Geographic Information Systems

An Annotated Bibliography

Description

Geographic information systems (GIS) is a powerful, multi-disciplinary tool used by individuals, academics, and businesses across the globe in a wide range of fields and practices. This annotated bibliography is created for academic libraries with an interest in geography and GIS technology. The bibliography lists various materials related to GIS that academic reference librarians can use to better understand GIS and help answer patrons' GIS-related inquiries. All items included in this bibliography are published after 2009 to help reflect the current state of GIS technology. The bibliography is organized by item type: Books, Online Resources, and Scholarly Journals and Databases. An overview and description of each work is provided to assist an academic library choosing to include GIS-related sources in their library collection.

Books

Association of American Geographers. (2012). Practicing geography. Boston: Pearson.

This book is written by the Association of American Geographers (AAG) with the purpose of surveying the various ways GIS is practiced by professionals in business, government, and non-profit organizations. The guide is written by experts in the field of GIS detailing the work expectations, core competencies, and professional opportunities as a GIS professional. This guide would be a valuable reference tool for academic libraries helping to foster GIS research and learning.

Dodsworth, E. (2012). Getting started with GIS: A LITA guide. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

This serves as an excellent primer about GIS for librarians lacking prior GIS experience. Dodsworth, a Geospatial Data Services Librarian at the University of Waterloo Map Library, has an extensive background integrating and teaching GIS in a library setting. Dodsworth's expertise and teaching shows through in this guide as it covers topics such as the GeoWeb, online mapping applications like Google Earth, Google Maps, and OpenStreetMap, desktop and cloud GIS, geographically digitizing library content, and expanding library services using cutting-edge GIS technology. This guide includes practical, hands-on activities to help librarians better integrate GIS into their library. This guide should be an essential part of an academic library's collection.

Kimerling, A. J., Buckley, A. R., Muehrcke, P. C., & Muehrcke, J. O. (2011). Map use: Reading,analysis, interpretation. Redlands, CA: Esri Press Academic.

Cartography and the design of GIS data displays are fundamental to the purposes of GIS. This book is an approachable guide for all levels of geography experience for better understanding how maps are designed, created, and used. The color maps, charts, and photos help visualize the concepts and methods behind map use. The guide also includes a substantial glossary and companion DVD to help reinforce the concepts taught in the book.

Madden, M. (Ed.). (2009). Manual of geographic information systems. Bethesda, Md.: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

This is an expansive reference manual covering a wide variety of topics related to GIS including data models, metadata and ontology, data quality, GPS and visualizations, and World Wide Web mapping applications. The manual explores the past of GIS and where the discipline by relying on a wide variety of authors expert in the field of GIS and cartography. The manual's accompanying DVD compliments and adds to the broad coverage of topics related to GIS and GIS research by including hundreds of color figure and digital content contributed by leading GIS companies, organizations, and institutions. This comprehensive resource would be an essential resource for any academic library's GIS collection giving reference librarians a solid resource for better understanding GIS and its related fields.

Maher, M. M. (2013). Lining up data in arcgis: A guide to map projections. Redlands, CA: Esri Press.

Map projections are a critical part of GIS analysis and visualization. This reference guide published by Esri Press in Redlands, California is a useful reference tool for anyone to learn and troubleshoot issues with correctly projecting and aligning GIS data. It includes current standards and best practices for displaying GIS data on the web as well as on printed materials. This practical reference guide includes color maps and diagrams along with practical methods for new and experienced GIS users to better understand and use projected GIS data. Reference librarians can use this guide to help provide practical, hands-on answers to library patrons using GIS.

Nyerges, T. L., Coucielis, H., & McMaster, R. (2011). The SAGE handbook of GIS and society. London: SAGE Publications.

This handbook is a useful reference guide spanning the past, present, and future direction of GIS research and its relationship to Society. The authors organize the book's 27 chapters into six sections focusing on the theory and methods of research in GIS and Society. Practical case studies covering these main topics are also included. This guide leans heavily on the research and expertise of the book's authors who have extensive experience seeing the relationship between GIS and Society. This would be a valuable reference resource for academic reference librarians looking to include items about GIS.

O'Sullivan, & Unwin, D. (2010). Geographic information analysis. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Spatial analysis is at the heart of any GIS. This reference book covers basic spatial concepts that are the foundation for spatial data analysis. The reference item includes updated content detailing current trends in geovisualization and mapping. Geographic information analysis methods are explained in the book using diagrams, exercises, and a chapter-by-chapter bibliography meant to orient readers to the current approaches to spatial analysis. This modern reference resource would be a useful addition to an academic library's holdings.

Wade, T., & Sommer, S. (Eds.). (2006). A to Z GIS: An illustrated dictionary of geographic information systems. Redlands, CA: Esri Press.

Although older than 2009, this reference item is a valuable resource in an academic library collection. This unique dictionary of GIS terms is designed "to help students, educators, and professionals understand and use the special language of GIS in research, field studies, and real-world applications" (book jacket). The dictionary includes over 1,800 terms and nearly 400 full-color illustrations. Terms were chosen and reviewed by over 150 subject-matter experts. This GIS dictionary would be a valuable item reference librarians can use to help better understand GIS and help answer patrons' questions.

Stoltman, J. P. (2012). 21st century geography: A reference handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

GIS is rooted in the discipline of geography. Stoltman's reference handbook on geography covers a range of important topics, issues, principles, and questions. This reference resource includes material covering subfields within geography like regional geography, physical geography, global change, human geography, economic geography, political geography, cartography, geospatial thinking, and geospatial technology. This comprehensive reference resource for geography would be a valuable item in an academic library's collection.

Online Resources

Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provides a free reference tool called The World Factbook. This tool contains various maps of the world and of major world regions. These maps and the information about countries and places throughout the world are an essential reference resource for academic reference librarians interested in GIS and geography.

Esri. (2014). GIS Bibliography. Retrieved from http://training.esri.com/bibliography/

Provided by the world leader in GIS software, Esri's GIS Bibliography is a deep and impressive bibliography of books, conference proceedings, journals, magazines, and reports that cover topics from the origins of GIS to the current industry trends and developments. The bibliography includes an undergraduate research guide that can be used by a reference librarian to help students author a research paper about GIS. The freely available collection is continually updated to incorporate the most current research items.

Esri. (2014). GIS Dictionary. Retrieved from http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/Gisdictionary/browse

A free online dictionary of GIS terms provided by Esri, the leader of GIS software. The dictionary includes terms covering various GIS-related topics like data modeling, web-mapping, cartography, and computer science. Reference librarians can use this online dictionary as a useful reference tool to learn GIS terminology and help answer GIS-related reference questions.

Google Earth (Version 7.1.2.2041) [Software]. Mountain View, CA: Google Inc. (2014). Available from http://www.google.com/earth/

A free digital reference globe showcasing a wide variety of geographical content that can be browsed via a 3D map interface or searched for using a text-based search field. You can visit any geographic location on the earth and explore nearby buildings, images, scenery, geographic features. This tool is a powerful reference tool for academic reference librarians looking to utilize GIS in their work.

United States Geological Survey [cartographer]. (2012). The National Map Viewer [online map]. Retrieved from http://viewer.nationalmap.gov

The United States Geographical Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Program (NGP) provides free access to the The National Map Viewer. This map viewer is a useful tool for reference librarians interested in GIS who want to find, discover, analyze, and download GIS data covering the United States for use by library staff and library patrons. Using The National Map Viewer one can download GIS base layer data including data covering themes such as structures, transportation, governmental unit boundaries, hydrography, land cover, elevation, and orthoimagery. The map viewer can also be used to view information about hazards that occur in the United States collected by USGS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as well as information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS). This map viewer is a valuable tool for any academic reference librarian interested in GIS and helping patrons with GIS reference questions.

University of Texas at Austin. (2014). Perry-Castañeda library map collection. Retrieved from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

This is an exhaustive collection of various online maps curated by the Perry-Castañeda Library at the The University of Texas at Austin. These online maps are scanned digital copies of maps available for free from the larger print collection of maps at the library. This online website provides a wide variety of maps organized by theme and geographic region for easy access. The collection includes a deep listing of online mapping sites that any reference librarian would find useful to help answer geography and GIS-related questions.

Scholarly Databases

The online database World Geography: Understanding a Changing World provided by ABC-CLIO gives academic libraries and reference librarians access to authoritative information about geographic places and concepts throughout the world. Users of the database can perform advanced searches, look at engaging analysis questions to spark research ideas, and explore detailed information about any given world country. This online database would be an essential GIS reference tool in an academic library.

This database contains information related to GIS-related fields including geology, geomechanics, oceanography, physical geography, human geography, and ecology. The database covers materials dating from 1973 to present time and is available online or on CD-ROM. GeoBase references research from scholarly journals, books, and conference proceedings. They list over 2,000 academic journals and over 24,000 books. GIS reference librarians will find this an exceptional database for research and reference work.

Established in 1966 by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), the GeoRef database contains millions of scholarly references to journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports, and theses related to the field of GIS and geography. The online database is updated biweekly with about 3,000 new records added each update and is intended for use by academic libraries. The database covers worldwide materials from 1933 to the present. This is an essential database for research about GIS and geospatial issues.

The GeoScienceWorld online database is a comprehensive reference tool for researching topics and information related to GIS and geography. The database can be searched using sophisticated information retrieval methods. Content included in the database can also be browsed by various methods: by geography, by journal, by publisher, by subject, or by time. This database also includes access to eBooks covering topics in earth science. These feature make this database a useful research and reference tool in an academic library.

By its nature GIS is a multidisciplinary tool that can be used by researchers and reference librarians in various disciplines. The online scholarly database Web of Science gives academic libraries access to reliable research spanning various fields of study. The database makes available 100 years of abstracts and over 54 million records covering 5,294 social science publications over 55 disciplines. This estensive database gives GIS reference librarians access to a wealth of information related to GIS and geography.