A digital representation of Red Square on the UW campus, showing a digital orthophoto overlaid with building outlines. Data copyright 1998, City of Seattle. Source: City of Seattle GIS.
A digital representation of Red Square on the UW campus, showing a digital orthophoto overlaid with building outlines. Data copyright 1998, City of Seattle. Source: City of Seattle GIS.
As part of the Digital Library initiatives, the Libraries has strengthened its commitment to digital geographic information. Three pieces of this commitment are a growing collection of digital geospatial data, increasing geographic information systems (GIS) and mapping services offered to library patrons, and the October 1997 hiring of a geographic information systems librarian.
A GIS is
a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that happen on Earth. GIS technology integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps. (ESRI, "What is a GIS?")
Although GIS is a database management system, it is not a database and it does not necessarily contain the data needed for mapping or analysis. Using a GIS for graphical display or spatial analysis can require extensive preparation in terms of finding and formatting the needed data. Library staff in Government Publications and the Map Collection and Cartographic Information Services units assist students and faculty from a variety of departments to locate and reformat data, in addition to helping them incorporate that data into new or existing GIS or mapping projects.
Collecting mainly for the Puget Sound area and Washington state, the Libraries' holdings of digital geospatial data also include information on other states, countries and the world as a whole. The Libraries stores this digital data on computer servers and on CD-ROM, and maintains a page of links to selected GIS information on the Web. The Libraries has also established the Washington State Geospatial Data Archive, a collection of regional and state data for use by UW students, staff, and faculty. The use of GIS on campus as a whole is growing rapidly. The most veteran users of the software are in forest resources, geography and urban planning. However, students, faculty and staff from disciplines as varied as sociology, epidemiology, and music are becoming more frequent users of GIS. The Libraries offers consultations and reference information for patrons needing assistance with their GIS projects.
This snapshot of downtown Seattle was created by the author using ArcView, a popular desktop GIS package available to UW affiliates in the Libraries. Data copyright 1998, City of Seattle. Source: City of Seattle GIS.
To stay in touch with GIS trends and use on campus, the Libraries is involved in the University of Washington Consortium for Geographic Information and Analysis. In addition, the campus is involved in the Consortium for Geographic Information Science, a nationwide organization of research institutions dedicated to studying spatial relationships and GIS technologies. The Libraries is also a member of the statewide Washington Geographic Information Council.
Hand-in-hand with collecting digital geographic information is the collection of metadata. Metadata is "data about the data" and the information about a dataset providing details such as who created the data and when, the sources for and accuracy of the data, the scale of the original data, and what format it is in. Metadata is essential to ensure accuracy, accountability and reliability of a dataset for analysis. The United States government has recognized the importance of metadata and requires all federally produced geospatial data to have metadata. The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) was established to create "Metadata Clearinghouse Nodes" around the country to serve as central locations where users can search for and locate metadata. The Libraries has established an FGDC Metadata Clearinghouse Node for the state of Washington, in conjunction with the Washington Department of Information Services.
For more information about GIS data, workstations and services available at the Libraries, see the GIS home page. GIS librarian Jenny Stone can be reached by e-mail at jnstone@u.washington.edu, or by phone at (206) 543-9392.