--- Begin Forwarded Message --- Date: Tue, 09 Nov 1999 14:46:22 -0500 From: Martin von Wyss <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Harvard Map Collection announces GIS Day 1999 Sender: Martin von Wyss <[log in to unmask]> Please pardon the crossposting. Press Information For Immediate Publication David Cobb November 9 1999 Harvard Map Collection 617-495-2417 [log in to unmask] "Reaching Out to the Community" Harvard Map Collection Sponsors GIS Day Celebration Cambridge, MA - The Harvard Map Collection of the Harvard College Library announces an open house series of presentations on GIS Day, November 19, 1999. Sessions will be organized to introduce people to GIS applications for a number of different fields and to acquaint them with the Geographic Information Services and related data provided at the Harvard Map Collection. Also, GIS specialists from across Harvard University will be present to share details on a variety of activities. GIS Day will be held November 19, the last day of Geography Awareness Week (November 15-19), and is sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the Association of American Geographers and the Environmental Systems Research Institute. Since 1987, the National Geographic Society has sponsored Geography Awareness Week to promote geographic literacy in schools, communities, and organizations, with a focus on the education of children. The GIS Day celebration is a grassroots event that formalizes the practice of GIS users and vendors opening their doors to schools, businesses, and the general public to showcase real-world applications. There are currently about half a million GIS users in the world, but most of the public is unaware of this growing technology. Used to solve problems in such areas as environmental protection, pollution, health care, land use, natural resources, conservation, business efficiency, education, and social inequities, GIS provides a unifying framework for analyzing and understanding the world around us. Colleges, universities, K-12 schools, cities, and private industries are participating in GIS Day, giving the general public an opportunity to see how GIS technology is applied in many interesting and exciting ways. The Harvard Map Collection is in good company as they join hundreds of GIS Day sites worldwide. The Harvard Map Collection is located in Pusey Library, in Harvard Yard. GIS Day activities will be on going between 9:30 AM and 4 PM. For more information, please call the Harvard Map Collection at 617-495-2417 or email [log in to unmask] <italic>GIS Day Schedule </italic> 9:30 to 9:50 Introduction to G.I.S. for Librarians what is a G.I.S.? basic functionality such as address matching, buffering, queries data sources 10:00 to 10:20 Using Census Data in G.I.S. U.S. Census demographic data potential applications in research Geolytics products how to integrate other data for comparison 11:00 to 11:30 G.I.S. Data for Designers and Planners data sets, particularly data of the Boston area their applications in the design and planning fields 1:00 to 1:30 Raster G.I.S. and Satellite Remote Sensing introduction to raster G.I.S. and satellite remote sensing sample application 1:45 to 2:15 Proper Use and Symbolization of Data avoiding potential pitfalls of G.I.S. mapping: scale, resolution, data source applying cartographic conventions to G.I.S. maps 2:15 to 2:45 Case Studies at the Harvard Map Collection The Massachusetts Electronic Atlas The Boston Children and Families Database 3:00 to 4:00 G.I.S. at Harvard presentations from researchers using G.I.S. at Harvard Thomas Rammin, Design School Jonathan French, School of Public Health others to be announced --- End Forwarded Message ---