1.
Implementing a new geospatial data
discovery interface across a multi-
institution consortium
Nathan Piekielek1, James Whitacre2
1The Pennsylvania State University
2 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
October 21, 2016
Colorado Springs, CO

2.
Outline
1. Background
2. The Project
3. Content
4. Methods and Tools
5. The Geoportal
6. Future Work

3.
The Data (geospatial?) Revolution
Petabytes
2005 2010(Gantz et al. 2007)
“ 80 – 90% of gov’t produced
data has a spatial
component.”
- National Geospatial
Advisory Committee 2008
“ 70 – 80% of information
managed by businesses is
connected to a specific
geographic location.”
- Geographic Information
and Technology Association
2006, from Byrd 2012

4.
The Holy Grail –
Consolidated Search

5.
What is the role of the
academic library?
“…collect, organize, and ensure
access to information in all its forms.”
“…provide strong academic research
collections in… digital formats, and
help our patrons access collections
internationally.”
- Penn State University Libraries Strategic
Plan (2014 – 2019)
“…providing and stewarding
collections and content that comprise
a current and retrospective record of
human knowledge…”
“…ensuring unfettered access to
information and by providing a
network of expertise that ensures
value, quality, and authenticity of
information resources.”
- University Of Illinois Library Mission
Statement

6.
A Brief History of GIS in libraries
1992 2015
Association of
Research (ARL)
Libraries – ESRI
Geographic
Information
Systems
Literacy Project
1997
74% of surveyed
ARL libraries
offer GIS
equipment and
services
~2 FTE GIS staff / institution
Advanced training in:
geog., natural resources,
geology etc.
Technical expertise in:
GIS, statistics, research
academia, research data
management
1996
Penn State opens
GIS center in
library
Penn State and
PA DEP launch
state spatial data
clearinghouse
(ARL1999;Holstein2015;Xiaetal.2014)

7.
Geospatial data in libraries
Maps
Digital Maps
Geospatial Data
Public Domain Data
Proprietary Data
Research Data
Scanned Maps
(Adapted from N. Kong, CNI 2016)

8.
The Project

9.
James Whitacre, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Ann Liss &Theresa Quill, University of Indiana
Cathy Hodge & Rob Shepard, University of Iowa
Kelley O'Neal & Bria Parker, University of Maryland
Mara Blake &Tim Utter, University of Michigan
Kathleen Weessies & AmandaTickner, Michigan State University
Ryan Mattke & Karen Majewicz, University of Minnesota
Linda Ballinger, Nathan Piekielek, & PaigeAndrew, Pennsylvania State University
Nicole Kong, Purdue University
Jaime Martindale & AJWortley, University ofWisconsin Madison
Task Force:

10.
Resources
Project Administration
+
1.0 FTE Metadata Coordinator
0.25 FTE Spatial Data Analyst
Task Force and Working Sub-committees
Hardware, Software and Tech Support
Steering Committee

11.
It’s all about the Metadata
(Adapted from K. Weessies and K. R. Willson, ICA 2016)

12.
Content

13.
The Workflow
(Adapted from K. Majewicz, BTAA GDP 2016)

14.
• GeoBlacklight: geoportal platform
• GeoNetwork: online metadata editing ISO 19139 standard
• Omeka: online metadata editing for Dublin Core standard
• Google Docs: project management and file sharing/storage
• ArcCatalog: desktop metadata translation for GIS records
• Oxygen: batch editing for XML documents
• MarcEdit: desktop metadata translation for map records
• Python: batch harvesting, editing, and publishing
• GitHub: file repository for OpenGeoMetadata
• Asana: project management software
Methods and Tools

15.
Methods and Tools

16.
The Geoportal

17.
Future Work
• Continue to get more data as services
• Authenticated access for proprietary/licensed data
• Georeferencing (more) scanned maps
• Contiguous geography/Institutions currently not
participating

18.
References cited
1.Gantz, J.F. et al. (2007). A forecast of worldwide information growth through 2010. IDC:
analyze the future, Framingham, MA.
2.National Geospatial Advisory Committee. (2008). A national geospatial strategy.
3.Byrd, J.B. (2012). The political surveyor: the need for a geospatial market study.
Professional Surveyor Magazine (http://archives.profsurv.com/).
4.Kong, N. (2016). A multi-institution project toward geospatial data discovery. Coalition
for Networked Data, San Antonio, TX.
5.Holstein, A. (2015). Geographic Information and Technologies in Academic Libraries: An
ARL survey of services and support. Information Technology and Libraries, March: 38-51.
6.Association of Research Libraries (ARL). (March 1999). The ARL geographic information
systems literacy project: A SPEC kit. SPEC kit, 238. Washington, DC: Association of
Research Libraries, Office of Leadership and Management Services.
7.Xia, J. and M. Wang. 2014. Competencies and responsibilities of social science data
librarians: an analysis of job descriptions. College and Research Libraries, May 362-388.