These are all issues of Information Fluency, and address the full gamut of concerns of the ACS Initiative: end users must develop research skills across a growing range of information media, institutions must build collections to support the evolving needs of teaching and learning, and library and computing staff must create the infrastructure for delivery of effective and timely logistical support and training. While the primary goal of an Information Fluency Initiative on a campus is to support the needs of local departments and programs, ACS objectives also include (1) encouraging implementation of 'best practices' on other campuses, (2) developing collaborations among ACS members, and (3) sharing resources and facilitating exchanges where feasible. This proposal addresses all of these goals and purposes (all noted in the report of the Collaboration Task Force, February 2001), and seeks support for travel essential to the creation of a prototype of management software which will enable development of spatial data libraries on ACS campuses.
The faculty or student user of GIS software has the same basic Fluency problem as a user of traditional print or emerging electronic media, which can be summarized in the question what do you have and how can I get it? The Web offers a distributed environment within which this question can be answered in many ways (including online catalogs, search engines, indexes, full text delivery and virtual reference services, guides and tutorials, and browsable archives). Virtual libraries of georeferenced data have recently joined this spectrum of information resources, and every campus with GIS activities has the problem of proliferating spatial data: users seek data and create maps, and in the absence of someone to organize and manage this maelstrom, local servers accumulate vast quantities of unconnected projects and files. Few libraries have integrated spatial information into their services, but advertisements for 'spatial librarians' are beginning to appear, and a number of developmental efforts are reaching maturity.
GIS has appeared on ACS campuses in some departments (Geology at Trinity, Centenary and Washington & Lee; Biology at Davidson; Anthropology at Centre; Politics at Washington & Lee) and programs (Environmental Studies at Rhodes, Furman and Sewanee), but spread to other settings awaits improved support for users. Few ACS institutions are likely to fund GIS support personnel until their absolute necessity is clear; libraries are unprepared to take on management and distribution of spatial data; and few faculty will invest time and energy in learning and using GIS without institutional support. Breaking this logjam requires an innovative model of support and distribution.
The Landscape Analysis Lab at University of the South (under the direction of Jon Evans) combines a focused and externally funded research program with a GIS teaching environment. Support personnel have practical knowledge of a broad spectrum of GIS products and have learned a great deal about data management and solving day-to-day problems. Summer workshops have built basic skills and established an effective training model. The Lab's webpage (lal.sewanee.edu) introduces program, staff, and facilities.Much can be gained from linkage of these efforts, and this proposal seeks funding for travel for working visits of 3-4 days, to facilitate exchange between campuses. These visits will include presentations of current work, discussions of emerging problems, and detailed exploration of possible linkages and potential collaborations.At Washington & Lee a collaboration between a librarian (Hugh Blackmer), the Head of the Instructional Technology Collaborative (John Blackburn), and a database and networking specialist (Skip Williams) has focused on Internet Map Server (ArcIMS) development, centered on Web-based map interfaces to interconnected data realms (image archives, bibliographic records), distribution of interactive maps to classroom and community, and support for campus internationalization. This effort also draws on the skills of senior Computer Science students, whose capstone projects can be linked to the development effort. Links at ims1.wlu.edu lead to prototypes of several mapping and data presentation projects now under development.
We seek to build a spatial information infrastructure that (1) end users can navigate easily, (2) librarians can use and maintain without special skills, (3) faculty can draw upon to augment and distribute course material, (4) institutions can build upon for outreach to surrounding communities, (5) will support the work of GIS support staff as institutions add them, and (6) will stimulate collaborations among ACS partners. The elements include:
Subsequent developments may include
Evaluation will be largely a matter of testing the prototypes we build, to determine the usefulness of ArcIMS as a distribution platform and assess the limitations of Internet access to data and imagery stored on distant servers.
GRAND TOTAL: $2800