British Cartographic Society - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The British Cartographic Society (BCS) is an association of individuals and organisations dedicated to exploring and developing the world of maps. It is a registered charity. Membership includes mapping companies, publishers, designers, academics, researchers, map curators, individual cartographers, GIS specialists and ordinary members of the public with an interest in map

Map

A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....

s.

The BCS is regarded as one of the world's leading cartographic societies and its main publication, The Cartographic Journal, is recognised internationally. Membership of the group can be useful for making contacts and keeping up with developments.

The BCS promotes all aspects of cartography

Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

to a wide range of potential users.

Awards

One of the aims of the Society is to encourage better mapping, by providing medals and prizes to individuals or companies who have shown excellence in this field. The annual BCS awards includes categories such as:

Stanfords Award for printed mapping
Avenza Award for electronic mapping
John C. Bartholomew Award for small scale mapping
OS MasterMap Award for 'Better Mapping'
BCS Award for best entry of the year
The Society medal for distinguished contribution to cartography
The Henry Johns Award for the best cartographic journal article
The National Geographic Society New Mapmaker Award for those starting out in cartographic or related industries
New MapMaker Award Winners:
- 2001: Laura Stewart, University of Edinburgh Can Geographical Information Systems be used to Propose Areas for Storage of Floodwater?
- 2002: Edward Merritt, Oxford Brookes University An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Paraline Diagrams for Mapping the Urban Environment
- 2003: Esme Farewell, Oxford Brookes University Cambridge for Children
- 2004: Donna Watkin, Oxford Brookes University Modern cartographic methods as a key to understanding land use in Drayton St Leonards: 1793 - 2003
- 2005: Shannon Brassard, Centre of Geographic Sciences, Nova Scotia Community College, CanadaPrince Albert: Celebrating 100 Years
- 2006: Paul A Light, COGS, Canada National Parks & Historic Sites of Western Newfoundland and Labrador
- 2007: Alexander Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University An Analysis of the Cartographic Language of European State Topographic Maps: Aesthetics, Style and Identity
- 2008: Wesley Jones (NSCC Centre of Geographic Sciences, Canada)Dry Belt, Settlement and Abandonment of Southeast Alberta and Southwest Saskatchewan, 1908 to 1926
- 2009: Christoph Hoesli, Institute of Geography at the University of Bern (Switzerland)Southern Sudan Topographic Base Map Series: Map Sheet E - Eastern Equatorial
- 2010: Michael Graves, Kingston University Road to the World Cup South Africa 2010)
UKHO Junior Mapmaker Award to encourage map making at primary and secondary school level (run every other year from 2008)

Publications

The society also publishes a variety of periodicals and books, including:

Cartography - an introduction a practical A6 64pp guide to making better maps
The Cartographic Journal the official journal of the society
Maplines - the society newsletter
Maps and Surveys - the newsletter of the Historical Military Mapping Group
Cartographiti - the newsletter of the Map Curators' Group
Map Curators Toolbox - an online resource supported by the Map Curators' Group
Directory of UK Map Collections - an online resource detailing major map collections in the UK
Careers in Cartography - an online resource providing answers to the ever increasing number of enquiries concerning the possibilities of employment in the mapping industry

Events

The Society holds not-for-profit events open to the public and any interested parties to help raise the profile of cartography in Britain and facilitate the exchange of information and ideas amongst the members of the Society and others. They also aim to advance cartographic education and encourage research through such events.

Symposium - Annual 3 day gathering held in June each year (from 2009), for Cartographers and associated professionals.
Map Curators’ Workshop - Annual gathering held in September each year, for Map Curators.
Better Mapping Seminars - held in various locations around the UK each year to advise and teach new users the principles of making better maps.
Fellows Evening - Held in February each year. Brings together the Fellows of the Society to listen to the guest lecturer.
Group Events - The societies groups (Map Curators, Map Design, Historical Military Mapping, and Education Group) also hold events for their membership: ie: Map Cataloguing seminars, Design Group Meetings, and Study/Lecture Days.

Awards

Publications

Events

See also