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>Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 10:39:52 -0700
>From: Bill Thoen <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Issues and Examples of GIS in Libraries - Your Thoughts?
 
 
I'm working on a magazine article focusing on GIS and
Libraries, and would be interested in talking to anyone who
has set up a GIS in a public or corporate library. I've
found plenty of references to university GIS libraries and
library organizations, but not a whole lot on the web about
public and corporate libraries using GIS and the concerns
facing these sorts of libraries.
 
Lack of money, training, and difficulty with data
availability and data formats are obvious big hurdles, not
to mention the problems in organizing and cataloging the
data collection, but in spite of all this it seems to me
that the library of the future will include GIS software and
spatial data somewhere in its holdings. But how will this
transition take place? Will GIS start as a simple reference
tool in libraries for perusing local data (e.g. TIGER, STF,
PL94-171, city and county data infrastructure, health,
environment, etc.) or will it provide more GIS analysis
capability? Is it likely that public libraries will one day
link their holdings and GIS capabilities through the internet
and produce the world's first super-GIS? What do you see in
the crystal ball?
 
Another thought that occurred to me was that libraries could
use a GIS themselves to analyze the borrowing patterns and
demographics of their patrons from a spatial perspective as
a way to improve services and resources available to their
"market". Many businesses do exactly this (site selection,
direct marketing, etc.), and it works for them. Why not
libraries? Since many libraries grow and prosper at the whim
of the voters, perhaps pinpointing patron needs successfully
will be another key to funding. Who might use GIS
packages more; reference librarians or library directors?
 
Anyway, I'd appreciate your thoughts on this topic, or even
some suggestions as to who I should talk to or what web
sites to visit. I'll summarize responses of course, but the
article (if accepted) will be published in Directions Magazine
(http://www.directionsmag.com/) in about a month or so.
 
Thanks,
 
- Bill Thoen
  [log in to unmask]
 
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