A Look at the Map Library of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico

Archive review Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 A Look at the Map Library of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico Ir a versión en español OJS DOI: 10.30763/Intervencion.291.v2n28.70.2023 • YEAR 14, NO. 28: 255-265 Índice / Contents Submitted: 25.04.2023 • Accepted: 18.08.2023 • Published: 16.02.2024 Yaselda Chavarin Pineda Miguel Ángel Valera Pérez Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (buap), México (buap), México orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4524-0115 orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2093-8122 Maria Guadalupe Tenorio Arvide Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (buap), México | orcid https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6125-4782 Translated by Fernanda Andablo ABSTRACT This review of the Jorge A. Vivó Escoto Map Library (mjav by its acronym in Spanish) of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (buap, Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico) presents a brief description of the activities and outlines some of the collections that conform its documentary archive. Among these we find maps, plans, aerial photographs, as well as documents that date back more than 100 years, primarly documenting the changes of the territory of Puebla and Mexican territory. It also presents the challenges, tasks, and initiatives, with the latter aimed at enhancing the management of the map library for the benefit of future generations. KEYWORDS cartography, map library, documentary collections, documentary preservation A Look at the Map Library of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico CONVOCATORIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS 2023 255 Archive review Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Índice / Contents M ap libraries are centers where cartographic documents are stored and preserved (Galera, 1991, p. 19). The Jorge A. Vivó Escoto Map Library (mjav by its acronym in Spanish) of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (buap , Mexico) is in the city of Puebla. It is considered the best and most complete of its kind in the region (Ruíz-Córdova, 1998, p. 22) because it has strengthened the knowledge of the area by supporting external research and multiple thesis projects at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The cartographic collection constitutes an important documentary source within the institution and the state of Puebla. It tells the history of cartography, how terrestrial space has been modified over time, and how it has been interpreted in the region. The mjav is named in memory and honor of the Cuban geographer who vastly contributed to creating Mexican cartography and dedicated much of his life to the training of professional geographers. The mjav was created in 1979 in response to the requirement for geographical information that would support the academic activity of its researchers. Later, in 1984, the cartographic laboratory was created to carry out photointerpretation activities and to generate a new cartography. This cartographic collection space was initially located in the first patio of the Edificio Carolino in the city of Puebla and was part of the now lost Earth Sciences Center (Figures 1 and 2). Nevertheless, during the June 1999 earthquake, the integrity of the building was compromised, and the Map Library had to be relocated elsewhere in the city: to the computing center on 11 Sur and 49 Poniente streets. Years later, it was relocated to the building known as Casa de las Bóvedas, in the historic center of the capital of Puebla, until 2020, when it was resettled in the building of the Ex Convento de las Clarisas, on the well-known calle de los dulces or “candy street” of the Historic Center of Puebla. Currently, the mjav is coordinated by the Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Agrícolas del Instituto de Ciencias (Agricultural Scien ces Research Center of the Institute of Sciences); this has benefited many postgraduate and undergraduate students from similar and related fields of study. The professionals who work in the Map Library have helped the university community by consulting the co llection. Furthermore, they have contributed by directing many thesis projects and tutoring the postgraduate courses in Environmental Sciences, Anthropology, and History and the undergraduate cour ses in Environmental Engineering, Topographic and Hydrological Engineering, Geodesy, History, Sociology and Architecture. One of the activities taking place in the Map Library is the use of Geographic Information Systems (gis). This is promoted through A Look at the Map Library of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico CONVOCATORIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS 2023 256 Archive review Intervención a) b) c) ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Índice / Contents FIGURE 1. a) First courtyard of the Edificio Carolino in 1979; b) On the right, geographer Ludmila Biriukova (first director of the Map Library), with a visitor on the left; c) Cartography consultation in the Map Library among students, researchers, and Map Library professionals, 1979 (Courtesy: Mapoteca Jorge A. Vivó, 2023). FIGURE 2. The student Blanca Téllez Morales (now a research professor at the buap Faculty of Architecture), in a demonstration of inegi charts during a consultation, 1979 (Courtesy: Mapoteca Jorge A. Vivó, 2023). mentoring programs and courses regarding the management of geographic data in different sciences, both for the preparation of maps based on existing cartography and for the acquisition of new data for its processing, analysis, and final presentation. There is also a course regarding the management and understanding of the Digital Map of Mexico held in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Geografía y Estadística (inegi, National Institute of Geography and Statistics). All these activities have the purpose of consolidating a multidisciplinary space, essential for an extensive teaching of spatial foundations (Benner & Slayton, 2020, p. 227). A Look at the Map Library of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico CONVOCATORIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS 2023 257 Archive review Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Índice / Contents COLLECTION The collection of the Map Library consists of more than 13 000 documents, organized in various cartographic collections. These are mainly classified according to their represented geographical area, their antiquity, and their authorship. Document materials vary; most of them are made of paper, some others are cloth mounted, and a few are made of plastic. Furthermore, the production techniques are diverse: it is possible to find originally hand-drawn maps, printed ones, and heliographic copies, among others. Some of the documents are donations from private collectors, both from public and private institutions, while others are purchases made by the buap to increase the (...truncated)