University of Minnesota: Remote Access and the Internet

by Brent Allison

Within the University of Minnesota’s John R. Borchert

Map Library, the Automated Cartographic Information

Center (ACIC), provides a range of geographic information

systems (GIS) are employed to provide access to, and manipulation of,

digital spatial information, including material found

on the Internet or World Wide Web.

Brent Allison, Head, John R. Borchert Map

Library, University of Minnesota,

576 Wilson Library, 309 19th Avenue, South,

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455.

T he John R. Library ’

Borchert Map at the University of

Minnesota, has developed inno- vative approaches to providing library users with direct access to locally owned and remotely accessed digital carto- graphic and spatial information. In the Automated Cartographic Information Center (ACIC), a range of mapping soft- ware and geographic information systems (GIS) afford access to, and manipulation of, digital information. There are elec- tronic links among the ACIC and the Uni- versity of Minnesota’s Government Pub- lications Library, Machine Readable Data Center, and the Geography Department’s Digital Cartography Laboratory.

The need to provide access to 1990 census data and to enable the mapping of those data was the initial impetus to include GIS in the library’s reference rep- ertoire. None of the early tries were terri- bly successful. It became apparent that our efforts were too limited, both in terms of software and hardware, and in having a cohesive plan.

As a result, at the end of 1991, the Uni- versity of Minnesota Libraries applied for and, in fall 1992, was awarded a U.S. Department of Education College Library Technology and Cooperation grant to establish the ACIC as a possible model for other academic map libraries to follow in devising strategies to provide access to digital spatial information.

Over the course of this project, a quar- ter million dollars of federal grant and institutional matching funds were spent to provide stafftng, space, and equipment needed to identify, acquire, organize, and disseminate this information to the public. Specifically, the objectives of this project were to:

. Identify key patron service issues which emerge in providing access to the rapidly growing number of digital

cartographic and spatial datafiles, especially those generated by the fed- eral and Minnesota state governments, but also including those from the pri- vate sector;

Explore and develop new products and services to facilitate access to these cartographic files, especially for patrons who have previously found such digital information inaccessible;

Establish and implement a model organization for the broader distribu- tion of digital cartographic and spatial information to the user public employ- ing advanced technology; and

Evaluate the results of this project and to share them widely with other research libraries.

From its inception, the project benefit- ted from the expertise of a number of authorities in such fields as networking, database design and management, govem- ment information, GIS, and automated cartography. Many of the persons who contributed to the plans for the project continued their contributions as members of the ACIC steering committee.

The first year of this project was spent establishing the infrastructure of the ACIC, including the physical facility, electrical and telecommunications wiring, acquisition of initial hardware and soft- ware, and hiring of staff to establish the computer network and to develop an ini- tial instructional program.

To best serve our library’s users, we acquired the best hardware available at the time. Had we been awarded the grant a year earlier, we would probably be sitting in a room filled with inadequate 386 PCs. Fortunately, the first wave of computers included:

l A 486DX2/66 fileserver with 64 MB RAM, and five 2 GB Fujitsu hard

July 1995 283

drives for a total of 10 GB of storage space (about 8 GB after formatting);

l Four 486DX2/66 PC workstations, each with 32 MB RAM, 21” color monitors;

l Two Macintosh Centris 650 worksta- tions;

l A color scanner;

l A digitizer;

l CD-ROM readers; and

l A Hewlett Packard Paintjet XL300 postscript color printer.

In the second year of the project, five additional 90 MHz Pentium workstations were added for a total of 11 workstations. We have also acquired additional CD- ROM drives, an HP LaserJet 4SiMX black and white laser printer, a writeable CD- ROM drive, and a portable 486 DX4/75 notebook.

The ACIC is networked through the University’s ethernet backbone using Novell Netware 3.12 and capable of send- ing and receiving text, data, and graphic images across the internet.

SOFTWARE AND DATASETS

As with our traditional collection, we determined that a certain amount of redun- dancy was not only inevitable but desir- able. We opted to become basically a DOS, Windows and Macintosh operation. This is largely because UNIX systems and software are available elsewhere on cam- pus, and our assessment was that our staff resources and reference services could best be used in a PC and Macintosh based environment. Also, we want to accommo- date as many patron needs and levels of expertise as possible. Within our particular institutional setting, the ACIC serves as the initial gateway and a principal GIS resource for students, faculty, community groups and individuals, and business peo- ple.

The ACIC offers three GIS packa Atlas GIS, MapInfo, and ArcView. p

es: In

terms of mapping data, MapInfo is the most heavily used software package. It is probably the easiest package to learn, has sufficiently flexible capabilities to create classes of data, layer data, and customize output. We acquired Map Export, which provides access to America.dbf TIGER files in MapInfo format, as well as the Wessex Profiler CD-ROMs that enable users to easily extract STFlA and 3A cen- sus data in a usable dbf spreadsheet format3 With these packages, in a few sim- ple steps, our library users can map any

284 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

Figure 1 ARL Electronic Atlas

STFl or 3A data, at any summary level down to block group, for any part of the country. Mapping data at the block level is also possible, with a few added steps.

In spring 1992, the University of Min- nesota Libraries responded positively to a request for participation in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) GIS Literacy Project. Joining 30 other ARL libraries as participants in the initial phase of the project, we have benefitted greatly from the alliance forged between ARL and Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). Through this project we have acquired ArcView and its related datasets. ArcView, version 2, has the capability to draw spatial data with specified colors and patterns, examine images and display remotely sensed data, perform spatial and logical queries; effect “virtual joins” of data from different tables in different for- mats, save graphics and reports to hand off to other applications, and match addresses to street networks. Very detailed and com- prehensive data are included in two com- panion programs, ArcUSA and ArcWorld.

ARL ELECTRONIC ATLAS

As part of the ARL GIS Literacy Project, we are developing the ARL Elec- tronic Atlas Project, a collaborative effort to prepare systematically maps depicting demographic, environmental, trade and other data, and make these maps and their associated data available for viewing and downloading off the Internet. The initial phase, providing maps of census data for major urban areas in the United States, is now in development. In our prototype, which is accessible on the World Wide Web (WWW), our home page displays an index map of the United States (see Figure I>.4

Click on any state and a map of that state, highlighting its major urban areas, will appear. Click on one of these urban areas and a list of variables concerning demographic, housing, income, and edu- cation data will be displayed. A click on any of these variables will allow the users to display and download the map image and another click will download that map’s spreadsheet tab-delimited ASCII format, usable in most computer spread-

Figure 2 Sample Map from AFCL Electronic Atlas

ARL Electronic Atlas

Map Created by Brent Allison John R. Borchert Map Library University of Minnesota

Map image courtesy of ESRI: Inc. Map data courtesy of Wessex, Inc.

0 0 20 30 40 Mles

Perscms Under Age 18 (% of total pop.) 0% - 0.22% 0.22% - 0.84% 0.84% - 2.38%

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 2.38% - 8 1.57%

sheet programs (see Figures 2 and 3). As the project develops, we will go beyond census information and beyond the United States.

Other Internet Services We have set up an anonymous ftp site

where users can find some of the more heavily used public domain files, along with copies of maps created by users and staff of the ACIC. For onsite users, we provide every possible tool for searching and retrieving information on the global network, including various WWW brows- ers (e.g., Mosaic and Netscape), gopher and ftp programs. We have created a vari- ety of bookmarks highlighting the more useful sights for information concerning cartography, GIS current weather maps and movies, historical map collections, satellite imagery, and sources of raw data.

“While the CIS applications

provide new opportunities for

library users to map and

customize data specific to their

needs, the electronic atlases, by

and large, present maps which

libraries have traditionally

collected in paper formats.”

Electronic Atlases For library patrons who need maps of

some fairly common data, there are elec- tronic atlases. An example would be Map ‘n’ Facts, a simple to use package with data on vital statistics, crime, and

weather.5 We also have tourist atlases such as Global Explorer; a road atlas called Map n’ Go that lets you plan a route between cities in the U.S., accommodating your driving preferences, and detailing your every turn; and perhaps the single most frequently used product, MapExpert, a street atlas that will magically pinpoint any address in the country. 6 It is a must when planning the staff barbecue or pre- paring for the next conference presenta- tion.

While the GIS applications provide new opportunities for library users to map and customize data specific to their needs, the electronic atlases, by and large, present maps which libraries have traditionally collected in paper formats. The digital atlases are more easily updated to depict border changes (a definite advantage in

July 1995 285

Figure 3 Sample Map from ARL Electronic Atlas

ARL Electronic Atlas persons Under Age 18

John R. Borchert Map Library

University of Minnesota m Lakes

0 US States

Map image courtesy of ESRI, ArcView version 2. Age Under 18 (% of total pop.) :: ‘.’ 9.18 - 24.75

Map data reprinted courtesy Wessex, Inc. 24.75 - 26.6

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990. 26.6 - 28.55

28.55 - 45.83 rebruan; 1%

these times) and add a certain cachet to using maps that perhaps those familiar books lack. The most dramatic effect that these electronic atlases have is on the library’s collecting policy. If one CD- ROM can be purchased which has stored on it every street in the country, and prom- ises the possibility of being updated at least once every 10 years, does the librar- ian need to scour the country, contacting state, local, and private publishers to col- lect the same maps in paper format?

DRAINING

into these guides, they get used very little. People simply will not use written manu- als as long as a library staff member is around to help. Recently, however, we have begun to develop much more sophis- ticated online tutorials, with movies embedded in the text, which show the on- screen movements used in the various steps of creating a map. We are dabbling with voice-overs for these tutorials, for which we are employing Lotus Screen Cam to produce. The utility of this pro- gram is applicable to almost any type of repetitive computer tasks. 7

The first summer of the grant period, I During this second year of the project, hired three graduate students from the we had planned to hire additional staff, geography department to work with the including a full-time reference librarian to various mapping and GIS programs and to further develop our instructional program. develop brief and extended manuals for I decided that this was a role that I should the use of each. For all the effort that went assume and that money would be better

used to continue the work of my graduate assistants and to acquire additional equip- ment. We began to implement our instruc- tional program (including lessons on how to avoid making truly bad maps) and are holding daily orientations, which we require users to attend before they begin using the resources of the ACIC. We con- tinue to acquire additional hardware and software (though at a much less frenetic pace than the one fueled by grant monies).

MODELFOROTHERLIBRARIES

While at the University of Minnesota we have approached the need to incorpo- rate GIS into our library services on a large scale, it can be done quite successfully on a much smaller scale and with a much smaller budget. For instance, our 21 inch monitors are nice but are not essential. I do

286 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

a lot of GIS work at home using my note- book computer’s 9 l/2 inch screen. In the best of all worlds, it is nice to make avail- able various platforms, but a library can easily succeed with only Windows or MAC systems. RAM, Video RAM, and storage space are always better the more you have, but libraries do not need 90 MHz Pentiums or enormous hard drives to be successful. The 486 DX2 66 Megahertz machines, the postcript color printer, and the other hardware, for which we paid so dearly when they first came on the market, can be purchased today for a more afford- able price.

“If one CD-ROM can be purchased which has stored on

it every street in the country, and promises the possibility of

being updated at least once every 10 years, does the

librarian need to scour the country, contacting state, local,

and private publishers to collect the same maps

in paper format?”

Throughout the process of obtaining funding for and implementing the ACIC, I have been constantly admonished to “be careful what I wish for.” Grant funding, when it inevitably ends, can help you build a resource which subsequently cannot be adequately staffed and maintained. Per- haps my biggest challenge has been to continue adequate staffing of the ACIC after the end of the grant period. Toward this end, we toyed with offering a consult- ing service, fees from which would be used to support the staffing of the ACIC. We are committed to providing free citizen access to the ACIC , but for those patrons

who do not wish to take the time to learn to use our resources, we set a fee to per- form the research and produce the desired output (maps). This service was to be available to individuals, businesses, gov- ernment agencies, and not-for-profit orga- nizations. In the few months that we offered it, we contracted to do work for the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, the North- west Area Foundation, and several local businesses. However, we spread ourselves a bit too thin and abandoned the consult- ing service.

CONCLUSION

With the benefit of the U.S. Depart- ment of Education funded project, the support of the library administration, the intellectual energy of the geography and other campus departments, and through continuing participation in such endeav- ors as the ARL GIS Literacy Project, we are optimally situated to provide library access to the burgeoning array of digital cartographic and spatial information. This is evidenced by the John R. Borchert Map Library’s receipt of the 1995 Ameri- can Library AssociationMecklermedia Library of the Future Award.’

NOTES 1. The John R. Borchert Map Library is a U.S. Government Printing Office regional map depository library, serves as the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Science Information Center for Minnesota, and is a participant in the Association of Research Libraries GIS Literacy Project. The University of Minnesota is a land grant institution with a student body of roughly 58,000. The Borchert Map Library is one of the largest research map libraries in the country, and is perhaps the most heavily used. Our holdings include some 275,000 sheet maps, 10,000 atlases and reference books, and over 300,000 aerial photographs of the state of Minnesota. The Borchert Map Library is used by nearly 25,000 patrons each year. Included in this patron count are the 1,200 or so students enrolled each term in beginning level courses

offered by the geography department. With 9,000 square feet, we have one of the most spacious facilities in the country. Our namesake, Regents Professor of Geography Emeritus John Borchert has been a staunch and persuasive champion of cartography and of the map library at the University of Minnesota for over 40 years. As penned by the distinguished Wisconsin geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, the inscription that now resides outside our door reads:

IN A PERIOD OF INTELLECTUAL FLUX WHEN GEOGRAPHY SEEMS TEMPTED TO FOLLOW NONGEOGRAPHICAL SIRENS OF TRANSIENT GLAMOUR, JOHN BORCHERT ALWAYS MANAGES TO ANCHOR THE DISCIPLINE’S SENSE OF IDENTITY ON THE ROCK OF CARTOGRAPHIC INFOR- MATION.

2. Atlas GIS is available from Strategic Mapping, Inc., 3135 Kifer Road, Santa Clara, CA 9505 1, (408) 970-9600. MapInfo is available from MapInfo Corporation, One Global View, Troy, NY 12180-8399, (518) 285-6000. ArcView is available from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373-8100, (909) 793-5953. 3. Amerca.dbf, 100 Galen Street, Watertown, MA 02172, (617) 782-1700. Wessex, Inc., 1015 Tower Road, Winnetka, IL 60093, (708) 501-3662. 4. http://www-map.lib.umn.edu/arl.html 5. Map ‘n’ Facts is available from Broderbund Software, Inc., 500 Redwood Boulevard, PO. Box 6121, Novato, CA 94948. 6. Global Explorer, Map n’ Go, and Map Expert are available from DeLorme Mapping, PO. Box 298, Freeport, ME 04032. 7. Lotus ScreenCam is available from Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA 02142. It was first brought to our attention by Charlie Fitzpatrick, library liaison for ESRI, Inc., in training he conducted for the ARL GIS Literacy Project. 8. Presented to a library, consortium, group of librarians, or support organization for information technology in a library setting. Donor: Meckler Media Corp., the award is $2,500 and a Tiffany crystal.

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