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               32nd Annual Clinic on Library Applications of Data
                               Processing
 
                  GIS and Libraries:  Patrons, Maps and Spatial
                               Information
 
                           Report prepared by
   Alberta Auringer Wood, Joan Winearls, Janet Kaufman, Grace Welch,
      Richard Pinnell, Trudy Bodak, Yves Tessier, and Cheryl Woods
 
Introduction
     From Sunday morning, April 2, through Tuesday afternoon, April
4, a group of about 100 librarians, academics, computer specialists
and others attended this conference at the University of Illinois
in Urbana-Champaign.  Not surprisingly, librarians were in the
majority.  According to the list distributed at the conference,
there were 59 librarians, 17 teaching faculty, four computer
specialists, six students, two consultants, two state government
employees, two federal government employees, two academic support
staff, one government cartographer, one local government employee
and one person from the library press.  In terms of the librarians,
there were 23 map librarians (either that alone or in combination
with other subjects or media), 11 librarians, six reference
librarians,  six government documents librarians, four science
librarians, one library director, three technical
services/cataloguing librarians, one humanities and social sciences
librarian, one geography librarian, one geology librarian, one
media/microcomputer librarian and one city planning and landscape
architecture librarian.  Among the librarians and computer
specialists, 47 were from university libraries; four each from
federal government and public libraries; two each from state,
public or science center libraries; and one each from a college
library and a state historical society.  They also came from both
sides of the continent and twenty-seven states or provinces.  The
largest number of participants out of the 64 total were from
Illinois (21), but the next largest group was from Ontario (six).
There were four participants from California; three each from
Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska; two each from Pennyslvania, New
York, Louisiana, D.C., Indiana and Missouri; and one each from
Iowa, Tennessee, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, Ohio,
Washington, Colorado, Oklahoma, Quebec and Newfoundland.  There
were 14 session chairs, support staff, student volunteers and
faculty from Illinois.  In terms of speakers, there were four from
Illinois and  Florida, three from New York, two each from Iowa and
California, and one each from Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland and
Missouri.  (AAW)
 
Highlights
     GIS in libraries is MUSHROOMING!  Hardware and software are
dropping in cost, but data remains high, aside from U.S. government
data.  Numerous World Wide Web pages are appearing.   Social
scientists, emergency preparedness centers, and others use GIS.
Cataloguing of data presents problems in physical description,
bounding coordinates, time and edition or version, and includes
metadata, some of which must be provided by the producer.
Librarians provide the "value added" service of interpretation.  A
Government Information Locator Service is in process; a new
government initiative to assist in the management of their
resources and to assist the public to find information via Internet
and according to Z39.50.  Burgeoning electronic resources will
affect collection policy, by eliminating the need to collect
certain types of maps in paper format, e.g. non-major U.S. cities.
Lotus Screen Cam can be used to prepare on screen tutorials.
University of Minnesota is developing an electronic atlas of the
state to be accessible via the Internet.  A GIS can assist in
estimating and profiling library "market" areas.  It is essential
to provide time and training for librarians.  There is a public
access electronic atlas in the St. Louis Public Library that has
been a huge success.  GIS is a natural extension of information
services in the library.  Use of user interfaces can be monitored
using a "mouse trap".  Tremendous amount of global change data and
access by geographic area is needed.   Illinois Department of
Natural Resources has produced a CD-ROM for the state that includes
map data at scales of 1:24 000, 1:100 000 and 1:250 000.  How can
we apply "farming by the foot" to fishing?  There will be problems
with data volume.  For example, the Alexandria Digital Library
Project will need 100 MB on a screen all at once.  In summary,
there is a clear need for digital libraries.  (AAW)
 
Comments and Observations From the Conference Attendees
     The general feeling about the conference was that it was well
presented with a good variety of speakers and sessions.   It was
not too technical and the thought of GIS in libraries does not seem
as scary and unmanageable.  There are challenges and opportunities
to be gained, but the process should be well planned and unhurried.
(CW)
     There are a number of standard creating initiatives in the
U.S. at the federal level. What is happening in Canada?  We know
far more about what is happening in the U.S. than in Canada, and it
seems that U.S. libraries are very involved in the process.  This
involvement does not seem to be the case in Canada. As an
association we need to find out more about what is happening and
whether we can play a role.  Also, are U.S. librarians developing
their own rules for cataloguing geomatic data sets; will they be
compatible with the rules developed by the CGSB?
     Several interesting funding projects were discussed:  the
Alexandria Project to create a digital library of spatial
information and the Dept. of Education grant to create the ACIC at
the University of Minnesota.  What grants are available for
Canadian map libraries?
     Involvement in GIS activities in U.S. libraries varies
considerably; many of the participants at the conference were only
just starting out and hoping to get some answers or direction.  In
Canada, there seems to be less variation in GIS capabilities in map
libraries.  There are sophisticated set-ups, such as at the
University of Minnesota, and then libraries only planning on
acquiring their first workstation.  Without question though, GIS is
a reality that libraries of all types will have to come to terms
with in the very near future.
     The practical discussions were the most interesting, such as
the development of the St. Louis metropolitan atlas at the St.
Louis Public Library.  The project demonstrates how a good
definition of what could be done in a public library setting and
the willingness to try something new, combined with interest and
support from professionals in the community, can bring about a
successful implementation.  (GW)
     This very informative and thought-provoking meeting of spatial
data producers, managers (partly us) and users brings new insights
to our profession, but also raises new questions regarding the
increasing "spatialization" of information, and the consequences on
studies and research work deriving from it.  Following are some
personal observations, more "impressionist" than analytical,
presented "a la carte" as they came to mind.
     It is said that nearly 80% of all information can be attached
to a spatial entity (or georeferenced).   Space has significance in
the distribution of phenomena:  disease incidence, pollution
occurrences, clientele distribution, road accidents, social
behaviors, etc.  More, spatial analysis is about to redefine such
long-standing sciences as the social sciences, according to
professor Gerard Rushton (The University of Iowa).   Environmental
sciences and geography have integrated spatial analysis in their
paradigm (an evidence not to be questioned), but social sciences
are about to do it.  According to Rushton, social sciences try to
answer two types of questions:  how things are (applied role of the
social sciences) and how the human system works (fundamental role
of the social sciences). The better you know the social reality,
the better you can explain it.  Geographic information systems
bring a new tool of analysis to the social scientist and to the
science itself, in introducing spatiality in the significance of
observations.  For instance, as demonstrated, the distribution of
a disease in a city correlated with polluted land fills years
before can explain the phenomenon and indicate solutions to this
health problem-solving.  What are the consequences of more
spatiality on information processes and uses?  Certainly, there is
a greater demand for georeferenced information and a greater demand
for tools and assistance in using this information.  How is it
different from services provided around printed georeferenced
information (a paper map)?  GIS brings new insights to "map"
librarianship, but raises as well, new questions to the profession.
As we provided printed maps, tracing tables and assistance in  map
reading, we will have to provide georeferenced data, "tracing
screens" (workstations) and assistance in correlating layers of
information.  A new professional paradigm is ours to embrace! We
have no choice but to pave the way to electronic map librarianship,
in order to provide better support to new trends (more spatiality)
in research work and in spatial decision systems.
     It strikes me how U.S. public information sources are more and
more managed all across their producing agencies, as opposed to the
Canadian situation.  The integration of managerial components
within the American government regarding spatial data is exemplary.
You begin with the National Information Infrastructure (NII)
concept.  Then, as one of the possible applications, you have the
National Spatial Data Infrastructure(NSDI), meaning the technology,
policies, standards, and human resources to manage spatial data, as
created by President Clinton's Executive Order 12906.  To
communicate and exchange, the National Geospatial Data
Clearinghouse (NGDC) exists as a distributed electronic network of
geospatial data producers, managers and users.  To coordinate the
development of the NSDI, there is the Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC) that has already adopted standardized
documentation of geospatial data (metadata) and promoted plans by
agencies to provide public access to geospatial data, among other
responsibilities.  In order to support the decennial census of
2000, a National Digital Geospatial Data Framework (NDGDF) has been
created.   Not insignificant to mention is a liberal attitude for
public access to geospatial data, with the Government Information
Locator Service (GILS) being created to identify, locate and access
geographic data. When you have a sense of vision for change, higher
political commitment, coordinating bodies, means for exchange,
standards for production, partnerships between actors,
consideration for clienteles, you have a winning mix to introduce
change fruitfully. All these are ingredients that are lacking badly
in Canada, where no appearance of integrated management seems to
exist for spatial data.  Haven't we been, as potential spatial data
managers (and promoters), contributing to this stagnation?
     We tend to consider technological advances in a horizontal
view, introducing an equipment or a software, without relating
sufficiently these components to a larger environment, without
reassessing and questioning existing practices.  In many of the
developments or projects presented during the clinic, reference was
often made to the relations between data, technology, human
resources and problems to be solved.  These represented a sort of
vertical integration of components, a holistic approach in
designing solutions.  Technology is not neutral in conditioning
human operations. Components within a system interact on others.
If spatial data is considered a new input for a researcher, new
demands will be put before the information infrastructure (the map
library, hopefully) for access and service, which will require new
training for staff, new equipment and new interactions within the
infrastructure (data librarian, computer people, etc).
Interdependency is another word for vertical integration (more than
ever, and outside our small world).  Are we sufficiently open
minded in that direction?
     On-line public access catalogues (OPACs) replicate a
conceptual framework established originally by Charles Cutter in
his Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue... at the begining of the
present century. We approach the end of the same century (!)
without significant progress in retrieval.  Nearly not quite so,
hopefully.  We are more aware of providing user support in
retrieval systems, of offering richer querying mechanisms.  The
Alexandria Project will make room for tutorials in retrieval.  We
speak of semantic networks and hypertext to expand the capacity of
querying devices.  We develop non verbal area searching using
graphics, polygons.  Will we continue to abide by Cutter's rules in
forcing new information units into alien categories?  Will we
continue to produce thickening guides to search OPACs?  Will we
force users to adapt themselves to our systems, or will we borrow
users search patterns to design systems accordingly?   New
insights? New questions? New challenges! Stimulating!  (YT)
 
Workshops and Keynote
     On Sunday, there were two optional "workshops" and a keynote
address.  The first workshop was an "Overview of GIS Concepts"
presented by Marc P. Armstrong, Associate Professor, Department of
Geography and Program in Applied Mathematical and Computational
Sciences, The University of Iowa.  He used software called "GIS
Tutor" to present this.  The major books, journals and trade
magazines in the field were listed, such as S. Aronoff's Geographic
Information Systems: A Management Perspective (Ottawa: WDL
Publications, 1989),  Cartography and Geographic Information
Systems, and GIS World.  He noted that a bibliography of videos on
the topic was available from the National Center for Geographic
Information and Analysis.  He pointed out that a number of
professional organizations provide a forum for learning more about
GIS through their publications and conferences, for example, the
American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and the American Society
for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing with their annual
conventions, the GIS/LIS meetings in the fall, and the Auto Carto
symposiums every two years.  For keeping up to date electronically,
he gave lists of Web sites with GIS related content and also a list
of sites available using MOSAIC.  There is also a listserver called
GIS-L which is available as a newsgroup, too (comp.infosystem.GIS).
Using the GIS tutor, Dr. Armstrong defined what a GIS is, how it
works, what hardware is required, something of its development,
what it is made up of and some of the applications for it.  He also
provided some information on GPS (global positioning systems).  In
terms of GIS software, he pointed out that MapInfo grew out of a PC
environment and is not topologically correct, while ArcView and
Intergraph came from a mainframe environment and are topologically
correct.  One software, GRASS, was developed by a government
agency.
     The second "workshop" was on "Spatial Analysis in the Social
Sciences" presented by Gerard Rushton, Associate Professor,
Department of Geography and Program in Applied Mathematical and
Computational Sciences, The University of Iowa.  He defined spatial
analysis as the ability to cross-correlate two or more overlays of
information, such as merging a zoning map with soils and land use.
By using overlaying, he felt that users could start to make
information driven decisions.  He pointed out the linkages between
social science and spatial analysis and stated that in the 1960s
geography was viewed as a spatial science while in the 1970s and
1980s it was pushed out and in the 1990s it has been rediscovered.
Spatial analysis is now integrated with GIS and involves getting
information about a point.  To illustrate this he described a study
that was the spatial analysis of the relationship between infant
mortality rates and birth defect rates in Des Moines, Iowa,
1989-1992.  He also discussed the use of the U.S. Bureau of the
Census TIGER data and its limitations.  In addition, he noted the
application of interactive computer-based systems which help
decision makers use data and models to solve unstructured problems
about the spatial organization of activities.  A benefit of the
latter is providing improved information for decisions and a more
rational process of location decision making.  He illustrated this
with an Iowa study on restructuring of school districts (not yet
implemented by the state).
     After a reception and dinner, there was "keynote address" by
Mark Monmonier, Professor, Department of Geography, Maxwell School,
Syracuse University entitled "Technological Transition in
Cartography".  This was a "look back" on a book that he did in
1985, and how it related to today.  He gave a detailed, chapter by
chapter, description of the contents and especially noted the
problems of collecting and archiving digital data.  Dr. Monmonier
discussed how the book was received by noting the nine reviews and
their ratings; it was said to be available yet for purchase!  He
emphasized the increased diversity of the integration of maps and
closed with demonstrations of several "dynamic" (computer produced)
maps that he had prepared some time ago.   It was not exactly what
had been expected in terms of a keynote.  (AAW)
 
 
Describing and Cataloging GIS
     Monday morning, Mary Larsgaard, Assistant Head, Map and
Imagery Lab, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa
Barbara spoke on "Cataloging Planetospatial Data in Digital Form".
She indicated that at UC Santa Barbara they have a policy for
cataloguing all data being acquired through Project Alexandria, one
of six large National Science Foundation grants for digital
libraries which started in June 1994. One of the problems has been
in finding a USMARC equivalency for every FGDC field.  Briefly,
Larsgaard indicated that cataloguing problems for data fall into
four main areas.
     The first is physical description and tag 256 - file
characteristics from chapter nine computer files.  Here the dilema
is whether you define the item as a computer file or map or
multi-media etc.  For 256 you can only enter computer program or a
similar term and the number of programmes or bytes.  But what is
needed is other information such as colour and other graphic
characteristics.  The first piece of information that is requested
is the size of the file and you cannot count maps as these are
infinite. For tag 300 colour becomes a question of the gray scale
and a palette of 1-256 colours and is often dependant on software.
Under $a the number of megabytes is added.
      The second problem area is the question of production versus
publication.  A good example here is to ask if an Internet f ile is
published.  Presumably, there is also a problem here with edition
or version particularly if it is always being updated.
     The third problem area is that of merging with another
standard such as the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
standards.  These are inherently two different things.  FGDC is
mainly for use by data producers.  Some information will only be
known by the producer and not by the cataloguer.  The FGDC
standards are new while AACR2 and MARC come from older
book-oriented traditions.
      Finally, Ms. Larsgaard discussed multilevel description.  The
problem here is providing for tiles, which are areas adjoining each
other, and for layers, or coverages of data, for these or for other
areas.  There can also be multiple versions of the same thing -
e.g. if an aerial photo is catalogued as part of a set and then one
or more are scanned, do you prepare separate records for these
which would make for much more work.
     Subject headings are not all consistent, and there is a need
for a heading for world or earth with subdivisions.  For 352 $i, we
also need to be able to indicate raster or vector.  Bounding
coordinates are essential for digital files.  Local time is used
for satellite data and this must be recorded somewhere.  Ms.
Larsgaard indicated that she had looked a bit at the Canadian rules
for Geomatics cataloguing, but it is obviously time for us to look
at these in some detail and start to use them for our various map
data.
     Michael Domaratz, Member, Federal Geographic Data Committee
(FGDC) Secretariat and a Cartographer at the U.S.Geological Survey
(USGS) reviewed "Metadata Standards and the FGDC".   The FGDC of
USGS is the national group mandated to support proper standards for
medadata and the creation of the National Spatial Data
Infrastructure (NSDI).  The FGDC promotes the development,
maintenance and management of distributed data base systems that
are national in scope for geographic data.  Domaratz noted that the
future belongs to those who control the tools for filtering and
making sense of data.  It will be up to librarians to sort out how
they will integrate with all the other groups involved with data,
e.g. geographers, cartographers, computer scientists etc.
     Content standards for digital geospatial metadata were
approved in June 1994 to provide a common set of terms that will be
used in describing data.  Federal agencies must use these beginning
in 1995.  The standards answer four major questions about data -
availability of data for a specified location, the fitness for use
in a specified need, access routes to the data and transfer of
information needed to use a set of data. The standards are based on
the premise that the person best set up to prepare medadata is the
producer. However, Mr. Domaratz mentioned that recording all the
changes made to data could mean very lengthy records.
     Mr. Domaratz noted that one of the greatest problems is
knowing where to find the data - data for which the U.S. government
has spent billions of dollars.  To solve this the National
Geospatial Data Clearinghouse (NGDC) was set up in April 1994.  The
records are on the Internet and the base configuration is WAIS,
although some records are on gophers, WWW etc.  Many federal
agencies are now at work inventorying their data and mounting this
on the Internet.  Much of the data is also available through the
Internet and vast numbers of files are already being transferred
even without the Clearinghouse.  For instance, now that all the DLG
and DEMs for the U.S. are up on the site at Sioux Falls over
700,000 files were shipped in the first year.  The USGS EROS Data
Center recorded nearly 49,000 downloads in its first 3 months.
Further information of FGDC initiatives is available in the FGDC
Newsletter and this and a list of about 20 documents can be
acquired from Publications, USGS, 590 National Center, Reston, VA
22092.
     Although the Canadian contingent had heard earlier about FGDC
, NSDI and the Clearinghouse the effect of the speech was to make
us all realize what vast quantities of data there are in the U.S.,
mostly available free or at a nominal charge and to conclude that
we are data-starved in Canada.  Re the metadata:  during
discussions it became clear that we had no idea whether questions
of standards are being worked on in Canada. (JW)
 
 
Users and Interfaces
     After the mid-morning break, Myke Gluck, Assistant Professor,
School of Library & Information Studies, Florida State University
spoke on "Spatial Information: Users' Needs & Competencies of the
General Public".  He reported on the results of several studies he
has conducted in public libraries with a focus on three key
research questions:  1)  user needs for spatial data - what are
they? 2)  formats and tasks requested by users, and 3)  formats
which users find most useful.  The needs of users were categorized
as facts (geographical data) and information ( making the data
usable).   Users of spatial information acquire their knowledge
procedurally, by walking around and looking at an area, as well as
from representations of spatial information presented on maps.  Dr.
Gluck identified three broad categories of map tasks: reading
(what), analysis (how) and interpretation (why).
     Dr. Gluck has conducted a number of experiments to assess how
fast and accurately individuals can complete a number of map tasks.
He described a translation exercise in which one group of subjects
were given a map and asked to describe what was represented on the
map.  A second group of subjects were given a description and asked
to create a map based on the information contained in it.  Subjects
in the first group were generally unhappy with their descriptions
of the data presented on the map because: they needed too many
words to describe the data; it took too long to complete a good
translation; and he map was too complex.  Subjects in the second
group were equally unhappy with their translations from text to
map, although for different reasons: drawing ability; poor recall
of standard symbols used on maps; and difficulty in showing
temporal changes.  Focus group discussions were held with the
subjects who participated in the translation exercise.
Participants were asked about:  their major personal uses of maps
and how they act to make sense of a map - what steps do they take
first, second, etc.?  In another study 82 subjects between the ages
of 14 and 56 years were surveyed about the materials they read to
assess their geospatial competencies.   Dr. Gluck has concluded
that experience with information increases competency with tasks to
a greater degree than formal education.
     The final study described by Dr. Gluck involves determining
public library users' geospatial data needs by doing a content
analysis of questions asked at the Tallahasee Public Library.
There was considerable variation in the needs ranging across
educational (course assignments), professinal/career (job hunters),
personal (hospital visit) and recreational (hikers/campers).  Maps
were only one of a variety of sources consulted by users.
     The second speaker in this session was Ray Larson, Associate
Professor, School of Library and Information Studies, University of
California, Berkeley who covered "Geographic Information Retrieval
and Spatial Browsing".  His presentation covered the following:  1)
what geographic information retrieval (GIR) is, 2)  geographic and
spatial querying and browsing, 3)  geographic and spatial indexing,
and 4)  a demonstration of some GIR systems and geographically
indexed information.
Dr. Larson described GIR as being concerned with providing access
to georeferenced information sources.   It includes all of the
traditional areas of information retrieval research with the
addition of spatially and geographically oriented indexing and
retrieval.   Furthermore, it combines aspects of database
management systems research, user interface research, GIS research
and information retrieval research.
     Geographic and spatial information retrieval systems are
needed to access digital libraries, which are increasing at a rapid
rate, and for the next generation of online catalogues.  Geographic
and spatial querying both imply querying relationships within a
particular coordinate system.  They can be defined as queries about
the spatial relationships of entities geometrically defined and
located in space.  Geographical coordinates are geometric
relationships,  i.e. distance and direction can be measured on a
continuous scale (100 km east of Toronto).  Spatial relations may
be both geometric and topological i.e. spatially related, but
without measurable distance or absolute direction (inside the city
limits).  There are a variety of types of spatial queries:  1)
point-in-polygon: what is located at this x,y coordinate?  2)
region queries: what is in this region?  3)  distance and buffer
zone queries: what cities lie within x miles of border of Ontario
and Quebec?  4)  path queries: what is the shortest route from
Winnipeg to Brandon? and 5) multimedia queries using non-map
georeferenced information:  what are the names of farmers affected
by flooding in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, California?
     Spatial browsing combines ad hoc spatial querying with
interactive displays.   It has advantages and disadvantages.  The
former include:  the accuracy of a full GIS may not be needed; a
comrehensible searching metaphoris adequate for many materials.
The latter include: c lutter and differing scales;  the need for
good and accurate geographical indexing.  Traditional geographic
indexing which uses place names from LCSH and name authorities also
present problems: names are not unique; places referred to change
size, shape and names over time; there are spelling variations;
some places are temporary conventions (study areas, etc.).
Geographic coordinates have some advantages over names:  they are
persistent regardless of name, political boundary or other changes;
they can be simply connected to spatial browsing interfaces and GIS
data; and they provide a consistent framework for GIR applications
and spatial queries.
     One example of a geographic and spatial indexing system is
GIPSY, developed by Allison Woodruff and Chritian Plaunt.  It is
designed to operate on the full text of documents, extracting
geographic terms and attempting to identify the coordinates of the
places discussed in the text using a combination of evidence.
GIPSY uses the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and
Geographic Information Retrieval and Analysis System (GIRAS) to
associate names with coordinates of named places, geographic
features and land use characteristics.  Identified places are added
as "elevations" with each place adding a weight based on its
frequency in the text and database characteristics.  The resulting
map is analysed to identify the most likely locations and
coordinates for those locations are extracted.
     Examples of GIRs are:   the UC Berkeley Digital Library
Project, the NSF/NASA/ARPA Digital Library Project, GRASS Links
public access GIS, and  the Canadian National Atlas Information
System (NAISMap).  Larson summarized by pointing out that:  GIR and
spatial browsing can provide valuable new searching mechanisms for
digital and traditional libraries with georeferenced collections;
automatic georeferencing is possible and can aid in retrospective
conversion; and GIR and spatial browsing should be among the
components of digital libraries and next-generation online
catalogues.
     The last speaker in the session was William Moen, Ph.D.
Candidate, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University who
described an innovation, "The Government Information Locator
Service (GILS): Identifying, Locating, and Accessing Geographic and
Spatial Data".  GILS was created for a number of reasons:  1) the
increase in government information in electronic format, 2)
finding tools were not adequate e.g. USGPO catalogues, 3)
technological advances made it possible, and 4)  to enhance public
access to government information.  It will assist the federal
government to manage its resources and users to know what is
available, where it is available and how to get it.  GILS is not
specific to spatial data, but it will permit identification of data
that is available.  Mr. Moen stressed that GILS is a locator
service or put another way, it is a point of entry to finding out
about government information NOT the information itself.  The
information may be in any format - paper, electronic, map, etc.
Each record consists of 20 core data elements and metadata is
provided by the producers of the data.  GILS provides a uniform
interface to multiple servers and sets out standards for attributes
of search queries.  It can be searched by titles, key words and
phrases, personal names and the record source.
 
GIS In Academic Libraries I
     After lunch on Monday afternoon, Brent Allison, Director, John
R. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota presented the
practical side of GIS in a map library setting.  With the
assistance of a Department of Education grant received in 1992, the
John R. Borchert Map Library established an "Automated Cartographic
Information Center" (ACIC) to meet the needs of its patrons for a
variety of GIS applications.  Their configuration has evolved to an
11 workstation network with access to scanning and digitizing
equipment and a colour printer.  The ACIC is networked through the
university's backbone making it the principal campus resource for
GIS information.
     The ACIC is a DOS Windows and Mac operation providing to users
a range of GIS and automated cartography products.  Desktop
mapping/GIS capabilities are provided by Atlas GIS (mostly used for
digitizing), ArcView, and MapInfo.  MapInfo is the most popular; it
is easy to learn, permits layering of data and the easy production
of customized maps.  CD Export provides access to Tiger files in
MapInfo format and Wessex permits the easy extraction of census
data in a spreadsheet format.  In addition, the ACIC provides a
number of electronic atlases such as PC-USA, Global Explorer,
MapExpert, Map 'N Go.
     In the first year, printed guides were developed by graduate
students for the three GIS/desktop mapping programs.  These guides
however, have been rarely used.  In their place, online tutorials
are being developed, which will embed movies showing the steps
involved in creating a map .  LOTUS Screen Cam ($69.00), for
instance, records movements on the screen which can be incorporated
in word processing documents.
     Users of the ACIC must attend an orientation session before
they are permitted access to the workstations.  However, on-going
assistance for users of the ACIC is still needed and extra student
assistants had to be hired.  Mr. Allison cautioned that often the
requirement for on-going support after the period of a grant is
overlooked when making grant applications.
     The ACIC is now involved in the development of an electronic
atlas as part of ARL/GIS Literacy Project.  The ARL Electronic
Atlas is modelled after the urban atlas series produced by the U.S.
Bureau of the Census using 1970 census data.  The project, which is
being developed cooperatively with a number of other libraries,
will create maps of major metropolitan areas using socioeconomic
and environmental data from the 1990 U.S. Census.  The maps will be
accessible on the Internet.  Mr. Allison displayed sample maps from
the project, pointing out that the atlas will be of interest to the
public, schools, libraries and researchers.  It is anticipated that
the atlas will be particularly useful for people who do not have
the resources or skills to construct the maps themselves.  The maps
will be in ""gif"" format and will include the statistics used to
derive the maps.  A prototype of the atlas is now on the Web.
     To close out this session, Christie Koontz, of the Florida
Resources and Environmental Analysis Center, Institute of Science
and Public Affairs, Florida State University described how GIS can
be used by libraries, particularly public libraries, as a decision
making tool to define their services and market areas. This
capability is particularly useful in today's environment where
budget considerations are forcing the consolidation of services.
Many public libraries are hampered by less than optimum geographic
locations for their facilities.
     Until recently, library managers have had to conduct market
profile studies rather haphazardly.  However, GIS is changing this,
permitting managers to define more precisely the size of their
current market, the composition of the market (age/sex/education,
etc), and predict what the future market will be.  She did point
out that use of GIS is not without its pitfalls: problems of data
accuracy and data availability exist; sometimes data is
mislabelled; and until recently, there was a steep learning curve
associated with using U.S. census data.
     Using an example from Evansville-Vanderburgh County Public
Library, Ms. Koontz illustrated how GIS could be used to identify
a new branch location.  Tiger data was analyzed using GIS Plus
software.  She discussed a number of techniques that could be used
to conduct the market analysis: assign census tracts to branches,
or if more precision is required, assign block groups; zip codes
can be used, or a radius of a certain value from the branch.  Two
miles is the radius most commonly quoted for public library
services.  (GW)
 
GIS in Libraries II
     The second Monday afternoon session was led off by Dean K.
Jue, Director, Spatial Analysis, Research, and Training Program;
Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center, Institute of
Science and Public Affairs, Florida State University who spoke on
"Implementing GIS in the Public Library Arena".  Mr. Jue contacted
as many American libraries with GIS as he could.  He determined
that 64 libraries had GIS accessible to the public, including 13
public libraries (as of April 1995).  His intention was to review
library experiences in implementing GIS and to develop decision
models for the implementation process.  Mr. Jue identified a number
of data use models including:   1) personal use model (librarians
serve only as custodians of data), 2) chauffeur-driven model
(librarians are GIS users for their patrons), and 3) adaptive
interpersonal use model (combination of the above two).  He also
identified three spatial data user types:  1) map user (makes use
of existing products), 2) personalized map user (makes use of
existing data to produce personalized map for his own needs), and
3) map maker (acquires, manipulates, and analyzes data in a
sophisticated manner).
     Based on the comments and responses he received from the 64
libraries, Jue developed a decision flow chart for implementing GIS
in libraries.  Key decision boxes are: adequate staffing levels?
adequate equipment for GIS?  are equipment, software, data secure?
easy access to constituency data? (i.e., constituency identified?)
are staff computer-literate?  For example, libraries with
inadequate staffing levels and inadequate GIS equipment are advised
to implement the map user and personal use model.  At the other
extreme, if a library has adequate staffing and GIS equipment, has
security measures in place and easy access to constituency data,
then it can implement the map maker/adaptive interpersonal use (or
chauffeur-driven) model.
     The responding libraries offered the following advice to
libraries wishing to implement GIS.  Provide the supporting
librarians with enough time and training to learn the software as
well as to provide the proper end-user support (from 48% of the 64
responding libraries); implement the GIS in a controlled
environment with controlled access and go slow and define the role
of the library and librarians carefully (28%); obtain state of the
art equipment, including good printer and software protection
(20%); make sure staffing level is adequate to support the project
(17%); develop pre-canned and relevant data sets that are easy for
the casual user to access (13%).
     Closing out the afternoon was "St. Louis Public Library's
Electronic Atlas; Elements of a Successful GIS Application in the
Public Library Environment" by Ann Watts, Coordinator, Information
and Technology Services, St. Louis Public Library.  The Electronic
Atlas project began three years ago, using exhibit money with
assistance from URISA (Urban and Regional Information Systems
Association).  Support for the project includes one 486 PC with 8
MB RAM and ArcView software, but no additional staff. The computer
sits unattended in a public area and anyone can sit down and use
it.  Library staff have prepared a finite number of pre-planned
"views" using census summary tapes; Ms. Watts commented that the
80/20 rule is very relevant in this situation.  Staff are willing
to do referenceinterviews over the telephone and to prepare maps
for theseclients; copies of these maps are not kept by the library.
Nor are patrons allowed to download information or copy files.
     She made the following comments about the impact of
thisproject upon staff.  Staff get new users started and teach
themhow to solve problems with GIS; alternatively staff will
operatethe system for patrons who don't want to become
directlyinvolved.  Staff do know their own limitations.
Interestingly, the library has found that crib sheets do not work
well; patronsprefer to ask staff for assistance rather than
consulting userguides.
     Ms. Watts offered the following reasons for the success of
theproject.  First, the scope of the project is limited to the
local county; the library does not collect data for adjacent
counties. There has been good support from "outside" people
including URISAmembers as volunteers and staff at the Illinois
State Data Center at Southern IllinoisUniversity.  Cost of the
project has been minimal (less than $5,000) and yet, because of
leverage, the library has been able to provide a colour printer.
The service has been cost effectiveeven though the library provides
colour printing at no charge to patrons.  She did emphasis that
such a project requires an"internal champion," someone who can work
the political system from within the organization. (RHP)
 
Specialized GIS Applications
     On Tuesday morning "The Role of Special Libraries in Emergency
Preparedness and Response" was the subject of Robert Lee
Chartrand's presentation which focused on the role of the library
in emergency response, particularly.  Mr. Chartrand is a consultant
and was formerly with the Library of Congress.  He stressed that
libraries should plan to be ready. He mentioned several 'local
areas of action'.  One of these was the concern that official power
centers have full government support.  There sould be period
reviews of guidelines and a monitoring of emergency management.
The role of advisiory groups should be emphasized and federal/state
interaction should be strengthened.  It was important to make use
of groups such as those involved in hotlines and services.  He
noted that it was important to incorporate information technology
tools and techniques and to adopt recommendations of studies in the
field.
     The various ways in which GIS can play a role were pointed
out, such as the preparation of emergency scenarios and ensuring
the availability of maps, charts, and air photos.  Other ways that
he noted were the selective storage of local information for
emergency services (e.g. fire departments) and the provision of
graphic information for public presentation.
     Mr. Chartrand also stated that corporations in a community
have an obligation to help the local area.  There are some
deficiencies that exist, however:  lack of access, lack of
standardization, and a need to improve hardware and software
compatibility.   In his closing remarks, Mr. Chartrand stressed
that we can help each other, and we can learn from the emergency
management profession.  We must ask ourselves:  "Are we doing as
much for our community within our profession as is possible?
     This address was followed by "Spatial Access to and Display of
Global Change Data:  Avenues for Libraries" by Linda L. Hill,
Senior Research Scientist, Center of Excellence in Space Data and
Information Science, Universities Space Research Association at the
Goddard Space Flight Center. She talked primarily about data that
is in federal agencies, the ideal spatial retrieval system, and
systems that are available that have geographic search components.
     In her presentation, Ms. Hill mentioned the Global Change Data
and Information System (GCDIS), a multi-agency project of the
Global Change Data Management Working Group within the U.S. Global
Change ResearchProgram.  She distributed a handout on the current
status of GCDIS and the most active departments/agencies in GCDIS.
She outlined the five responsibilities of its Library Information
Subgroup as building an infrastructure of libraries and librarians
for GCDIS implementation, evaluating GCDIS from a library user's
perspective and providing user needs analysis, linking data
resources to information resources for knowledge management,
promoting GCDIS to libraries and developing approaches to user
education, and advising on data and information processing
standards and systems from the library perpective.
     Ms. Hill went on to sketch her view of what an ideal spatial
access information system should look like.  The ideal system
should include all types of data and information, specific area
representations, spatial query capabilities,  and  translation of
place names into spatial definitions.  Other attributes it must
have would include  retrieval mechanisms that return a ranked list
based on a metric of geographic similarity, ways of limiting or
filtering, browsing snapshots of images, full documentation, and
mechanisms for ordering data.  She ended her presentation by noting
and briefly describing five example systems:  GC-ASK,  EOSDIS,
Global Change Master Directory, NOAA Marine Geology & Geophysics
On-Line Searches, and the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse.
(TB)
 
State and Local Initiatives in Spatial Data and GIS
     This second Tuesday morning session was devoted to state and
local initiatives for addressing issues in community-based spatial
information uses.  Two cases were presented:  publication of
Illinois spatial data on CD-ROM and Champaign County's electronic
network.
     The Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources with
its divisions has developed over 10 years very comprehensive
spatial digital databases at the state level.  In order to make
this information more accessible, many of these databases were
published onC D-ROM in April 1994.  This initiative reflects an
attitude towards better access and sharing of spatial data by
citizens and groups having an interest in Illinois people and
resources.  This electronic publication is intended for state and
local agencies, libraries, schools, public interest groups, and the
private sector.  It is available free of charge (yes) except for a
fee of  $100 for private enterprises or individuals.  Copies sold
covered disk production costs.
     The CD-ROM contains layers of information for different topics
such as hydrography, flood  zones, roads, railroads, utilities,
natural areas and preserves, archaeologic probability, boundaries,
landfills, wells, public water supply intakes, towns, etc.  Data
come from local, state or federal sources.  Most of the data is at
scale of 1:100,000 with different scales depending on the map
layer, and all are in ARC/INFO format. The data are not explicitly
copyrighted, but prior notice to the Department is required before
redistribution.
     The other local initiative presented pertains to
thedevelopment of the Champaign County Network (CCNET) by
theChamber of Commerce in co-operation with the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications of the University of Illinois at
Champaign-Urbana.  The intent was to identify applications for a
county-wide network and to design a network to connect the entire
county and provide a model that can be adopted in other
communities.  The benefits are for business and industrial firms,
schools and colleges, farming, medical care, and county planning.
The listing of application task forces is revealing in itself:
agribusiness, community and government resources and libraries,
education, health care, small business, and geographic information
networks.  Current network access tools include Prairienet, a
dial-up modem access via telephone lines and the Internet, and the
Mosaic browser.  For information about CCNET, the URL is:
http://www.prairienet.org/SiliconPrairie/ccnet.html.
     An application for agricultural planning of GPS and GIS was
brilliantly illustrated in a not so futuristic implementation of
information technologies.  A farmer would sample the soil for
georeferenced analysis using GPS, passing this data to aGIS-based
fertilization plan, and then to a GPS-governed automatic-adjusting
fertilizer machine.  The crop yields would be recorded,
georeferenced through GPS, by the harvesting machine, and the plan
for seeding the next year could be tabulated spatially!  (YT)
 
 
Generalization and Summary
     The Generalization Problem presented by Barbara Buttenfield,
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, State University of
New York at Buffalo focused on the nature of GIS data and the
concepts of scale.  Scale change, growth and changes of scale,
adding and eliminating information due to scale, and models of
growth and scale changewere discussed.  GIS data is customarily
troublesome and the concept of scale is complicated.   She spoke of
three main problems:  data volume, indexing and metadata content
and browsing.  Data volume presents the problem of a lot of memory
being used for one screen of information, so you need to
compressthe data.  Indexing focuses on data tiling and the need for
better interface design.  What map series and scale are
appropriate?   Metadata problems pertains to knowing that the data
exists, determining its fitness for use and browsing capabilities.
Dr. Buttenfield spoke about allometry and the scalability of
phenomena and processes, not just the mathematical ratio.  Her
simple example was of a braided stream's detail being lost at
1:100,000 and 1:250,000 maps when compared to 1:24,000 maps.  She
concluded by stressing that there is a need for digital libraries
and access to spatial information, a need to prepare now for growth
and complexity that will surely happen and the important role that
librarians and information scientists will play.
     Linda C. Smith, Conference Co-Chair and Professor, Graduate
School of Library and Information Sciene, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, closed the conference with a few brief words.
She noted that the talks and other presentations illustrated the
challenges and opportunities offered by GIS in libraries.  There
will be a proceedings volume for the conference.  (CW)