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GEOG 430: Human Use of Environment

 

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Linda Musser
Title: Distinguished Librarian and Head Earth and Mineral Sciences Library


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Course Info

Course Name:
  GEOG 430: Human Use of the Environment
Semester:
  Summer - First Session
Campus:
  University Park (UP)
Instructor:
  Travis Tennessen

Top Picks

LionSearch is a good place to begin your search once you have identified the various place names associated with your location.  It provides a single interface to the hundreds of databases licensed by Penn State for your use.

The HathiTrust is a collaborative project of research libraries to make the fulltext of the works in their collections searchable.  Over 5 millions titles are available with almost 30% freely available for viewing.  This tool is valuable in locating works that discuss your location.

Consult the following research guides for sources:

Review the comprehensive plan for your location (see this list of comprehensive plans for Pennsylvania).

Consult with the local historical society or county library.

Contact your local librarian.


What is Hathi Trust?

Discovering Place Names

Determine the names associated with the location.

  • Locate the topographic quadrangle name for your location. Be sure to determine the name for both the 7.5-minute series (1:24,000 scale) and the 15-minute series (1:62,000 scale). The GNIS is useful for this task for locations in the United States, or consult the Geonames website.
  • What are the political names associated with the location? County name, township name, nearest town, etc.
  • What are the names of the physical features associated with the area? Rivers, valleys, watersheds, mountain ranges, etc.
  • Are there other names associated with the region (e.g., Happy Valley)?

Search subject databases for information about the location using the names you have identified.

Consider who might publish thematic materials related to the location.

Water - at the federal level, the USGS monitors streamflow. EPA reports on water quality. At the state level - which agency? Any local water authority? How about NGOs (non-governmental organizations)?

Geology - at the federal level, the USGS. Any state agency? How about local planning commissions or county government?

Soils - at the federal level, the Soil Conservation Service. Any state or local agencies?

Climate at the federal level, the National Climatic Data Center.  Try the State Climatologist for state-wide data.

Environmental history - the EPA and the state equivalent. Check local newspapers or historical societies for history of land use.

Finding Maps

Topographic Maps

Topographic maps are available online and at the Maps Library.  These maps illustrate physical features such as roads, streams, and elevations.

The US Geological Survey has extensive collections of topographic and thematic maps availalble at http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/maps.html.

 

Historic maps

Historic maps show characteristics of a place at a particular point in time.

The Historical maps of Pennsylvania site features images of maps of PA from the 16th-20th centuries.

Atlases also provide collections of useful maps.  An example is the 1861 Digital Atlas of Centre County.

Fire insurance maps provided details on the types of buildings and their purpose.  The Maps Library has an extensive collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for Pennsylvania.  Some are available in digital form with the print originals in the Maps Library.

 

Finding other maps

Search the Libraries catalog for your location + the word map. 

Search LionSearch for your location and limit to the item type of map.

Explore Penn State's Digital Map Drawer.

Visit the PSU Maps Library (1 Paterno Library).

Finding Images

Aerial photography is available for various decades from:

Penn Pilot - historical aerial photography from 1937 - date.

Google Earth has some remotely sensed imagery.

 

Photographic imagery of buildings and and landscapes are available in the Worldwide Building and Landscape Pictures database.

Other sources include the Pennsylvania History Pictorial Collections and other digital image collections at the Libraries.

Newspapers

Newspapers

Digital Collegian: Access the Daily Collegian back to 1887.

NewsBank: This database provides fulltext access to local newspapers around the U.S., including the Centre Daily Times.

America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922  More than 1,000 U.S. historical newspapers published between 1690 and 1922, including titles from all 50 states

Accessible Archives [text only] Civil War newspapers (Charleston Mercury, New York Herald, and the Richmond Enquirer), African-American Newspapers, Pennsylvania Gazette, Pennsylvania Newspaper Record, Delaware County.

Chronicling America  America's historic newspapers pages from 1836-1922