Geographic Information Systems and Data
Trinity's Coates Library is home to a GIS lab, Lib Room 310,
with 27 student seats. The University owns multiple licenses for ArcGIS 9.2, a
GIS product from ESRI.
In addition to the data sources listed below, a data
repository on the campus network serves as an access point for many kinds of
GIS data for Trinity users. Contact the
GIS librarian
for more information.
We are also affiliated with
NITLE, the National Institute
for Technology in the Liberal Arts, which offers
training for
educators
seeking to use GIS in their teaching.
Below is a brief list of recommended resources for research related to
geospatial applications and data. For additional help, please contact
Jeremy
Donald, the
library's liaison for Geographic Information Systems.
Scholarly Literature / Online Maps
/ Data
Scholarly Literature
Here are recommended resources that contain
articles dealing with GIS:
GEOBASE
Index to scholarly literature in geography, geology, and ecology on
a worldwide basis. Includes some full-text articles.
Web of Science
Index to scholarly material in all the sciences; useful for locating
articles that cite earlier publications.
Coates Library holdings on GIS
Printable guide to GIS titles in the Coates Library
GISLounge
Bibliographies
"Annotated bibliographies and
literature reviews in the field of GIS. An excellent resource for finding
articles on case studies in GIS. See what advances others in the field are
making."
Websites
General Information on GIS /
Teaching with
GIS / Help and Tutorials
/ Online Maps
General Information on GIS
What is GIS?
From Stanford University's Branner Library website, a comprehensive
introduction to GIS and GIS resources.
Teaching with GIS
GIS Basics & Humanities Research (.pdf)
From Stanford University, a presentation with examples of GIS
applied to instruction.
Help and Tutorials
NITLE GIS Tutorials
"Modules designed to explain the fundamentals of making maps with ESRI's
ArcGIS software." Requires free sign-up, and downloading of data.
Tutorial text and data available on network
repository.
Census Mapping Tutorial
From the Harvard Design School, a guide to making appropriate use of census data
in ArcView.
ESRI
Training & Education
"Find all the company's educational resources in one location on
the Internet." Home of the
ESRI Virtual Campus Library, "the most comprehensive guide to GIS literature on the Internet."
Neighborhood Change CD Tutorial
From Duke University, a step-by-step guide to making maps of MSAs using the
Neighborhood Change Database (For the CD, please enquire at the Help Desk on the
library's third floor.)
Online Maps
Local /
Static Maps /
Mapping Applications
Local
City of San Antonio's Interactive GIS
Several ArcIMS sites for the City of San Antonio, including:
Bexar County Appraisal
District
Interactive online map of current parcel data for the county,
including property values. Data available on the network repository.
Bexar County Foreclosure Map
Texas State Data Center and Office of the State Demographer
"...a focal point for the distribution of
Census information for Texas. The Center also
disseminates population estimates and projections for Texas, as well as other
information from the federal government, state government, and other sources."
Includes a nice page of
thematic maps
of Texas county-level data.
Business & Industry Data Center
U.S. Census data portal designed to support
economic development & tourism, featuring a
Map Room
of online data in map form.
Edwards Aquifer Map Viewer
"View the Edwards Aquifer maps of
regulated zones with your web browser."
Static Maps
David Rumsey Historical Maps
Over 11,000 historical maps primarily from North and South
America, most of them adjusted for use with the GIS browser embedded within
the site.
Perry-Casteneda Library Map Collection
A list of online maps from one of the best collections in the world.
Library of Congress Map Collections 1500-2004
"The focus of Map Collections is Americana and Cartographic Treasures of
the Library of Congress; the collection is organized according to seven major
categories."
Historical USGS Topographic Maps
From Maptech, high-resolution historical topos for
selected states.
ReliefWeb Map Centre
From the
United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a database of
information-rich maps of international crises and conflicts.
Mapping Applications
ArcGIS Explorer
A free, downloadable digital globe, compatible with GIS data formats and .kml
files. Offers some tools for spatial analysis. A variety of basemaps are
available
here.
Google Earth
"Google Earth combines
satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world's
geographic information at your fingertips." Site allows
download of free version.
Google Earth Hacks
A repository for the sharing of techniques and Google
Earth-compatible .kml files submitted by adroit users--not to be missed.
Tobin Global Planner GIS Data (Texas A&M)
"The Global Planner is a set of detailed topographic maps and vector data
covering the populated land areas of the world. These maps provide detailed
elevation, culture, population, and geodetic information about the surface of
the land, the shorelines, and near shore bathymetry."
National Geographic's Map Machine
Fast map viewer includes a variety of theme maps (e.g.
earthquakes, world population density.)
This Dynamic Planet
"World Map of Volcanoes,
Earthquakes, Impact Craters, and Plate Tectonics."
Globalis
"Globalis is an interactive
world atlas where you decide what is to be displayed on the map. Globalis aims
to create an understanding for similarities and differences in human societies,
as well as how we influence life on the planet."
World Mapper
"World Mapper is a collection of world maps, where
territories are re-sized
on each map according to the subject of interest." Includes
downloadable data sets.
Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety (MAPS)
From the Department of Justice, "A program to
advance applied and basic research involving the spatial analysis of crime."
Free downloadable applications include
CrimeStat III.
Mapping Globalization
From Princeton University and the University of Washington, an
interactive site featuring maps, narratives, data and analysis of globalization.
MLA Language Map
"The MLA Language Map uses data from the 2000
United States census to display the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty
languages and three groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United
States."
National Atlas of the United States
Includes a number of
interactive map viewers.
National Map
From USGS, "The Nation's Topographic Map for the 21st Century."
PovertyMap
Includes "a
global spatial database of poverty mapping examples and possible indicators"
as well as a searchable collection of related links and literature.
DiversityData.org
"...allows visitors to explore how metropolitan areas throughout
the U.S. perform on a diverse range of social measures that comprise a
well-rounded life experience.
Social Explorer
"Social Explorer is dedicated to providing demographic
information in an easily understood format: data maps. We have created hundreds
of interactive data maps of the United States."
CensusScope
From the
Social Science Data
Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan, "an easy-to-use tool
for investigating U.S. demographic trends."
Data Sources
In addition to the data sources listed below, a data
repository on the campus network serves as an access point for many kinds of
GIS data for Trinity users. Contact the
GIS librarian
for more information.
Local & Campus /
Download Sites / Web Tools
/ Portals
See also:
Statistics
Government Information
Includes shape files for state, counties, zip codes, census tracts and block
groups. Contains over fifty census variables from the 2000 and 1990 decennial
census (SF 1A variables). Additional data included for: rivers, lakes, and
major public landmarks. Foreign country boundaries are included with first
level administrative units (i.e. state or province), along with selected
demographic information, cites, and the World Wildlife Fund’s terrestrial and
marine ecoregion boundaries. (CDs and DVDs stored in the Government Documents CD-Rom
cabinet--ask librarian for assistance.) Selected data available on network
repository.
CommunityInfo for Education
Compiles SF3 Census variables into single nationwide
layers down to the blockgroup level. Variables include demographics such as
school enrollment, educational attainment,
citizenship, language spoken at home, industry, occupation, and journey to work,
housing units, house value. Basic demographics include total population, age,
and race.
(CDs stored in the Government Documents CD-Rom
cabinet--ask librarian for assistance.) Bexar Co. data available on network
repository.
City of San Antonio's Interactive GIS
Each site allows dynamic downloads of selected data. ESRI ArcGIS users can also
access data online. Selected data
available on network repository.
Bexar County Parcel
Data
From the
Bexar
County Appraisal District, 2006 parcel data for the county, along with
additional attribute fields. Available on network repository.
Government Document CD-ROMs
An online guide to Trinity Coates Library's collection of Government CD-ROMs on topics
such as health statistics, the U.S. Census, crime, education, and the U.S.G.S.
State & National, and International download sites
Texas Map and Data Files
From the Texas General Land Office, a wealth of coverage (.e00)
and shapefiles (.shp) on boundaries, hydrography, coastal land use, and more.
Census 2000 TIGER/Line Data
From ESRI: "GIS users can download Census 2000 TIGER/Line Data
in shapefile format for an area of interest. Users can choose multiple data
layers for a single county or a single data layer for multiple counties and
analyze them using GIS software such as
ArcGIS." A
good place to get shapefiles of census data associated with Bexar Co.
geographies, e.g., "race and ethnicity data at the block level."
1990-2006 TIGER/Line Data from ICPSR
Census geographies no longer available from the U.S.
Census website. NOT IN SHAPEFILE FORMAT.
Census Cartographic Boundary Files
See
Descriptions & Metadata for file information.
Texas State Data Center Texas Census 2000 Shapefiles
From the Texas State Data Center, a collection of TIGER/Line files from the
108th CD Census 2000. Download shapefiles at the
State and
County levels.
TCEQ: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality GIS page
A variety of GIS tools and data related to the Texas environment.
Texas Natural Resources Information System Digital Downloads
"Use this website to download 1 meter resolution DOQQs for the
entire state of Texas. You can also download available 2.5 meter DOQQs,
DRGs, TxDOT, DEMs, Hillshades, and more." National Agriculture Imagery
Project (NAIP) data by quad is available
here.
Census
2000 Data for Texas
From the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder.
GIS Data Depot
"Numerous data holdings available
for free download" from
The GeoCommunity™
ESRI's Geography Network
Many downloadable data layers are available online.
Data can be accessed interactively when using ArcView 9.1 by
using the Get Data --> Geography Network path.
NationalAtlas.gov
A
Raw Data ftp site of a wide variety of national data layers.
EPA National Geospatial Program
These web services show facilities regulated by
EPA. They can be loaded into a map interface by accessing
http://geodata.epa.gov
and loading one of the 10 available services. Viewing these image and feature
services along with local data can be done in ArcMap.
Includes:
Air Emissions; National Priority
List; Toxic Release Inventory; and more.
NGA Geospatial Engine
Raster data searchable by map and by name.
Global Land Cover Facility
"The GLCF develops and distributes remotely sensed
satellite data and products that explain land cover from the local to global
scales, available free to anyone via FTP."
SEDAC: Socioeconomic Data & Applications Center
From Columbia University, a collection of data sources, often GIS-friendly.
Map Library
Free map data & software, with
Africa data currently offered. May require some assistance for use with
ArcGIS. See GIS librarian for details.
Mexican Topographic Map Guide
A for-fee service that offers .shp and .drg files of Mexico maps.
World Data Center for Human Actions in the Environment. "This portal, hosted
by NASA’s Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), provides access to
a wide range of global data, associated documentation, and visualization and
analysis tools, and to the community of experts on global data."
United Nations Environment Programme Geo Data Portal
An online database of UNEP datasets containing more than 450
variables.
Center for International Earth Science Information Network Downloadable Data
page
From Columbia University, a great source of international and domestic free
data.
The Southern Africa Human-development Information Management System (SAHIMS) GIS
Library
A wealth of free GIS data for many African countries.
Web Tools
Batch Geocoder
Site will generate XY data from a tab-delimited address list,
show points on a map, and create spreadsheet ofr use with a GIS or a kml file
for use in Google Earth.
FFIEC Geocoding System
A free site that produces tract-level Census data and geographic
specifications by street address. Does not provide coordinates. For coordinates,
use...
Geocoder.us
A free service providing one-at-a-time latitude and longitude coordinates for
street addresses and intersections, based on the 1998 TIGER/Line data set.
Free Geography Tools
A blog that covers tools related to GIS, GPS, Google Earth and Maps,
neogeography, and free data resources.
Portals
Harvard Geospatial Library
Harvard's Cartography & GIS links
Stanford University's webpage for digital GIS data.
National &
International GIS data
From the University of Arkansas libraries, a country list of GIS data sources.
GeoData.gov
U.S. Maps and Data
"Your one stop for Federal, state, and local geographic
data." Includes feature topics (i.e., Fire Mapping) and a map viewer.
National Spatial Data Clearinghouse
Searchable collection of over 250 spatial data servers, that have
digital geographic data primarily for use in Geographic Information Systems.
USGS Earth Resources Observation & Science (EROS)
"A leading source of land information for
exploring our changing planet."
GIS Data
Finder
From UNC Chapel Hill, "a large collection of
data sets, each of which is made up of potentially many individual
data layers. The GIS Data Finder allows our patrons to browse our collection
in several ways."
Please send any comments or suggestions
about this page to
Jeremy Donald,
library liaison for Geographic Information Systems.
|
