Map Room to Data and GIS Services: Five University Libraries Evolving to Meet Campus Needs and Changing Technologies

Abstract

Programs for geospatial support at academic libraries have evolved over the past decade in response to changing campus needs and developing technologies. Geospatial applications have matured tremendously in this time, emerging from specialty tools to become broadly used across numerous disciplines. At many universities, the library has served as a central resource allowing students and fac ulty across academic departments access to GIS resources. Today, as many academic libraries evaluate their spaces and services, GIS and data services are central in discussions on how to further en gage with patrons and meet increasingly diverse researcher needs. As library programs evolve to support increasingly technical data and GIS needs, many universities are faced with similar challenges and opportunities. To explore these themes, data and GIS services librarians and GIS specialists from five universities-the

Identifying User Needs: A Case Study on Geospatial Data Requests at McGill University

“…As Scaramozzino et al (2014) noted, "search and discovery of spatial data is a major challenge" in implementing geospatial data services in a higher educational institution. The high percentages of data availability questions (20 percent) and metadata inquires (10 percent) analyzed in this study support this statement.…”

“…No matter which model a data service unit takes-centralized or distributed, stand-alone units or joint ventures with other departments (Goldberg et al 2014)-the goal is to provide the best data resources and support services that a data unit can afford to the community that it serves (Scaramozzino et al 2014;Goldberg et al 2014).…”

Displaying Spatial Epistemologies on Web GIS: Using Visual Materials from the Chinese Local Gazetteers as an Example

“…5 The same situation also occurs in GIS projects. 6 Browsing large image collections can be realized using categorical metadata fields, such as sources, temporal periods, places or geographical regions, or thematic categorization schemes designed by owners or researchers. Keyword search on metadata is another important way to find images relevant to users' interests.…”

The Provision and Sustainability of GIS Services

“…From 2010 to 2019, many more large university libraries and research libraries have set up dedicated GIS labs or services staffed with specialized GIS librarians or other functional data specialists. The service models have also developed to include all-round services with collaboration with different units of the university including the IT departments (Scaramozzino et al, 2014). Not only have general GIS support and services become popular among these large libraries, but their GIS service has become more integrated with certain disciplines also.…”