GIS datasets on library web sites

[Thomas H. Hahn]

Dear colleagues,

In order to prepare for a presentation on the subject, I'd like to have your
esteemed input. I am concerned about the ways libraries are serving GIS
datasets to their patrons. To clarify: these datasets come in a variety of
types and formats:
a) spatial data (shape files and such, delineating feature types, such as
cities, rivers, buildings, etc.)
b) in tabular form (database or spreadsheet formats; census statistics
arranged by province and county for example)
c) image data (usually vectorized maps, some of them interactive)
d) in most cases, all three types are bundled into one (oftentimes
interactive) GIS offering, such as the case with the Alexandria Digital
Library for example (see http://www.alexandria.ucsb.edu/adl.html for more).
To make matters yet more complex, some image data are (large) raster images,
i.e. static files which cannot be computed and recreated through live,
interactive queries.

 In order to structure the issues at hand, a short questionnaire is provided
below (no more than 10 questions in all), which will help organize the
 information you may want to share. Please respond directly to me (Thomas H.
Hahn) at th99 at cornell.edu. If this subject has already been raised earlier,
my apologies. However, my research in the web4lib archives did not yield any
recent and relevant postings on GIS and library web sites. Your input would
be greatly appreciated. I will aggregate the findings and will post a
summary back to the list once I have received sufficient feedback to work
with. My  presentation will also be available online in early March.

 **********************************

 1. Does your library system include a GIS lab? If so, since when?

 2. Does your library system employ a (one, or more) GIS data specialist? If
so, since when?

 3. Is your library actively acquiring GIS datasets? Do your area
collections (East Asian, Latin-American, etc.  for example) contribute and
share in this collection development policy (if it is formulated and posted
as such)?

 4. If you are a national repository for GIS data, what is the in-house
policy regarding the useage of the data by the general public? (yes, I
know, recently in connection with 9/11 some sensitive datasets were
withdrawn. This is not the issue here...)

 5. Are spatial data part of your regular e-resource offerings?
 a) do these data live in a specialized library web environment (i.e.
complete with special instructions, in a different layout, with a separate
 logistal framework for patron support; or as part of the map library for
example)?
 b) or are they anchored without further ado within the general library web
environment?

 6. Who - within the context of the library divisions and departments -
handles GIS dataset related questions from/by the public? The regular
 reference departments? Or mostly the map librarian(s)?

 7. How are the basic training requirements to handle these data observed
within the context of librarian's employment development (internally), and
outreach and "classic" BI (externally)?

 8. What have you identified as special requirements for the library client
machines in order to facilitate the export or downloading and manipulation
of these data types (I am thinking about ArcExplorer for example)? And have
special funds been set aside to make these clients GIS-enabled?

 9. It is now standard practice to incorporate GIS datasets into the library
catalog system. Yet how and in which environment does your library deal with
the metadata aspect of your geospatial data collections?

 10. Any notes or comments you may wish to add?

 ***********************************************************

 As I stated above already, your time and feedback will be greatly
appreciated. My hope is to be able to create a tentative overview and
 operational profile of how modern libraries successfully manage these types
of data, which are - everybody admits - rather specific, often huge, and,
when viewed from both from the client's end and from the provider's (i.e.in
this case: the library's) side, never really all that easy to deal with.

 With many thanks and season's greetings.

 Thomas H. Hahn
 Cornell University Library
 th99 at cornell.edu
 Tel.: 607-255-5759