Students looking for more realistic maps to locate Boston University buildings may find solace in a BU-specific personalized version of Google Maps to help navigate around campus.
The Information Technology Office and two 2007 College of Arts and Sciences graduates collaborated on the BU Maps project last year and officially launched the website July 9, making the school one of the first to have this type of interactive map.
The project was spearheaded by graduates Nick Angiolillo and Kris Sullivan, said Network Information Services Director Richard Mendez.
“We became involved because I wanted to update the old online maps (based on Flash) that we built in 2000,” Mendez said in an email. “Google was the perfect foundation to use for the new maps. Everybody knows Google Maps — it’s a great application.”
The map — at www.bu.edu/maps – contains information about 1,936 entities on the Charles River Campus, the Medical Campus and BU-affiliated locations around the world and is growing, Mendez said.
“We continue working on the map to add new features and to integrate it with the rest of the BU web,” he said. “In fact, we added over 600 [entries] since we began previewing the maps in April.”
The map took more than a year to develop and required nearly 4,000 hours of work, Mendez said. He gave the Student Union and nearly 200 staff members and students a demo of the maps to help promote the site. It was also promoted online and through large posters near Warren Towers and the George Sherman Union.
The map has been used widely since July and has received more than half a million views, compared to the old map that had received around 30,000, Mendez said.
Student Union President Adil Yunis said the map is representative of the recent additions to BU that will improve student life.
“Freshmen who may be unfamiliar with building codes can use the site to determine which building they each represent,” the CAS senior said in an email. “This will help freshmen find their classes during the first week of school.”
The maps can search for street addresses, building codes, local businesses, ATMs, Zipcar, restaurants and school departments, Mendez said. It can also find locations where dining and convenience points are accepted.
“What is so great about the website is that its use has extended beyond simply determining the location of different places on campus,” Yunis said. “Whenever I need to find a vendor that sells a specific product, I can enter that product into the BU Maps search engine and get a list of vendors in the area.”
But the work was not solely digital — some physical labor was involved.
“In addition to building the application, collecting and verifying the data, we actually walked the entire Charles River and Medical campuses to verify addresses and locations, to take pictures, collect menus from restaurants,” Mendez said.
Student Union Secretary Elena Quattrone said the maps are a resource serving every demographic.
“Whether you’re a grad student at BU, a freshman on campus for the first time or a prospective student interested in attending BU, the maps feature is a useful tool that gives you a scope of the campus,” the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior said in an email.
Mendez said he hopes to add more features to the map soon, including links on the Student Link course schedule for classroom building directions and a Commencement map to show locations of graduation ceremonies.