Call for Maps for the 2011 Iteration of the Places & Spaces: Mapping Science Exhibit on “Science Maps as Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries.”
Deadline is January 30, 2011
Background and Goals
The Places & Spaces: Mapping Science exhibit was created to inspire cross-disciplinary discussion on how to best track and communicate human activity and scientific progress on a global scale. It has two components: (1) physical exhibits enable the close inspection of high quality reproductions of maps for display at conferences and education centers and (2) the online counterpart provides links to a selected series of maps and their makers along with detailed explanations of how these maps work.
Places & Spaces is a 10-year effort. Each year, 10 new maps are added, which will result in 100 maps total in 2014. Each iteration of the exhibit attempts to learn from the best examples of visualization design. To accomplish this goal, each iteration compares and contrasts four existing maps with six new maps of science. Themes for the different iterations/years are:
1st Iteration (2005): The Power of Maps
2nd Iteration (2006): The Power of Reference Systems
3rd Iteration (2007): The Power of Forecasts
4th Iteration (2008): Science Maps for Economic Decision Makers
5th Iteration (2009): Science Maps for Science Policy Makers
6th Iteration (2010): Science Maps for Scholars
7th Iteration (2011): Science Maps as Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries
8th Iteration (2012): Science Maps for Kids
9th Iteration (2013): Science Maps for Daily Science Forecasts
10th Iteration (2014): Telling Lies With Science Maps
Places & Spaces was first shown at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in April 2005. Since then, the physical exhibit has been displayed at more than 175 venues in over 15 countries, including eleven in Europe, plus Japan, China, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. A schedule of all display locations can be found at http://scimaps.org/exhibitions.
Submission Details
The 7th iteration of the Mapping Science exhibit is devoted to science maps that serve as visual interfaces to digital libraries. These maps might communicate the quality and coverage of data sets, the structure (ontology, taxonomy, classification hierarchy) of data sets, (semantic) linkages between data sets, the evolution of a data set, or access and usage patterns of data sets.
They are intended to support the navigation, management, and utilization of mankind’s scholarly knowledge and to make it more readily available to researchers, educators, industry, policy makers and/or the general public.
We invite maps that show a visual rendering of a data set together with a legend, textual description, and acknowledgments as required to interpret the map. Science map dimensions can be abstract, geographical, or feature-based, but are typically richer than simple x, y plots. Scientific knowledge can be used to generate a reference system over which other data, e.g., funding opportunities or job openings, are overlaid or be projected onto another reference system, e.g., a map of the world, but must be prominently featured. See http://scimaps.org/all-maps-1-6.pdf for an overview of the 60 maps already featured in the exhibit.
Each initial entry must be submitted by Jan 30th, 2011 and needs to include:
*Low resolution version of map
*Title of work
*Author(s) name, email address, affiliation, mailing address
*Copyright holder (if different from authors)
*Description of work: Scholarly needs addressed, data used, data analysis, visualization techniques applied, and main insights gained (100-300 words)
*References to publications in which the map appeared
*Links to related projects/works
*Entries should be submitted via email to the curators of the exhibit: Katy Börner (katy@indiana.edu) and the exhibit designer Michael J. Stamper (mstamper@indiana.edu) using the email subject header “Mapping Science Entry.”
Review Process
All submissions will be reviewed by the exhibit advisory board and invited scholars from academia, industry, and government. Submissions will be judged in terms of
Scientific value – quality of data collection, analysis and communication of results. Appropriate (innovative?) application of existing algorithms and/or development of new approaches.
Value for scholars – what major insight does the map provide and why does it matter? Is the map easy to understand by scholars and the exhibit audience?
Final Submission
Authors of winning entries will be contacted at the end of February and invited to submit final entries by April 30th, 2011. Each final entry comprises:
Title of Work
Author(s) name, email address, affiliation, mailing address
24 x 30 inch, 300 dpi, landscape version of map
Official map description (200 words)
Biographies and photos of all authors (100 words each)
Signed copyright and reproduction agreement
Map makers are welcome to use the expertise and resources of the exhibit curators when designing their final maps. The layout and production of the 6th iteration maps are expected to be ready for display by mid-June, 2011.
Important Dates
Submit initial entries: January 30th, 2011
Notification to mapmakers: February 28th, 2011
Submit final entries: April 30th, 2011
7th Iteration ready for display: June 15th, 2011
Exhibit Advisory Board
Deborah MacPherson, Accuracy&Aesthetics
Kevin Boyack, SciTech Strategies, Inc.
Sara Irina Fabrikant, Associate Professor of Geography and head of the Geographic Information Visualization and Analysis (GIVA) group at the GIScience, Geography Department, University of Zürich, Switzerland
Peter A. Hook, Law Librarian, Indiana University
André Skupin, Associate Professor of Geography, San Diego State University
Bonnie DeVarco, Media X, Stanford University
Dawn Wright, Professor of Geography and Oceanography, Oregon State University
Please feel free to send any questions you might have regarding the judging process to Katy Börner (katy@indiana.edu). Please keep subject header: “Mapping Science Entry.”
This call is also available at scimaps.org
Originally published January 13, 2011
