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Geography
and Map Section Programs
By
Vanette Schwartz
The
Geography and Map Section of the Social Sciences Division sponsored two
programs during the Toronto conference along with a field trip.
The Mapping Update concentrated on Canadian mapping and featured Cameron
Wilson from Natural Resources Canada as the speaker. Mr. Wilson described
the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI), the framework established
by the Canadian government for electronic sharing of geographical data.
The four major components of the CGDI are national framework data (or base
layers), common data policies, technical standards, and technologies based
on open standards and specifications. The GeoConnections website (www.geoconnections.org)
is the gateway to information on the CGDI. GeoConnections includes many
partners from Canadian federal, provincial and municipal government agencies,
along with private companies, universities and non-governmental organizations.
GeoConnections sponsored programs on access, framework data, geoinnovations,
geoskills and sustainable communitities. The programs overall included some
263 separate projects dealing with themes such as aboriginal people, environment,
health, public safety and municipalities. Mr. Wilson outlined the types
of maps and data available through the GeoConnections Discovery Portal.
The early years of GeoConnections allowed the foundation to be built and
developed. GeoConnections has recently been renewed for five more years,
during which the focus will be on expanding usage of the geospatial tools
to greater numbers of Canadians.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been a major focus of G & M
programming for several years. In Toronto we were fortunate to have two
speakers from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), the major
producer and distributor of GIS products (www.esri.com).
Angela Lee who manages ESRI’s Libraries and Museum Program in the
U.S. and Colleen Raymond, Education Industry Manager of ESRI Canada, covered
both the basics and development of GIS, as well as the latest products and
tools that ESRI has available. GIS is a system through which geographic
information is managed, analyzed and displayed. It includes the combination
of maps, data, work flow models, data models and metadata. Angela and Colleen
described how these elements are combined with advanced software into ever
more sophisticated GIS products. The latest developments in GIS products
were displayed and demonstrated including ArcCatalog, an application for
locating, browsing and managing spatial data and ArcIMS Metadata Explorer,
which allows customized searching of metadata.
New developments in the Geography Network were also explored (www.geographynetwork.com),
as was the GIS Portal Toolkit, which supports development of a single point
of access for geospatial information. The program provided a comprehensive
overview of GIS and well as updates on the latest products and services
from ESRI.
In addition to the programs, a field trip to the University of Toronto Map
Collection rounded out G & M activities in Toronto. The map librarian
at the University of Toronto, Marcel Fortin, provided a tour of his collection
and displayed several historic Canadian maps. He also talked with us about
the services he provides especially in GIS (Geographic Information Systems).
The Web site for the map library is http://www.library.utoronto.ca/maplib
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Finding
U.S. Government Statistics on the Web and having fun doing it!
By
Greta Ober
Mary
Ellen Bates, Bates Information Services, Inc., is a frequent and very popular
conference speaker. In addition to teaching a couple of CE courses, she
was presenting two sessions each day. I had the opportunity and pleasure
to be moderating this particular session. Her sessions are sure to draw
a large crowd, and unfortunately I was faced with a last minute room change
once arriving in Toronto. Instead of one of the larger rooms, our session
was in a fairly small room. Someone estimated to me that there were almost
300 people in attendance (or trying to attend!). Every chair, and every
inch of floor space was taken (including behind me and Mary Ellen at the
front of the room). Side doors were opened to not only allow air into the
room, but also those in the hallway (where lines of chairs began to form)
to get a glimpse of the presentation.
This series should actually be called One-dot “Taking”, not
“Shopping”, as the purpose is to provide a selection of the
“best” sites that are “free” web resources in the
topic to be covered. Mary Ellen featured federal government portals and
guides, key federal agencies, and even some international sources.
Federal government portals and guides:
• FedStats – The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal
agencies. http://www.fedstats.gov/
• FirstGov – The U.S. Government’s Official Web Portal
(not just statistics, but a first-stop source for government information)
http://www.firstgov.gov/
• Statistical Abstract of the U.S. http://www.census.gov/statab/www/
• GeoStat – Statistics and Social Science Data, University of
Virginia’s Geospatial & Statistical Data Center (portal of national,
state, and local statistics) http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/
Key agencies:
• U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/
• U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.doc.gov/
• U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics http://bls.gov/
International sources:
• United Nations – Statistics Division (most UN statistics aren’t
free, but some provided here)
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/
• Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (click on
Statistics to reach the Statistics Portal; once there best to browse rather
than search!) http://www.oecd.org/
• Statistics Canada (overall Canadian statistics, including census
data, and national accounts)
http://www.statcan.ca/
• Industry Canada (business, trade, and economic data) http://www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/
Mary Ellen provides a practical approach and casual atmosphere within her
sessions. Within the specific sites she profiled, she noted any exceptional
features and also any faults. Anyone attending is sure to leave with many
great search tips and techniques. Here complete presentation can be found
on her website: http://batesinfo.com/sla-2005-govt-stats.pdf
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Take
the Sting Out of Statistics
A note
from the floor (literally, as this was one of several standing- room-only
DSOC programs):
Elana
Broch was swamped by attendees.
Elana
Broch is a natural born teacher. At her program session in Toronto, Take
the Sting Out of Statistics, she turned a dry subject into a comprehensible
and fun event. Not only did she engage her audience, she had them lined
up at the front of the room to demonstrate the important differences between
“mean,” “median,” and “average.” We
learned how extremes influence the mean which can throw off the average
and that the “median,” which is not influenced by the extremes,
is the mid-point. Got that? Elana’s teaching style is such that you
lose your embarrassment over having to review and correct what you thought
you already knew. I won’t even get into how to calculate standard
deviations, but it was interesting.
I want to thank Elana for her presentation, laryngitis, and all. She will
be doing an encore at the Library of Congress this August for those of you
living in the Washington, D.C. area. And next year, in Baltimore, Elana
will be doing a follow-up session as she mentions below.
I also wish to thank our program sponsor, Thomson-Scientific.
Iris
Anderson, DSOC Program Planner for Toronto
Hi,
fellow Social Science Librarians. My name is Elana
Broch and this is my first column as the chair of the Public
Policy section. I hope to use this position to strengthen the network among
those of us working in the policy-related fields.
As I mentioned at my SLA talk in Toronto, I taught statistics for nearly
10 years while pursuing my Ph.D. (yes, that is probably “significantly”
longer than most people take to finish). Unlike most of my statistics students,
I’d like to think that as librarians we realize the importance of
having at least a basic understanding of statistics. For those of us in
policy-related fields, we see the ubiquitousness of statistics and their
role in decision-making on a daily basis.
I talked a lot that day (in spite of my laryngitis) about the importance
of understanding how the question that’s been asked affects the results.
For example, if you ask “Have you taken a statistics class?”
you get less information than if you had asked “How many statistics
classes have you taken?”. I then talked about several widely used
statistics—mean, median, standard deviation, correlation—and
how computing these statistics to summarize the data may paint a different--less
complete—picture, than if you look at a graph of the data.
I hope those of you who attended my session in Toronto enjoyed it as much
as I enjoyed presenting. I will be doing a follow-up in Baltimore in 2006,
looking at the very important concepts of “confidence intervals”
and “statistical significance.”
As I take on my new responsibility as chair, I have a question for you (and
I promise not to perform any statistical mumble-jumble on your response.)
The question: What would you hope to gain from your affiliation with the
public policy section? Please let me know. My email is ebroch@princeton.edu.
And, if you’ve read this far, and aren’t affiliated with the
Public Policy section, won’t you consider joining us (if it’s
because you—like I-- couldn’t figure out how to join, let me
know).
Best wishes,
Elana Broch, Chair, Public Policy Section
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International
Reception
Factiva
CEO Clare Hart Presents the 1st SLA Europe Information Professional Award
(SLA EIP) to Winner, Steve Borley, Regional Information Manager, Royal Bank
of Scotland (RBS), Edinburgh.
2005 International Reception
Sparkling
with conversation, connection and c-c-c-o-o-o-l Canadian canapés,
the Fairmont Royal York Hotel’s Ballroom (see photo below) shimmered
on Monday, June 6, from 5 to 7 pm. THE event: the annual International Reception,
hosted by Social Science Division, SLA Europe and International Information
Exchange Caucus members. Attendees from across the globe sipped wine; nibbled
quiche, crabcakes, fruit and wild mushroom ragout; networked; and met the
2005 SLA Europe Information Professional of the Year (EIP).
SLA President Ethel Salonen graciously welcomed all, followed by Linda Broussard—standing
in for briefly-ill SLA Executive Director Janice LaChance. IFLA President-Elect
Alex Byrne also made a few remarks, yielding to European Chapter President
Elizabeth Blankson-Hemans (Dialog). Liz in turn introduced Factiva CEO Clare
Hart, who presented the 1st EIP Award to Steve Borley (pictured above),
Regional Information Manager, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Winners of the Advertising and Marketing Division’s 1st International
Travel Grant (Vijaya Menon, Director, Knowledge Management, Grey Worldwide,
Mumbai, India); the Museums, Arts and Humanities Division’s Travel
Award (Lucya Dhamayanti, Head, Library Conservation Division, National Library
of Indonesia); and the Legal Division’s Non-US Based Law Librarian
Grant (Tanya Du Plessis, Virtual Learning Environment Specialist, University
of Johannesburg Library and Information Centre Law Library, South Africa)
were spotlighted. Barbie Keiser, Washington, DC, Chapter, urged all present
to encourage their respective SLA units to participate in the Twinning Project.
Social Science Division Chair Nancy Minter recognized the division’s
3 African twins. The International Information Exchange Caucus provided
“A Guide to [SLA] International-Themed Programs” as a handout.
The International Reception and the EIP Award are generously sponsored by
Factiva, a Dow Jones & Reuters Company.
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Minutes of the Business Meeting
Social
Science Division
Minutes
Business Meeting
Monday, June 6, 2005
Convention Center
Room 205C
Toronto, Canada
Present:
Iris Anderson, David Bair, Laura Bender, Elana Broch, Megan Comey, Jan Combopiano,
Marjan Farahbaksh, Mary Galneder, Khalilah Gambrell, Elisabeth Green, Beth
Hansen, Margaret Hayes, Sally Henderson, Sharon Henry, Terry Hill, Joe Hovish,
David McQuillan, Lyle Minter, Nancy Minter, Tara Murray, Greta Ober, Pam
Osborne, Daille Pettit, Fred Rascoe, Linda Richer, Vanette Schwartz, Marsha
Selmer, Ann Sweeney, Phyllis Tabusa, Jan Watterworth, etc., etc., SLA Proctor:
Lynne McCay
The meeting was called to order at 7:40am by Chair Nancy Minter. She welcomed
everyone and introduced our SLA Proctor, Lynne McCay.
Treasurer’s Report. Nancy Minter presented the Treasurer’s
Report for Treasurer Heidi Yacker. As of this date, there was $15,085.40
in the treasury. Our non-conference expenses for the past year included
printing costs for the Geography & Map newsletter, the bulletin for
those who prefer a print copy, and a new brochure for the division, as well
as the G&M donation for the Maps in Transition Conference and the membership
dues for two of our twins. Expenses for this year’s conference will
be approximately $5,000 more than our income from sponsors and co-sponsorships.
Expenses for 2006 will include the Baltimore conference, membership dues
for the third twin and the continuing education grant for the 2006 conference.
The budget as proposed will leave our treasury lower than it is currently,
but even through the expenses will exceed our income, they will benefit
the Division and SLA membership. However, to avoid letting our balance drop
too low, we should attempt to get more sponsorships for next year’s
conference and, if possible, increase our membership. There was no further
discussion, and the agenda was approved.
Committee Reports
Membership: Linda Richer reported that we have 452 members,
a 5% decrease from last year. Of these, 69 are student memberships and 32
are retired members. The Geography and Map section is the largest with 111
members, the International and Nonprofit sections each have 60, and the
Public Policy section has 62. Welcome e-mails or letters were sent to all
new members last year, and invitations to join the division were sent to
unaffiliated SLA members.
Fund-Raising: Nancy Minter reported for Hetty Barthel,
who is no longer an active member of SLA, and noted that she and Sabah Eltarab
had been successful in acquiring sponsorships for many of our programs for
this conference.
Toronto Conference: Conference Planner Iris Anderson described
our programs this year and mentioned that Library Journal had selected Terry
Hill’s program on Collection Building as one of their highlighted
programs. Iris thanked each of the Section Chairs for their hard work and
noted that there is a lot of competition this year, with so few programming
slots available. Programs include the fifth session in the One Dot Shopping
series, Collection Issues, Librarians in War Zones, Taking the Sting Out
of Statistics, Spotlight: Urban Sprawl (a session on community resources
and evaluation), and several geographic programs, including the Mary Murphy
Contributed Papers and sessions on government mapping and Geographic Information
Systems. As usual, we have the International Reception and the Open House
with Education and Museum, Arts, and Humanities. Iris also reminded everyone
of last minute room changes for two of our programs.
Baltimore Conference: Conference Planner Terry Hill reported
on plans for 2006 programming at the Baltimore conference. We already have
a proposal for a half-day continuing education course on Geographic Information
Systems, co-sponsored by the Government Information Division. Other possibilities
include marketing in libraries and technological issues. SLA has suggested
partnering with divisions that we don’t usually work with (“horizon
programming”) and we may partner with Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics
on a program about juggling work and family and with Leadership & Management
on a panel presentation on new librarians. Terry reminded everyone to continue
to submit any ideas on programming to him.
Section Reports
Geography and Map Section: Chair Vanette Schwartz reported
on the G&M programs for the conference and thanked the Division for
its contribution in support of the Cartographic Conference in May. She noted
that they already have ideas for programming in Baltimore in 2006.
International Relations. Nancy Minter reported on Karen
Shaines’ behalf and noted that Ann Sweeney will substitute for Karen
as moderator for the session, Librarians in War Zones.
Nonprofit Sector Section. Liz Green stressed the importance
of getting the word out to SLA members that this section exists, as there
are many nonprofit librarians in the association who are trying to find
their niche. She noted that the program on urban sprawl, “Hold Back
the Don” was being done in collaboration with the Transportation division.
Public Policy. Nancy Minter reported that Elana Broch is
the new chair for the Public Policy section and that the program this year
is “Taking the Sting out of Statistics.”
Academic Section Organization Effort: Daille Pettit reported
on efforts to develop and Academic section. She noted there has been some
response from her notice on the listserv and requested that those who are
interested meet with her after the meeting to discuss the possibility further.
Website: Greta
Ober thanked everyone for the opportunity of working on the division website.
She noted that the first year was really a learning experience and that
the second year had moved much more smoothly. At this point, the third year
should be a breeze, except that she will be resigning from this position.
She will continue to search for a replacement. She noted that reports from
the conference should go up on the website before the end of the summer.
Bulletin:
Nancy Minter reported for Heidi Yacker. There were three issues of the bulletin
this year, and print copies were sent to those who preferred them to the
online edition.
Discussion List:
Tara Murray is our new discussion list owner as of May. She reminded everyone
that SPAM filters may cause problems and to let her know if anyone is experiencing
difficulty. As of May 17, there were 402 people subscribed to the list.
Public Relations:
Ann Sweeney said that Iris Anderson will partner with her next year in this
endeavor. A new division brochure was developed this year and will be available
at all sessions. She reminded everyone that biographies of our three twins
from Africa are available in the spring bulletin, and announced that the
SLA Public Relations Committee, of which both she and Nancy Minter are members,
has produced a new PR tool kit, which the Social Science Division will pilot
test in the coming year.
Awards:
Lyle Minter presented the 2005 Thomson-Gale Murray Wortzel Award for chair
Susan Berg, who was unable to attend. This year’s recipient was Terry
Dean. Lyle’s report included remarks about Murray’s many contributions
to the division and the purpose of the award. He spoke of the work Terry
has done for the division over the years, positions she has held, and her
contribution to the division’s 75th anniversary in 1998. He noted
that she is now retired and was unable to attend the conference in person
this year, but that a display with photographs was set up near the entrance
to the room.
Linda Richer reported on this year’s inaugural continuing education
pre-conference course stipend and presented the award to Pamela Osborne
from Mercy Corps for her essay on the value of attending the workshop on
Building Knowledge.
Report of the
2005-2006 Nominating Committee:
Beth Hansen, Nominating Committee co-chair, introduced the slate of officers
for 2005-2006. The nomination for Chair-Elect is Greta Ober. Although Greta
has been a member of the division for only two years, she has done a wonderful
job serving as webmaster for the division. In addition, Greta has admirable
experience serving on the board of the Washington D.C. chapter. There were
no nominations from the floor, and Greta was unanimously elected.
Old Business:
Beth Hansen reported on the DSOC Recommended Practices Documents. Additional
corrections have been made and they should be in finished form soon. It
is hoped they will be completed and can go up on the web site by the end
of the summer.
Announcements:
Nancy reminded everyone of the yellow and green cards on the tables to be
used to submit programming and sponsorship ideas, and urged everyone to
attend the SLA Business Meeting at 5:15 on Tuesday evening when the subject
of bylaws changes will be addressed. She thanked everyone for the opportunity
to serve the division as chair then turned the meeting over to incoming
chair Linda Richer.
Remarks of the
Incoming Chair
Linda began her remarks by reminding everyone of the interests that hold
the division together. There are many libraries that don’t always
fit well with their geographic chapters but can find their niche in DSOC.
During her year as chair, she will focus on communication and sharing, and
she asked us to think if there are opportunities to support each other in
ways we haven’t used yet. This includes building our sections and
relying on them to be catalysts in programming and recruitment. Geography
and Map, with its history of division accomplishment, can be a wonderful
example and resource for the other sections. She spoke of our programs as
good promotion for the division and mentioned the possibility of recording
them as a further means to communicate. She also advised everyone of SLA’s
new online learning program called Click University and encouraged them
to stop by and see the demonstration at the conference. She made a final
call for volunteers to get involved and take on some of the “fun”
positions that are available, as we all work together to grow the division.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40am.
Respectfully submitted by Beth Hansen for Heidi Yacker, secretary/treasurer.
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Cartographic
Users Advisory Council Report
CARTOGRAPHIC
USERS ADVISORY COUNCIL
REPRESENTATIVES REPORT FOR 2004-2005
Paige
Andrew and Bruce Obenhaus, representatives to the Cartographic Users Advisory
Council (CUAC)
.
2004 Activities
The Cartographic Users Advisory Council (CUAC) held its regular meeting
on May 6 and 7, 2004 at the Suitland, MD offices of the United States Bureau
of the Census. Full minutes of the meeting were subsequently out via the
Social Science Division’s newsletter and are also posted on the CUAC
website at http://www.cuac.wustl.edu/. At the 2004 meeting, John Hébert,
Chief of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress (LC/G&M),
offered to provide the Library of Congress as a venue for a potential 2005
conference on map and geospatial issues, to be planned by CUAC. This is
an idea that had been brought initially to the CUAC members as a possibility
by Janet Collins in 2002, with the idea that its framework be based on a
similar conference held at the Library of Congress in September 1993 called
“Map Libraries in Transition.”
2005 CUAC co-chairs Bruce Obenhaus and Linda Zellmer formed a Conference
Planning Committee, with work divided between volunteers for three subcommittees:
Content/Speakers, Logistics, and Public Relations. Bruce Obenhaus served
as the Local Arrangements Coordinator and liaison to the Library of Congress’
Event Planning and Security Office and the Geography and Map Division. Bruce
also was a member of the Logistics Subcommittee, the same subcommittee that
Paige Andrew chaired. Paige served on the Public Relations Subcommittee,
volunteered to be the overall conference Registration Manager/Coordinator,
and Treasurer for CUAC. Over the next year, the subcommittees mapped out
what the conference would entail, everything from garnering fifteen speakers,
to establishing specific topics for the conference agenda, the agenda itself,
and food catering and entertainment.
During 2004 and part of 2005 CUAC members also responded by letter to three
specific issues.
• Issues concerning the possibility of limiting FOIA access to high-resolution
satellite imagery contained in Section 1034 “Nondisclosure of Certain
Products of Commercial Satellite Operations” in the “Ronald
W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005''
• Issues concerning the availability of maps and cartographic data
in the Collection of Last Resort, in Letter to Judy Russell, Superintendent
of Documents
• Issues concerning the public access and sale of certain aeronautical
charts contained in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Federal
Register posting (November 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 222)), “Announcement
of Intent To Initiate the Process To Remove Aeronautical Information From
Public Sale and Distribution.”
2005 Activities
The primary focus for 2005 was work needed to ensure that a successful conference
was forthcoming. The “Map and Geographic Information Collections in
Transition” conference was held May 12-13, 2005 in the Library of
Congress’ Mumford Room at the Madison Building. Approximately 190
registrants, vendors, speakers, and LC/G&M staff attended the conference.
Speakers from commercial agencies, academic institutions, and government
agency offices presented sessions ranging from “The Future of the
Paper Map” to “Data, Copyright, and Access Issues.” Nearly
all presentations are now available in Power Point on the CUAC website (see
link above). In addition, it should be noted that CUAC members worked closely
with, and did much of the legwork for, a “preconference” held
on May 11th titled the “IFLA Workshop on Paper Maps” and sponsored
by the Geography and Map Section of the International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions. David McQuillan, map librarian at the University
of South Carolina and Chair of the IFLA Geography and Map Section, coordinated
and oversaw this workshop.
One activity built into the “Map and Geographic Information Collections
in Transition” conference format was a set of four “break out
sessions” with each run by a CUAC member as its Moderator and a different
CUAC member taking notes to assist with reporting findings. These breakout
sessions were held on the first day, and reporting of the sessions occurred
on the second day. Paige Andrew served as Moderator for the session titled
“The Future Role of Map Library Organizations” and also delivered
a report to all of the attendees on the following day. In addition, Bruce
Obenhaus was master of ceremonies and conference moderator for the second
day of the conference, providing leadership and continuity through to the
end of the conference.
Much interest was voiced in having another conference in 5-7 years at a
minimum because these topics are so timely, relevant, and important, and
the networking opportunities so plentiful. If put in place, each of the
CUAC parent organizations would take a turn at doing the conference planning
and arrangements. CUAC members hope that this much-needed endeavor is followed
up on.
Expenses for the conference were covered by $100 seed money from each of
the CUAC parent organizations, registration fees, in-kind support from LC/G&M,
and $6,000 raised in commercial sponsorships. Any funds remaining when all
expenses have been paid will be used first to establish a CUAC archives
at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, and then will cover CUAC
yearly meeting expenses. Due to the hard work of several CUAC members, notably
Mary McInroy and Linda Zellmer, income from all sources more than covered
all of the expenses outlayed; in addition, the Library of Congress provided
the Mumford Room rent-free, a huge expense that was eliminated from the
start.
Next year’s CUAC meeting will return to the normal “agency presentation”
format. CUAC co-chairs for the 2005-2006, Mary McInroy, University of Iowa,
and Clara McCleod, Washington University, St. Louis, will organize and run
the 2006 meeting, with the host site to be determined.
We would like to thank the Social Science Division’s membership for
voting to expend $100 in seed money to help fund this conference and for
support and attendance from members of the Geography and Map Section Board.
Content-wise and people-wise, we believe the conference was a great success,
and this is borne out by responses to an evaluation form handed out to all
attendees. Results from the content of the evaluations will be shared out
via the CUAC website in the near future.
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Dar
al Kutub wa al Wathaiq Library, Iraq, 2003.
OPLA Library,
East Timor, 2001 
East
Timor