GIS for Library

Staff

NOVEMBER 17, 2014

CLARKE IAKOVAKISPublic domain image courtesy NASA via Wikimedia Commons

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Wind_Globe_NASA_Norwegian_

Sea_1.jpg

UH System

ArcGIS site license

UH Systems has a site license for ESRI software

Any faculty or staff can request ArcGIS software to be installed on their office computers by

calling UCT at 2828 and requesting it.

Any faculty, staff, or student can request a key to install ArcGIS software on their home

computer and tutorials to help you learn the software. Contact Clarke or Jeff Lash

The UHCL Geography Department will be submitting paperwork to add a minor in

Geographic Information Systems for the upcoming 2015-16 academic year

Increasing use of GIS has prompted a need to bring it out from the geography department & institutionalize it.

At minimum, the library will be playing a role in providing access to the software and

resources to find data for use in the software

What does the library have

to do with GIS?

Data is information and as information

specialists, we help our users find, access,

and use information regardless of format

• Library services for geospatial

information:• Reference Services

• Collections

• Computing

By the end of today’s session, we

will be able to

Identify some basic uses of the GIS

software

Open ArcMap and use functions for

adding files to ArcMap, viewing attribute

tables, adjusting symbology, making

selections, and exporting images

What are Geographic

Information Systems?

A collection of computer software and data

used to

View and manage information about

geographic places

Analyze spatial relationships

Model spatial processes

- GIS definition. ESRI GIS Dictionary.

http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/

GISDictionary/search

GIS layers image © San Bernadino County. Retrieved from

http://www.sbcounty.gov/isd/main/services/gis.aspx

Real world features are linked to

information about those features A spatial feature--such as a point on a map--

is georeferenced and linked to attributes—such as business name, business type, average monthly income, owner

It is this link between a feature and an attribute that makes it possible to

query information stored in the table

display the answer on a map

It is this linkage that makes GIS more powerful than a static map

Paraphrased from ESRI Learning ArcGIS Desktop online

tutorial via http://www.esri.com/training/main

Fundamental Operations of a GIS

Capture data

Store data

Query data

Analyze data

Display data

Present data

Screen Capture of Data from Star Trek

© CBS Studios.

Retrieved from

http://www.startrek.com/article/one-trek-

mind-13-top-10-data-moments

Raster: The earth is represented as a grid of equally

sized cells and an individual cell represents a portion of

the earth, such as a square meter or a square mile

Vector: Earth's surface is composed of discrete objects

(trees, rivers, lakes). These objects can be represented

by points, lines, and polygon features within well

defined boundaries

Data models in GIS

All images © ESRI. Downloaded from Learning ArcGIS Desktop online tutorial via http://www.esri.com/training/main

Vector data model The basic unit of the vector data

model is the feature.

Feature boundaries are defined by x,y coordinate pairs which reference a location in the real world

Points are defined by a single x,ycoordinate pair.

Lines are defined by two or more x,y coordinate pairs.

Polygons are defined by lines that close to form the polygon boundaries.

Image © ESRI. Downloaded from Learning ArcGIS

Desktop online tutorial via

http://www.esri.com/training/main

Venezuela Administrative area shapefile downloaded from DIVA-GIS

at http://www.diva-gis.org/gdata

Map of Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela retrieved from University of Texas at

Austin Libraries at

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/jog/latin_america/nc-20-5-

puerto_la_cruz-venezuela.jpg

U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency (1969). Latin America,

Joint Operations Graphic. Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.

Example of a georeferenced map

Let’s look at some local geographies

University of

Houston – Clear

Lake

County, Zip, Tract, Block Group &

Block Shapefiles downloaded from

NHGIS at http://www.nhgis.org/

Minnesota Population Center.

National Historical Geographic

Information System: Version 2.0.

Minneapolis, MN: University of

Minnesota 2011.

School District shapefiles

downloaded from Houston-

Galveston Area Council GIS

datasets at http://www.h-

gac.com/rds/gis-data/gis-

datasets.aspx

Harris County

254 Counties in

Texas

School District: Clear Creek ISD

County: Harris

33 School Districts

in Harris County

Zip Code: 77058

County: Harris

ISD: Clear Creek

132 zip codes in Harris County

Census Tract: 3413

County: Harris

ISD: Clear Creek

Zip: 77058

785 Tracts in Harris

County

Block Group: 1

County: Harris

ISD: Clear Creek

Zip: 77058

Tract: 3413

2,144 Block Groups

in Harris County

Block: 1011

County: Harris

ISD: Clear Creek

Zip: 77058

Tract: 3413

Block Group: 1

75,312 Blocks in

Harris County