texts are understood by the meanings attached to the
words, maps are understood by the meanings attached
to the symbols. But words and symbols are social
constructs. And misinterpretation of the meanings
of words can most assuredly happen in a verbal
dialogue between two peoples, say French Europeans
and Algonquin people, who do not share the same
spoken language. In the same way, there might be
misinterpretations in the meanings of the symbols
they sketch for each other in their mapmaking. But
over time, these misinterpretations may be avoided
when each group comes to better understand each
other’s language – both words and symbols – even
if it takes 400 years to do it. But what is to be made
of the silences in the conversation and on the map?
Maps as Silences and Approximations
Geographically, Champlain’s 1616 map (Figure 3)
extends westward from that which is shown on the
1613 map, to show all of Lake Ontario, which both
maps refer to as Lac St. Louis. The 1616 map also
includes Georgian Bay extending into Lake Huron,
which together are referred to as “Mer douce”
meaning sweet or fresh-water sea and possibly
part of Lake Superior. Champlain also incorporated
into this map other bodies of water and rivers
that were not part of his own expedition. These
additions were based on unattributed sources of
geographical information and map sketches given
to him by the Petun, Ottawa, and Huron peoples that
were part of his expedition, or that he met along the
way (Wroth, 86; Lewis, 7-9). But this map is also
interesting because it is incomplete, and because
it disappeared from public awareness until 1953.
It is unclear why Champlain left it unfinished, but
it reflects a somewhat different style to the other
maps. Perhaps due to its incompleteness this map
is also the least decorative, containing only a simple
compass and none of the “tadpole” style lakes that
appear on his other maps. Rather the lakes are
drawn as small circles or irregularly shaped bodies
ACMLA Student Award Winner
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
35
ACMLA Student Award Winner
of water, based on Champlain’s knowledge or the
knowledge passed on to him by aboriginal people
who knew the area. It also shows no mountains,
villages, people, animals, or ships (Wroth, 85-6;
Lewis, 7-9). Without these symbols the effect is
to do what Harley calls “silencing” of the text or at
least to make it quieter. But is there nevertheless
something we can hear from these quiet maps
– perhaps a subtle approximation of the truth?
Harley writes about the silences on maps…the
bare places that seem to have no people, no hills,
no animals, and no message. He says “Whether we
want or not, the tendency of academic cartography
is reductionist” (Harley, Historical, 87). In fact,
throughout this article, Harley talks about the
inability of maps to be objective and to represent
the truth. It would seem self-evident that maps are
are just abstractions and models of the truth.
But is this not also true of all texts? The words in
texts are also models, approximating and maybe
even coming close to reaching some ultimately
unattainable idea of reality. Champlain’s maps
were just this: approximations, representations,
interpretations, models. There biggest failing was
not that they were imperfect in the truth of their
depiction, but that they failed to identify their
sources, thus denying us the full richness of our
interpretations. And in fact, it is Harley’s argument
that maps, when read as texts, can be read more
effectively. If we approach maps as we would texts,
we bring with us everything we know about reading
critically. As Harley says “A textual approach alerts
us to the shadows of other texts in the one we are
reading” (Harley, Historical, 85). But Harley takes
this idea a step further when he quotes D.P. Marsh
Figure 3. Champlain's Map from 1616
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
36
saying in his dissertation that “Indeed, it has been
said of academic cartography that it produces
‘a language or a form of rhetoric in which all
sentences are expository and declarative ... there
is only one rhetorical device, and that is the
formulaic transcription of an impoverished reality
using a vocabulary of only literal denotative
meaning’” (Harley, Historical, 86). Clearly, if there
is a tendency for maps to be “expository,” and even
if an innate limitation in maps is that they are
“declarative,” then critical reading of maps as texts
becomes all the more important. But who were
the critical or non-critical readers of these maps?
ACMLA Student Award Winner
Maps as Charters of Conquest
Figure 4. Champlain's Map from 1632
1632 Carte de la Nouvelle France [document cartographique] : augmentée depuis la derniere, servant a
la navigation faicte en son vray meridien.
What did Champlain’s maps mean when read
as texts? And were the meanings different for
Champlain, for the King of France, for the people
of France and for the aboriginal people who would
never have seen them in their final form? From
the European side of the Atlantic, there was a keen
interest in New France. The town of Brouages on
the west coast of France is thought to have been
Champlain’s birthplace. It grew into a trading port
to the world during Champlain’s lifetime, with a
multilingual population that had much economic
interest in the fur trade in New France (Litalien,
36-7, 53-4). But it was not just trade with the New
World that interested France. French curiosity about
the land across the ocean was substantial enough
that it seeped into the national culture and arts.
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
37
Throughout France during the early decades of the
17th century a dramatic and exotic dance form called
ballets de cour came to include references to the
Americas as well as aboriginal characters. Canada
was first mentioned in one of these extravaganzas
in a way that is simultaneously bizarre, erroneous
and offensive, in the 1631 lines of one libretto: “The
monkeys and the Canadois / Have a nice intelligence;
/ The savages their fingers use / to groom themselves
to negligence // That is all we know of such / affairs of
the New World, / Voyaging costs too much / We don’t
expect a responding word” (Litalien, 43-7). In this
strange lyric, there is, for us today, both a cultural and
a political message that reflects the view of at least
the librettist and perhaps the audience too. The first
message is that there was a great deal of ignorance
adrift in the populace of 17th century France about
Canada and aboriginal people. And the second
message is that this same population thought New
World exploration was costing France way too much.
Harley proposed that, when we make maps, we
impose our agendas and ideologies on them. His
discussion revolved around the mapping in the
present of events in the past saying that in making
maps “we have created a new proposition of the
world as much linked to our present agendas and
ideologies as to those of the past. (Harley, Historical,
85). For Champlain, his transference of agendas
and ideologies was not temporal, from the present
onto the past, but rather contemporaneously and
culturally from the European onto the aboriginal
North American. This idea is reflected in Jacob’s
words when he says “we can see maps, when used by
those who exert power in society (whether military,
administrative, fiscal or demographic and whether at
home or in the colonies), as self-legitimating devices”
(Jacob, 194). But Harley adds that while maps can
be used for social control they can also redirect that
power dynamic back upon the map’s originators. He
says “The normal understanding is that we control
the map: but through its internal power or logic the
map also controls us. We are prisoners in its spatial
matrix. ... in both cases a process of normalisation
occurs. Standardisation is the golden calf of
‘thematic’ cartography: compilation, generalisation,
ACMLA Student Award Winner
classification, formation into hierarchies must
all be done according to standard principles. The
result is a highly artificial image which limits our
ability to engage in interpretative manoeuvre”
(Harley, Historical, 85). But recall that Champlain
was a mapmaker who was trained under unusual
circumstances, and was a mapmaker whose style
was different from his contemporaries. Accordingly
he may have circumvented some of Harley’s
"standardization," and the associated tendency
of the map to redirect power and control back on
the mapmaker. However, Champlain operated in
an unusual power domain in which there were
many disconnected stakeholders. Three key
stakeholders and controllers of power operating in
his sphere were the King of France, who was keenly
interested in Champlain’s work, the First Nations
people on whom he depended for information, and
the engraver who made the final version of the
map for publication. But Champlain, away from
home and away from France, also had substantial
practical power of his own to create his maps as
he wished without any real oversight. This 1632
map is the most complete of the four Champlain
maps shown here. It confirms the existence of
some of the features of the 1612 and 1616 maps,
including the large lakes to the west. As well, this
map significantly increases the number of town
names given, especially to the east, indicating the
increasing European population of the area over the
preceding twenty year period. The conquest by the
French was clearly under way. In the end, of course,
none of these wielders-of-power – not the King,
not Champlain, and not the First Nations people –
retained the control they held in the 1613. The First
Nations people would lose their power gradually,
and the French relatively suddenly in the 1759.
But this brings us back to the 21st century and the
2013 commemoration of the events 400 years ago.
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
38
Maps as Visual Aids within Exhibitions
ACMLA Student Award Winner
Figure 5. A Modern Map of Champlain's 1613 Expedition
2008 They Would Not Take Me There: People, Places, and Stories from Champlain’s Travels in Canada,
1603-1616
The 2013 Champlain commemoration used
a massive modern wall-sized map to depict
Champlain’s route in 1613 in the exhibit called
“Ottawa’s First Tourist.” The large map from
the exhibit was unavailable for my project,
but the one shown here is similar in style,
giving the river unadorned by trees, people,
mountains or animals. Also in a similar way
to the map shown in Figure 5, the large exhibit
map did not give the relative proximity of the
Ottawa River to the Atlantic Ocean or Hudson’s
Bay. In these ways these two modern maps
are more barren and more focused. Re-playing
Harley’s words used earlier “Whether we want
or not, the tendency of academic cartography
is reductionist.” But Harley goes on to say “It
replaces the human entities of the past with its
own graphic text, and redescribes them so that
they take on a meaning which may be spatial
but is not historical” (Harley, Historical, 87).
Bulletin de l’ACACC Numéro 147, Printemps/Été 2014
39
But while the modern maps in this online exhibit
strip the land of everything – trees, mountains, …
virtually all symbols – they reintroduce the different
people that were a part of the narrative. The map
shown here from an online exhibit created by the
Canadian-American Center brings our contemporary
interpretation of who we believe were the original
players back into context of the narrative, using
five unique icons. In a similar way, the large wall-sized
map at the Champlain commemoration
populated the terrain with text boxes about the
Champlain expedition and the interactions between
Champlain and the First Nations people. But both
maps add a further narrative to their text that is
not seen in Champlain’s maps. Having what Harley
would call “silent” spaces on either side of the
river, they give a sense of the tunnel-vision that
Champlain may have experienced going up the
river and not knowing what was on either side of
him except what he could see from the water. But
is there more to the meaning of these silences?
It is interesting that Champlain, who knew little
about the country around him, populated his maps
thickly with symbolic people, plants, mountains and
animals. While the modern map from the exhibit
and the one shown here are both bare and blank.
It is not clear why this is, but I will hazard a guess
that Champlain’s message would have been: “I know
there are people, plants, mountains and animals
out there on the land, but this is as specific as I can
be.” The modern mapmakers, on the other hand
may have had a message like: “what is out there
on the land is very complicated and attempting
to place symbols would open up a huge debate,
so we will focus our attention on what we believe
to be true about Champlain’s expedition and the
original First Nations people who lived there.” This
seems to be what Harley was saying in another of
his works on the history of cartography. He said
that “The notion of ‘silences’ on maps is central to
any argument about the influence of their hidden
political messages.” He took this statement further
saying “silences on maps may also be regarded as
discrimination against native peoples” (Harley, New,
67). Harley’s perspective about discrimination
does not reflect well on the intended messages of
the modern mapmakers that I am examining here.
However the modern maps were not silent, they
just used a different sort of symbol from Champlain.
The large wall-map at the “Canada’s First Tourist”
exhibit included numerous explanatory text boxes
to describe the events of Champlain’s expedition.
As well, being a part of a larger exhibit, the wall map
was accompanied by a film about the interactions
between Champlain and the First Nations people.
The exhibit also had both aboriginal and European
artifacts, each with their own explanatory text,
and the map helped to put all of this in context.
The modern map from the Canadian-American
Center, a sample image of which is included
above, gives a very limited sense of the broader
application from which it came. This sample image
also gives a very limited sense of wealth of digital
technologies available to today’s cartographers.
Digital humanities scholar Paul Arthur describes
a new form of technological integration called
a “mashup” saying “‘Mashups’ are at the most
experimental technical end of the digital history
field. A mashup can be defined as ‘a website or
application that combines content from more
than one source into an integrated experience’.
Locations on maps, for example, can be linked with
photographic archives that in turn can be linked
with historical commentary” (Arthur). It is worth
going to the link attached to this essay to explore
the “mashup” from which the map shown here is
taken. It connects to route animations, film clips,
school lesson plans, excerpts from Champlain’s
diary, and “Amerindian” place names. The silences
on this map are not so much silent as buzzing
with digital content. And although no doubt
ACMLA Student Award Winner
ACMLA Bulletin Number 147, Spring/Summer 2014
40
much debate could ensue from the content, there is
always a risk of that in a public history presentation.
Harley would likely have supported this digital
undertaking since it was his view that we should
“use [maps] more imaginatively so that they can
mediate humanity rather than the statistical
abstractions of the past” (Harley, Historical, 84).
Conclusion
Historical theorist John Tosh says “In the historian’s
hierarchy of [primary] sources those that carry
the most weight are the ones that arise directly
from everyday business or social intercourse,
leaving open the task of interpretation” (Tosh,
93). Champlain’s maps were, on one level, tools
of everyday business. But they were also strategic
forms of communication for the King, the French
government, and French society. They may even have
been a kind of advertising. Whatever their primary
purpose they offer an interesting point of reference
for analysis as a part of the 2013 commemoration.
Christian Jacob, speaking about world maps, says
that “Mappaemundi in the Western Middle Ages were
linked with a vision of God, looking at the world from
God’s place and looking at God through the world he
created” (Jacob, 194). Two hundred years after the
end of the Middle Ages, Champlain drew maps not of
the world but of New France. But he was not working
alone. Reading these maps as texts, critically, we
can see in these four 17th century maps, the hand
of the native people, the engravers, and maybe even
the King of France. We also see a vision of French
exploration and expansionism. Four hundred years
after Champlain we see in the modern maps a different
vision, but it is one that has its own narr