-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: GIS Literacy vs. Geospatial Literacy Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:59:46 -0400 From: Kim H. Edwin <[log in to unmask]> To: Air Photo GIS Forum - Map Librarianship Maps <[log in to unmask]> References: <[log in to unmask]> Dear Angie, Unfortunately, it is necessary to decide exactly to what GIS refers. I've seen it used for Geographic Information System(s) & also for Geographic Information Science & less often to Geospatial Information Systems (or Science). Perhaps this illustrates a need for a thesaurus specific for this discipline. Any suggestions? After deciding upon GIS or GeoSpatial (I've also seen Geo-Spatial) Literacy, a useful resource which is very much on the way of setting standards is the "Geographic Information Science & Technology Body of Knowledge" from UCGIS, published by AAG. This outlines the Analytical Methods, Cartography & Visualization, Conceptual Foundations, Data Modeling, Design Aspects, Data Manipulation, GeoComputation, GIS & T & Society, Organizational & Institutional Aspects, and Geospatial Data. Kim Edwin Kim Edwin, Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division 202-707-8514 Disclaimer: Referenced facts & opinions are not necessarily of the Library of Congress. >>> Angie Cope <[log in to unmask]> 4/9/2010 10:34 AM >>> Before we go too far afield ... I want to clarify that I'm referring to geospatial literacy in terms of the ACRL standards for information literacy and how they apply to geospatial information. Here are the standards: From Wikipedia: In 2000, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), released "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education", describing five standards and numerous performance indicators considered best practices for the implementation and assessment of postsecondary information literacy programs. The five standards are: * Standard One: The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed. * Standard Two: The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently. * Standard Three: The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system. * Standard Four: The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. * Standard Five: The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally. These standards are meant to span from the simple to more complicated, or in terms of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, from the "lower order" to the "higher order". Lower order skills would involve for instance being able to use an online catalog to find a book relevant to an information need in an academic library. Higher order skills would involve critically evaluating and synthesizing information from multiple sources into a coherent interpretation or argument. -end- -a- -------- Original Message -------- Subject: GIS Literacy vs. Geospatial Literacy Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:50:48 -0500 From: Angie Cope <[log in to unmask]> Organization: American Geographical Society Library To: Maps-L <[log in to unmask]> I'd like to engage in a conversation about geospatial literacy. I'm wondering if there are Geospatial Literacy Standards or GIS Literacy Standards. And ... in your opinion (and practice) is there a difference between GIS literacy and geospatial literacy. Does all geospatial literacy involve teaching users GIS software or is there something else? How do you incorporate geospatial literacy into single session presentations to non-GIS users? Thoughts? References to good articles? Other questions? -Angie Angie Cope, Senior Academic Librarian American Geographical Society Library UW Milwaukee Libraries 2311 E. Hartford Avenue Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/AGSL/index.html Hours: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm [log in to unmask] (414)229-6282 / (800)558-8993 (US TOLL FREE) / (414)229-3624 (FAX) 43°03'8"N 87°57'21"W