-------- Original Message --------
Subject: New Harvard Geospatial Library
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:18:29 -0500
From: Burns, Bonnie <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>,
[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
We are pleased to announce the launch of the latest iteration of the
Harvard Geospatial Library (HGL) (http://hgl.harvard.edu/), the
University’s catalog and repository for geospatial data. This release of
HGL is powered by OpenGeoportal (OGP) (http://opengeoportal.org/), a
collaboratively-developed web portal that enables geospatial data
search, discovery, display, and delivery. OGP was founded at Tufts
University and is the result of a multi-year collaboration with the
Harvard Library and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
to create a system of interoperable geospatial data repositories based
on shared metadata and open source software. The Harvard Geospatial
Library is the third site to launch an OGP-powered repository, with more
sites to follow in the coming months.
The following institutions are participants in OpenGeoportal:
·Tufts University
·Harvard University
·Massachusetts Institute of Technology
·University of California Berkeley
·Princeton University
·Stanford University
·University of Connecticut
·Yale University
·MassGIS
·University of California Los Angeles
·University of Wisconsin Madison
·Cornell University
·University of Georgia – ITOS
·University of Virginia
Spatial data can be difficult to find, and there are very few large,
diverse data repositories. Researchers who want to incorporate spatial
analysis into their studies often spend days searching multiple,
disparate systems to find appropriate spatial features (administrative
boundaries, roads, satellite images) to support their research. The
Harvard Geospatial Library and OpenGeoportal simplify that data
discovery task by giving users the ability to search across multiple
large data repositories from one site. The partner institutions have
joined forces and opened up search access to their large curated data
stores, and are committed to providing not just their public data, but
also the metadata needed to make the data sets easily usable.
This release of HGL provides significant improvements to previous
versions. The user interface provides a cloud-based platform with an
open API to search multiple repositories of partner institutions.
Improved relevance ranking now supplies more meaningful search results
from over 8,500 data layers. In addition, the search now includes data
from our partner institutions as well as local materials. Data preview
functionality has been improved, making it easier than ever to select
appropriate data from the large numbers of layers available.
Publicly-licensed data from all participating institutions as well as
locally licensed layers can be downloaded and used in a desktop GIS such
as ArcGIS, or patrons can connect to the data using online geospatial
data editor and analysis tools such as GeoCommons
(http://geocommons.com) using open protocols as defined by the Open
Geospatial Consortium.
For more information, please contact the Harvard Geospatial Library Team:
Primary Contact: GIS Librarian
Bonnie Burns, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Manager of Systems Development
Randy Stern, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Lead Developer
Dave Siegel, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Geospatial Resources Cataloger/ metadata specialist
Marc McGee, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
GIS/Georeferencing Technician
Whitley Frost, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
We are all proud to be a part of the OpenGeoportal partnership and look
forward to continuing to share the benefits of this collaboration with
our students and faculty.
Harvard Geospatial Library: http://hgl.harvard.edu/
OpenGeoportal code repository: http://code.google.com/p/opengeoportal/
The OGP at Tufts: http://geodata.tufts.edu/
The OGP at Berkeley: http://gis.lib.berkeley.edu:8080/
Open Geospatial Consortium: http://www.opengeospatial.org/
ArcGIS: http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/index.html
Bonnie Burns
Bonnie A. Burns
Librarian for Geographic Information Services
Harvard Map Collection
Pusey Library
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-8125
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