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UTA Library Notes THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON LIBRARIES • FALL 2002 • VOLUME 8, NO.2 Libraries in a TIF: Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund By Tom Wilding Several years ago, the Texas legislature created the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF), which was funded through a variety of strategies, one of which was a fee charged on individual telephone bills. (My own home phone is charged about $.16 per month, and this is one of a number of such charges itemized on my monthly bill.) This fund was authorized up to the amount of $10 billion and was intended to ensure that the technological infrastructure that supports education and learning in Texas would be robust enough to support the needs of Texans at the beginning of the 21st century. In its early years, TIF carried out a number of broad-based networking projects to ensure that K-12 schools and public libraries throughout Texas would be connected to the Internet and have the hardware and software to enable the Internet to enhance the curriculum and meet the needs of our citizens, especially those in rural areas that were underserved by technology. TIF, however, did much more than that, funding projects that affected networks and technology in higher education, museums, and health care institutions as well. Photo by University Publications The UTA Libraries have benefited directly Students gather at Java City, a part of Sam’s Click Café, on the first floor of the Central Library. from TIF in three very significant ways: 1) through the development of Sam’s Click Café, attractive lighting, and in addition offers encouraged a community culture. Many the Internet café on the first floor of the thirty-six networked computers in clusters students preferred to wait in line for a Central Library; 2) through participation in a that facilitate collaborative work. Sam’s also computer in Sam’s rather than use available state-wide resource sharing consortium that provides seven laptop tables, each seating computers in other areas. Within a year the provides TIF-supported access to some very two users, where students can plug into the continued on page 5 popular databases; and 3) through a grant campus network, and a full service Help Desk specifically for academic libraries that funded staffed by the Office of Information several library initiatives. Technology. Sam’s was completed at the In This Issue The Third Coast Blows into UTA Libraries 2 Sam’s Click Café beginning of the 2001 spring semester when Friends of the UTA Libraries Make a At the beginning of the 2000 fall a coffee bar, Java City, managed by the Difference! 6 semester Sam’s Click Café was opened. The University’s food service, opened to offer Focus on Faculty Speakers’ Series 8 café, named by our students for Sam specialty drinks and pastries. Maverick, the University’s mascot, has the Sam’s was an immediate hit. Students UTA Libraries’ Information Fair 10 look and feel of a modern bookstore, with flocked to it because it was attractive, Donor List 11 comfortable and accessible. It was the only comfortable seating, new book shelves, and Special Collections 12 open-access computer facility on campus that The Third Coast Blows into UTA Libraries By Katherine R. Goodwin and David Buisseret The recent Virginia Garrett Lectures in which maps and other related imagery have experiences in arguing two cases before the the History of Cartography coupled with the been used to depict the environment, United States Supreme Court concerning the joint meeting of the Texas Map Society and geography, peoples, habitats, and political precise boundary of the Gulf of Mexico. In the Philip Lee Phillips Society, held on realms of the region. both cases, historic maps and charts played a October 4-5, 2002, provided a blockbuster Leading the distinguished group of large part in the proceedings, and De Vorsey weekend for attendees and enhanced the scholars was UTA’s own David Buisseret, the served as an expert witness. reputation of the University of Texas at Jenkins and Virginia Garrett Endowed Chair in The afternoon’s proceedings ended with Arlington Libraries as a major source for all Greater Southwestern Studies and the History a stimulating panel discussion on the things cartographic. The joint meetings were of Cartography, who introduced the series cartography of the Gulf Coast at the time of entitled “The Third Coast: Mapping the Gulf topic with his presentation, “The European conflict between the Spaniards and the of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea,” bringing Mapping of the Gulf of Mexico and the French during the late seventeenth and together speakers from across the nation to Caribbean Sea, 1500-1800.” Buisseret spoke eighteenth centuries. The panelists, both explore mapmakers and mapping in general of the first efforts of the Spanish to chart the independent Texan scholars who have written and the mapping of the Gulf of Mexico and waters and islands of the area, as well as the extensively about the Gulf Coast, were Jack the Caribbean Sea in particular. In addition, early work of the Spanish engineers to depict Jackson of Austin and Robert Weddle of attendees were treated to a series of events, the towns and cities. The French and English, Bonham. They showed that there had been receptions, luncheons and dinners. on the other hand, generated extraordinary some collaboration between the contending The Virginia Garrett Lectures in the large-scale maps of the countryside. parties, and clearly demonstrated that the History of Cartography was established in Additionally, Buisseret looked at the work of renewed burst of mapmaking owed much to 1998 as a biennial series to explore topics in the religious orders on the mainland and the political considerations and international cartographic history, publicize the holdings of contributions of the native inhabitants, competition. The panel was moderated by the library’s map and atlas collections, and concluding that at the dawn of the twentieth Dennis Reinhartz, Professor of History at UTA. encourage research and study in the field. century many areas on both the mainland The evening activities began with a This year’s session is the third in the series, and islands remained poorly mapped. reception and the opening of the conference and explored the cartographic history of the J. Barto Arnold, with the Institute of exhibition, “The Third Coast: Mapping the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. In Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.” particular, the conference looked at ways in University, next delivered a lively talk on the Attendees enjoyed light refreshments and excavation of La Salle’s strolled through Special Collections where 82 ship Belle and the Civil maps, atlases, and geographies depicting the War blockade runner region, ranging from 1508 to 1900, were on Denbigh. Arnold also display. Attendees received a four-color commented on other gallery guide to commemorate the event. known shipwrecks in Following dinner Richard Francaviglia, Texas waters, casting Director of the Center for Greater light on the nautical Southwestern Studies and the History of conditions of the Cartography at UTA, presented an intriguing period that caused the talk entitled “Cannibals and Cartographers: problems encountered The Role of Supposition in Mapping the Gulf by ship captains. of Mexico.” Francaviglia explored the way Arnold also spoke of maps employ deeply-held myths even as they the ways in which attempt to depict real places. One of these maps are used to myths perpetuated by cartography was that guide underwater cannibalism abounded in the area of the Gulf archaeologists in their and Caribbean. However, Francaviglia search to locate sunken suggests that cannibalism was actually a ships. After lunch, metaphor for the fear of explorers Louis De Vorsey, disappearing into, or being consumed by, the Professor Emeritus of tropical environment itself. Using dozens of Geography at the maps and illustrations for the period 1500 to University of Georgia, 1800, he demonstrated how the depictions of John Crain (left) and Dickie McDonald spoke at the meeting of the Texas Map Society held in the Central Library on October 5, 2002. spoke about his cannibalism slowly disappeared and were 2 • UTA LIBRARY NOTES Richard Stander (left), Joan Kilpatrick, and Bill Stallings admire an atlas in the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library. replaced by natural history drawings based on Wanser, Senior Paper Conservator at the coastal outlines. He concluded that this careful observation rather than speculation. Library of Congress, offered a remarkably rich famous 1496 map consists of two pieces, On Saturday the joint meeting of the summary of the best way to care for maps. rather unsatisfactorily joined together. One of Texas Map Society and the Philip Lee Phillips She explained the various ways of making these pieces, he concludes, does derive from Society convened on the sixth floor of the paper, explaining that some papers were a map of one of the Columbus brothers as Piri Central Library. UTA’s own Dennis Reinhartz’ likely to self-destruct, and that others would Reis claimed. talk, “Divided by Empire, United by Tourism: be damaged by their adhesion to backings The topic at lunch was the work of The Tourist Maps of Sint Maarten/Saint which have different rates of expansion and Herman Grosius, who drew bird’s-eye-views Martin,” was in keeping with the weekend’s contraction. She identified and demonstrated of a number of Texas towns around 1872-3. theme. He spoke of the island’s division a variety of dangerous substances, including John Crain of the Summerlee Foundation of between the French and the Dutch and the light, acid, and insects, but admonished her Dallas, Texas, offered an analysis of the lack of acknowledgement of this fact on the audience to remember that humidity is the Grosius plan of Dallas, concluding that it tourist maps, and how, upon examination, he most dangerous of all.

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