• Director's Column: A New Vision for the Libraries
  by Bonnie Clemens
• CCDL Update
  by Pat Vince
• GIS at the Libraries
  by Warren Roberts
• IM, Therefore I Chat
  by Marsha Schnirring
• Zones of Activity: Artists' Books Exhibit
  by Kelley Bachli
• Something for Everyone: Lexis Nexis Congressional Now Online!
  by Sheri Irvin
• Meet Your Librarians
• Libraries Staff News
• Library Exibits Calendar
• Claremont Discourse Calendar

GIS at the Libraries

Over the past few years, the use of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) has increased dramatically. In an effort to provide support for this exciting technology, the Libraries are pleased to welcome GIS Specialist Warren Roberts. Warren will be working with faculty and students to train in and support the use of GIS materials and resources in the classroom and in research. A faculty member at Rio Hondo College, Warren is involved in the GIS industry and with various government agencies throughout the Los Angeles area. His landscape architecture background provides him the unique skills to support the spatial thinking required to put GIS to use in teaching and research.

What is GIS? GIS is a tool that allows users to plot large amounts of spatial data in a visual way and is used to identify patterns that might not otherwise be perceptible. For example, voting patterns can be discerned by overlaying census data and voting precincts. Trends in an area's crime rate or relationships between types of crimes can be detected by mapping thousands of crime locations within a certain timeframe. These “intelligent maps” can be used in any discipline in which different types of analysis can be performed.

Image: Display of Los Angeles area population (census 2000 blocks groups, black) graphically providing the ability to see relationships, patterns, or trends intuitively that are not possible with spreadsheets.

GIS applications are becoming more common and are used in government, private industry, social services, healthcare, homeland security, and fire and crime prevention. A sampling of the projects created by Warren's students include mapping the Padua Fire, redistricting police district boundaries within the 19 divisions of Los Angeles PD, mapping AIDS cases, locating free lunch programs, and determining if lead paint affects API scores in schools in depressed communities in Los Angeles. A companion technology to GIS, data collected using Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) can be imported into GIS and overlaid on demographic data to determine reasons for illnesses in populations or used to locate polluters within watersheds.

The Claremont Colleges recognize GIS as a tool of unlimited potential, along with over 6,500 colleges and universities worldwide using GIS for research, teaching and even administrative purposes, such as performing site location for new campuses and identifying new donors. GIS provides unlimited analytical and presentation opportunities and other pedagogical benefits such as teamwork, project management, assignment of metadata and critical thinking.

The Libraries are also pleased to support a site license for ArcGIS, a GIS product by ESRI, Inc. ArcGIS and many of its accompanying extensions are available for installation to any Claremont Colleges faculty member.

“Introduction to GIS” workshops will be regularly scheduled. Curriculum-focused GIS workshops can be coordinated through the Libraries. To request complementary online courses or for more information, contact GIS support at gis.support@libraries.claremont.edu or visit http://libraries.claremont.edu/gis.

Warren Roberts
GIS Specialist
warren.roberts@libraries.claremont.edu

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