Database use in libraries I presume many of you are familiar with paid library databases such as
ABI/Inform - Business Academic Search - General (Multidisciplinary) JSTOR General - (Multidisciplinary) LEXISNEXIS - Academic News PsycINFO - Psychology PubMed/Medline - Medicine ScienceDirect - Science (Multidisciplinary) Scopus - General (Multidisciplinary) Web of Science - General (Multidisciplinary) The comprehensive list of purchase-able databases is too large to list here. I also presume you are aware of at least some of the public resources available such as those listed below. If not, these you may want to puruse as they are open access (free and accessible to all):
CORE (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - CORE (COnnecting REpositories) aggregrates all open access research outputs from repositories and journals worldwide. OAISTER (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - OAIster is a union catalog of over 30 million records representing open access resources. INTERNET ARCHIVE EBOOKS AND TEXTS (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - Provides online access to the full text of public domain and out-of-copyright books reproduced either from the texts produced by libraries, other organizations, or individuals. GOOGLE SCHOLAR (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - Google Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, patents, case laws, and technical reports from all broad areas of research. SPRINGEROPEN (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - SpringerOpen is a collection of open access journals from multiple disciplines. ELSEVIER OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - Elsevier Open access journals provide free access articles from multiple subject areas. WILEY OPEN ACCESS (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - Wiley Open Access journals contain articles across multiple research areas. TAYLOR & FRANCIS OPEN JOURNALS (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - Taylor & Francis Open Journals is a collection of open access journals from multiple disciplines. DOAJ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - DOAJ is an online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. DIGITAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF AMERICA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. - The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. which are used for article and materials searching.
However, the focus of this class will be on the design and development of databases for use in management, operations, or forecasting of libraries or library services.
GIS use for libraries What is GIS? A geographic information system (GIS) is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data. It is basically visual depictions of data sets. Geospatial technology, of which GIS is a part, combines key data and visual information from multiple sources and integrates everything into databases to create intelligent maps. The ability to collect, overlay and analyze disparate data sources can reveal patterns, relationships and emerging trends that otherwise might be overlooked. For some individuals, information and solutions become more apparent through visualization. Review the following article to get an idea of how GIS is used in libraries today:
Holstein, A. L. (2015). Geographic Information and Technologies in Academic Libraries: An ARL Survey of Services and Support. Information Technology & Libraries, 34(1), 38-51. holstein.pdfPreview the document
Geographic Information System Resources for Libraries
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), a governmental agency, offers an assortment of analytical GIS tools and resources at https://www.usgs.gov/products/data-and-tools/gis-data/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. which includes real-time data, application program interfaces (APIs), and data management tools. Equally, several other governmental agencies also have dedicated geospatial data resources. One example is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site https://www.cdc.gov/gis/index.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. which explore spatial aspects of health and illness.
There are organizational resources for libraries such as the Public Library Association Wired Library page http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/01/using-gis-to-assess-public-libraries/ or the American Library Association's GIS and geospatial data tools page found at http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/01/using-gis-to-assess-public-libraries/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. The American Library Association even has a Map and Geospatial round table that can be found at http://www.ala.org/rt/magirt/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. For information specific to libraries, you might want to check the GIS online resources page from the New York Public Library found at https://www.nypl.org/collections/nypl-recommendations/guides/gis (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., the GIS resources page from the Tulsa City-County library found at http://guides.tulsalibrary.org/c.php?g=695469&p=4931479 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., or the geographic information clearinghouse from Montana State library found at http://geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure range. It primarily uses a laser, scanner, and GPS receiver to map land. Several governmental agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, offer public access to not only data, but tools, training and information. One example can be found at https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. which focuses on addressing coastal issues.
Many states, such as Montana (http://geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.), Utah (https://gis.utah.gov/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.), and New York (https://gis.ny.gov/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) offer statewide geographic information and resources. Often, they have state departments devoted to geographic data, reference, or research and can work with libraries to provide content for patrons. To find out what is available in your state, we recommend you visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology library guides found at https://libguides.mit.edu/gis/states (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
To get a general idea of all that is available, a good place to start may be perusing a few lists of GIS resources, such as wikipedia's list of GIS data sources found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GIS_data_sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., the geographic information system company Esri's community web site at https://community.esri.com/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., or the Stanford University librarie's geospatial center list of resources found at https://library.stanford.edu/research/stanford-geospatial-center/additional-resources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Other optional articles of potential interest:
Abbott, L. T., & Argentati, C. D. (1995). GIS: A new component of public services. Journal Of Academic Librarianship, 21(4), 251. abbott_argentati.pdfPreview the document
This is a graded discussion: 40 points possible
due Jun 10 Trends in database technologies No unread replies. No replies. As we use library database systems of any sort, we should consider how they function, what their role is, how relevant they are to our circumstances, and how things are changing over time. The ways in which we expect to access materials has already moved from print to online, perhaps other changes are on the horizon. In 2006, Fagan, for example, predicted far greater use of visual search interfaces (2007). In some cases this has occurred, and in other cases it has not. For this assignment, browse around the following two sites and answer below questions.
Explore Library Systems Dig into FY 2015 data on public library systems (referred to as administrative entities in PLS). Use these data to explore system-level organizational characteristics, staff, income and expenditures, sizes of collections, and library services offered to the public. https://data.imls.gov/Public-Libraries-Survey/Library-Systems-FY-2015-Public-Libraries-Survey-Ad/ve4v-rafu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Explore State Profiles Pull up a state’s summary profile to find state-level totals on key variables such as population, numbers of libraries and librarians, revenue and expenditure, and collection sizes. https://data.imls.gov/Public-Libraries-Survey/Public-Libraries-Survey-2016-State-Profiles/gfn5-ppmk (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Answer one or more of the following questions: What role might systems like this play in library work and administration? How useful do you find this type of information to be and why? How easy did you find it to use and why? do you think GIS could or should play a larger role in web sites such as these? Do you know of any similar resources (if so, please tell us about them)? Post an original discussion thread of a minimum of 150 words and respond to a minimum of two other student post in a thoughtful and academic way (not just “I agree” or “nice post”)
References
Fagan, J. C. (2006). Usability Testing of a Large, Multidisciplinary Library Database: Basic Search and Visual Search. Information Technology & Libraries, 25(3), 140-150. Available as an optional read: jody-fagan.pdfPreview the document