Developing Geographic Information Systems for ACS Partners:
Toward a GIS Server

Hugh Blackmer and John Blackburn
Washington & Lee University
January 2000

We propose that the Associated Colleges of the South undertake a GIS initiative based in the local and regional strengths of the member institutions, committed to expansion of GIS capabilities across the curriculum, and aimed at eventual linkage with regional, national and international programs which incorporate spatial data.

Member institutions of the ACS, located in all the states of the historical South, are working to develop collaborative relationships and build common resources across a broad range of academic disciplines and mutual interests. The recent symposium on Information Fluency (http://www.colleges.org/~if/) exemplifies the cross-disciplinary and multimedia concerns of ACS partners, and reinforces the conviction that small liberal arts institutions have unique opportunities for innovation --indeed, one speaker observed that innovation in higher education has come largely from liberal arts colleges. Washington & Lee's experience with the Miley graphics server (funded by an ACS grant, and the subject of a December 1999 workshop described at http://miley.wlu.edu/miley/meeting.html) suggests to us that Miley could serve as a host for an ACS-wide effort to build a spatial knowledgebase and distributed learning environment, an integral element in the digital library of tomorrow.

GIS is an important new medium for analysis and communication: a tool for visualization, exploration and analysis of spatial data, and for presentation of the results of research. As a teaching and learning tool, desktop GIS promises to change viewpoints and expand mental scope in much the same fashion that spreadsheets did in the 1980s, by giving users the capability to manipulate data to ask and answer what if? questions. Although ACS concern with the pedagogical applications of GIS originated in Geology and Environmental Studies, interest has spread quickly to other fields, and it seems clear that central coordination of the implementation and evolution of GIS would be useful to ACS partners. Development of an overall vision of objectives, organization, and physical requirements is the next step, and what follows is an attempt to outline a coordinated set of possibilities toward which we might work. External support will be necessary to realize the grander goals, but it is possible to begin development with modest internal support from ACS and member institutions.

Hardware and software are the easy parts of a GIS initiative (and are discussed below). More challenging (because there are few precedents) are questions of what should be housed on a GIS server, how data and images should be acquired, what metadata should be included, and how such a consortial electronic collection should be managed so that it meets the needs of participants and inspires further evolution. Below we suggest some possibilities for the scope and mission of a GIS server, in the hope of furthering discussion and provoking other suggestions for content and organization.

  1. The Digital South: building on local legacies

    A collaborative effort to acquire, catalog, explore, organize, archive and deliver spatial information about the South
    Combine historical coverage (digitize maps now in the holdings of ACS libraries, collect demographic, political and economic statistics in formats compatible with GIS software) and contemporary information and imagery (LANDSAT and other remote sensing data, aerial photographic coverage, geological and environmental data, current maps) to create a data archive for collaborative study of the region across a broad range of disciplines. Collect and distribute new research on the region, from ACS and other cooperating institutions.

    Encourage each ACS member institution to gather and contribute information on the region in which it is situated, and work outwards to incorporate other regions, merging the islands of data into a consolidated whole.

    Recognizing that the best way to navigate data related to a region is to navigate geographically, the Digital South project would integrate individual contributions to create a dynamic electronic reference work on all things Southern --from Civil War battles and 19th century demography to hog farming's impact on watersheds and regional identification with tomato- or vinegar-based barbecue.

    The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced an Initiative for Regional Humanities Centers (http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/19991202b.html) which seems to cover some of the same ground, but (as far as we can see) has no explicit GIS component, and does not include natural sciences and social sciences. The SOLINET project on the American South (emphasis of which is now primarily textual) may be another possibility for future collaboration.

  2. Supporting GIS as a classroom tool

    Support for teaching of GIS and expansion of spatial analysis to new areas of curriculum
    Coordinate creation and delivery of locally-developed tutorials and licensed ESRI training materials. Develop a knowledgebase to solve the problems of GIS users. Sponsor and organize training workshops, symposia. Publicize exemplary coursework and other pedagogical applications of GIS. There may be opportunities for cross-linking with the ACS Mellon grant in Information Fluency.
    addendum, 14 Jan: see the FIPSE Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships for another possibility

  3. Serving spatial data to ACS partners

    Acquisition and distribution of spatial data to support teaching and research in global studies, environmental studies and area studies
    Place initial emphasis on improving access to data distributed by ESRI (ArcUSA, ArcWorld, other packaged data) and data available on the Web, but not well documented; acquire remote sensing and image data useful in courses at ACS institutions. The model of ACS participation in ICPSR may be a relevant precedent.

    Support collaborative courses among ACS institutions (on the model of the Vietnam course), thus broadening the offerings and available expertise in various disciplines. Work toward participation in the evolving Digital Earth Project (http://www.ai.sri.com/digital-earth/ and http://www.alexandria.ucsb.edu/).

  4. Showcasing ACS projects and seeking wider collaborations

    Distribution of the work of ACS partners to the world at large, via an Internet Map Server, and facilitate cooperation with similar efforts in other institutions and consortia

Participants

The inherent complexity of digital library issues requires new modes of collaboration among librarians, computer services and media specialists, teaching faculty and university administrators. Consortial distribution adds further levels of complication. A coordinator for the project seems a necessity (we estimate that a half-time position would suffice); it is important to work out effective means for participation by managers at all ACS institutions. Local managers would have the responsibility to act as advocates on their own campuses, and would collaborate to develop the vision and collections of the shared server.

Collection Development

Spatial data are freely available on the Web in a bewildering (and poorly documented) profusion of formats and degrees of usability. Base maps and data (census, economic, environmental, demographic, etc.) are distributed with ArcView, but are not well documented. Maps created in courses and research projects could be archived. Databases and images are available for license and purchase, and it is certainly desirable to seek cost savings and minimize duplication among ACS partners. Creating and maintaining an effective user interface for such a variety of resources is an interesting challenge, and developing a means for consortial purchase of coverage explores new budgetary ground. Is it feasible to coordinate digital data acquisition for the consortium? Integration of electronic collections and metadata via CORC/Dublin Core is another necessity.

Software

ArcView is (potentially) available to all ACS partners, and makes sense as the de facto standard to design the server and its contents around, though the server would distribute an array of spatial information broader than that handled by ArcView. Supporting learners is an important part of the development of effective users of ArcView.

Hardware

A dedicated server would permit the storage and distribution of data and tutorial materials and minimize unnecessary duplication. In the initial phases of development of a server it is probably advantageous to have the hardware in a single location. The Miley server has space for 3 36GB drives (for a total of 72GB with RAID backup). Washington & Lee's imminent T3 connectivity to the Internet improves the practicality of delivery of large files. At present there is space on Miley to begin a server experiment; additional drives could be added as required.