U-M Library offering workshops on GIS; exhibit on video game art

Read below for more information about some upcoming GIS workshops and upcoming events, including a couple about the art of video games and a lecture about Flint’s infrastructure. ————————- GIS Workshops http://ttc.iss.lsa.umich.edu/ttc/sessions/upcoming/sponsor/clark-library/?mode=excerpt LSA and the Clark Library are offering a number of workshops on mapping, spatial analysis, and GIS over the coming weeks (Monday, March 14th thru Friday, April 1st.) Topics include an introduction to GIS, Story Maps, collecting data in the field, imagery, LiDAR, photogrammetry, crisis mapping, free and open source GIS tools, themed explorations of spatial analysis, OpenStreetMap, enterprise GIS, ArcGIS Pro, field surveys and questionnaires, and more. Registration is required. Questions? Email geospatial@umich.edu. ————————- New Media, New Meanings Tuesday, March 22, 2016 7:00 – 8:00 pm Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery (Room 100) https://www.lib.umich.edu/events/new-media-new-meanings A presentation by Jeremy Gibson, to celebrate the opening of Winteractive: The Art of Video Games. Interactive media like games are not new; people have played games for thousands of years. However, the past three decades have seen a drastic change in the character, expansiveness, and expressiveness of interactive experiences, and as a result, artists are now able to express themselves in new ways that are exclusively enabled by this evolving medium. As players interact with games, the choices they make shape their experiences in the game, and unlike any other medium, games require players to participate in the creation of the meaning. This complicity and contribution to the outcome of the game enables meaning to be expressed in systems rather than linear narrative and allows for participants to experience understanding in a new way. Jeremy Gibson is a Lecturer in the University of Michigan Computer Science & Engineering department, where he teaches classes on game design, and the founder of ExNinja Interactive, LLC. He is the author of the book Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development, published by Pearson in 2014. He was the 2013 Chair of Education and Advancement for IndieCade. Light refreshments will be provided. ————————- Exhibit: Winteractive: The Art of Video Games March 17th through April 15th Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery (Room 100) http://www.lib.umich.edu/events/winteractive-art-video-games What does it mean for a game to be art? Many independent game developers stretch the definition of what a game can be and create games that blur the boundaries between art and traditional entertainment. The games in this exhibition—all created by individual or small groups of developers—will lead you into realms of sound and beauty, or provoke reflection on the human condition, or entertain you with innovative takes on established game genres—or perhaps all of the above at once! This is a hands-on exhibition. We invite you to play and explore the games, and offer your thoughts. Sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library and the University of Michigan Library Computer & Video Game Archive. ————————- Emergent Research Event: The Environmental Hazards of Aging Infrastructure in Flint, Michigan Monday, March 28, 2016  9:30 – 11:00 am Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery (Room 100) http://www.lib.umich.edu/events/environmental-hazards-aging-infrastructure-flint-michigan Dr. Martin Kaufman, David M. French Professor of Earth Science at the University of Michigan-Flint, talks about the challenges facing communities with older water infrastructure. Kaufman presents the results of recent efforts to map the lead-based water infrastructure in Flint, Michigan, using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and the use of these maps to generate additional research inquiry. Linkages between hazard identification and hazard response during an environmental crisis are also explored. Emergent Research events are aimed at better understanding the various types of research undertaken across campus, particularly as they relate to library services and support, opportunities for collaboration, data management and preservation, and beyond.