Making Maps for Campus Collaborations

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This presentation, given at the QQML 2014 conference in Istanbul, describes a collaborative Google mapping project between the University of Arkansas Libraries and the University's Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS). Using data on the current number of international students by country of origin provided by the OISS, we created a graduated color world map visualizing this information with Google Fusion Tables. The resulting map has been embedded in a web page on the OISS website and displayed on a large touch-screen panel in the student union during International Education Week. This presentation gives step-by-step instructions for easily creating such maps - a service which libraries might offer as a basis for campus outreach and collaborative projects.

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Making Maps for Campus Collaborations2014 International QQML Conference, Istanbul

Kate Dougherty, University of Arkansas

International Students Map

• Map of University of Arkansas international students by country

• Library’s Diversity Committee outreach to the Office of International Students & Scholars (OISS)

• Embedded in OISS website; large panel in Union

• Semester basis – 3 maps to date

http://iss.uark.edu/2021.php

Google Fusion Tables

• Extension to Google Drive; Beta

• Upload a table of your own data

– Visualize as a chart, graph or map

– Or, merge or “fuse” your data with a public dataset on Google Drive

Prepared Excel Spreadsheet

• Entered zeroes in blank spaces

• Made sure numbers are formatted as numbers

• Added a column for the 3-letter ISO country codes

Create Table: Preview Columns

Create Table: Enter Metadata

Create Table: Preview

• Auto-detected location/geographic info is highlighted

• A new tab for a map view is automatically added

Geocode Locations

Default Map View • Points in center of each

country

• We wanted: countries colored in, with intensity reflecting no. of students

• Additional step: merge our table with a public dataset having country outlines

Find a Public Table to Merge With

View Suggested Tables

• By default, Google suggests public tables matching on the leftmost column.

• ISO code in our case

Choosing a Public Table

• Needed 100% matching rows across both tables(all countries in orig. spreadsheet)

• Previewed with "view table" link

• Looked for geographic keywords: “KML”, “geometry”, lat/long etc.

Preview Public Table: No Map Info

• This table just has country names and codes

• No lat/long or geographic keywords

• Moving on…

Searching for Public Tables

• Keyword search: – “borders" – "boundaries" – "international”

• Looked for geographic keywords in results

• Preview table

Preview Public Table

Preview: Zoomed Far Out

Preview: Zoomed in to Larger Scale

Select Table to Merge With

Merge Tables

• Merged tables based on 3-letter country code field

Choose Columns to Merge

• Deselected unwanted columns from the public table

View Merged Table

Visualize Merged Table as a Map

Style Features

Color by Student Total

Gradient – Option 1

Buckets – Option 2: More Control

Countries with No Students Transparent

Style the Info Window

Remove Columns from Display

HTML Editor for Custom Styles

New Info Window-Map Finished!

Sharing the Map

Set Permissions: Public Status

Publish Map

Other Potential Collaborative Projects

• Campus sustainability projects and green buildings

• Study abroad• Language programs• Rare book exhibits• Teaching faculty’s field work

locations, intl. fellowships or conference presentations

• Offer to embed interactive maps in course/topic LibGuides

– Greek & German sites for Intro to Philosophy

– History– Archaeology– Important geologic sites

THANK YOU!

Kate DoughertyGeosciences and Maps Librarian

University of Arkansaskmdoughe@uark.edu

@kate_dougherty

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