LI 861 GIS and Map Librarianship Syllabus

LI 861 XI and XJ Current Topics in Information Transfer:
GIS & Map Librarianship
Dr. Susan Ward Aber

Houston, Texas from the air.
Photo date 1/2006
© S.W. Aber

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Map Librarianship is a course designed to introduce fundamentals of maps, aerial photography, and other cartographic materials that are considered the information tools for transferring spatial data and images in both physical and electronic formats. The course will emphasize basic concepts including: (a) map interpretation using physical map resources; (b) map creation applying GIS; and (c) map librarianship duties with a client-centered focus to aid in assessing information needs, selecting-acquiring resources, and managing-marketing collections.

This course was offered Spring semester 2007 and visit slim.emporia.edu/program/syllabus/syllabus.htm to see when it may be offered again. Or if you are interested in taking this course on the resources and services associated with map librarianship, please contact Dr. Aber at saber@emporia.edu.

In the meantime, feel free to browse the syllabus and website. Spring semester student projects are online at academic.emporia.edu/abersusa/gis/students/students.htm.

Spring Semester 2007 Syllabus

Communication

Objectives

Requirements

Assessments

Lecture Schedule

Course Communication

Dr. Susan Aber
Earth Science Department, www.emporia.edu/earthsci/abersusa.htm
and National SLIM faculty, slim.emporia.edu/facstaff/parttimefac.cfm?semester=20071

620-341-5977

saber@emporia.edu

Check Announcements
academic.emporia.edu/abersusa/
gis/announce.htm

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Course Objectives

In a nutshell... participants will gain an understanding of cartographic techniques, tools, and sources through lectures, readings, tutorials, activities, and web presentations. The general topics covered in this course include an introduction to:

reference basics
- map introductions for understanding map scale, projections, symbols, types and formats
- GIS introductions for creating map displays and acquiring spatial data
- needs assessment for determining cartographic materials and spatial data for recreation, researching and teaching
collection basics
- selection and acquisition of map, spatial data, and GIS materials and resources
- classification schemes and cataloging systems
- storage, care, and repair
marketing basics
- publicizing map library collections and resources via brochures, Internet, and research

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Course Requirements and Recommendations

All students must have an e-mail account and correspond with me through e-mail on a weekly basis. Most resources for the course will be online; however, you are responsible for obtaining one of the following textbooks (borrow from library-interlibrary loan or purchase?) for reading and reviewing. Each of these resources is strongly recommended if you plan on working in map librarianship:

Map Librarianship
- Larsgaard, M. L. (1998). Map librarianship an introduction. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
- Smith, L. C., & Gluck, M. (ed.) (1996). Geographic information systems and libraries: Patrons, maps, and spatial information. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
Classification and Cataloging
- Andrew, P. G., & Larsgaard, M. L. (1999). Maps and related cartographic materials: Cataloging, classification, and bibliographic control. NY: The Haworth Press, Inc.
- Andrew, P. G. (2003). Cataloging sheet maps the basics. NY: The Haworth Press, Inc.
GIS
- Clarke, K. C. (2003). Getting started with geographic information systems (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Breslin, P., Frunzi, N., Napoleon, E., and Ormsby, T. (1996-1998). Getting to know ArcView GIS the geographic information system (GIS) for everyone. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press.
Maps
- Dorling, D., & Fairbairn, D. (1997). Mapping: Ways of representing the world. NY: Pearson-Prentice Hall.
- Whitfield, P. (1994). The image of the world: 20 centuries of world maps. San Francisco, CA: Pomegranate Artbooks.

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Course Assessments

Letter grades from A-F with +/- subdivisions are used to evaluate your performance in this course. An incomplete grade will be considered in extremely rare cases; arrangements must be made with S. Aber and course work completed within the next semester. Grades will be based on:

Communication with instructor and textbook resource review, accounting for 20% of the final grade;
Readings and assigned activities, accounting for 50% of the final grade;
Map webpage pathfinder and presentation, accounting for 30% of the final grade. The presentation topic and design will be your choice, with my approval, and specific guidelines will be forthcoming.

Cheating and plagiarism are not tolerated in this class. All assignments and projects for this class should be exclusive to this class and not projects completed for other courses and recycled for this course.

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