[WEB4LIB] Google Maps UK

[Dempsey,Lorcan]

We were looking at this yesterday .. Currently the Google Maps
'universe' has UK/Ireland and North America in it. It is a slightly
surreal experience 'spinning the globe' (you can 'drag' all the way
around) and seeing large empty spaces with the small Islands of the
North Atlantic (UK/Ireland) and the large North America as the only
landing points. Columbus would hit North America by sailing in either
direction from the UK ;-)

The combination of Google Maps and Google Local is pretty impressive.
You can do a variety of types of searches where you have incomplete
information and be offered potential locations. For example a search on
'lorcan' and 'columbus' will give you OCLC pinpointed on the map. Not
the most useful search maybe ;-) but you get the idea ... A search on
'strawberry cake' and 'Columbus' will show you the name and location of
the couple of branches of the local bakery whose specialty this is
(albeit among other results). 

It also allows you to take a URL for your position at any stage. So the
above is 
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lorcan+columbus&ll=40.098700,-83.124700&sp
n=0.432617,0.669499&hl=en

We live south of the Park of Roses in Columbus - I started with a
broader map of columbus and 'dragged/zoomed' there and asked for a url: 
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=columbus+oh+43214&ll=40.040344,-83.022920&
spn=0.013519,0.020922&hl=en

See what I mean about Columbus at:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.625000,-38.411526&spn=56.875000,116.31
3039&hl=en.

If you try to get driving instructions from the US to the UK though it
returns a message that it cannot do this for you ...... ;-)

Check out http://www.paulrademacher.com/housing/ for an interesting
'blend' of services .... Clearly, this is suggestive of other services
including library services ....

Lorcan 


Lorcan Dempsey [http://orweblog.oclc.org] 
OCLC Research  [http://www.oclc.org/research/]

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Roy Tennant
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 10:11 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Google Maps UK

For those of you who can't believe that Heathrow Airport is so far out
of London central, here is proof:

<http://maps.google.co.uk/maps? 
q=London+Heathrow+Airport,+Middlesex,+UB3+5AP&ll=51.477539,
-0.312121&spn=0.656250,0.672030&hl=en>

You guessed it, as seen on Peter Scott's Library Blog
<http://blog.xrefer.com/>, Google Maps UK is now available. I can hardly
wait for Google Maps Crete.
Roy