Obrad Vučkovac
Biblioteka Doma kulture „Studentski grad”, Novi Beograd
obrad.vuckovac@gmail.com

doi: 10.19090/cit.2017.30.34-40
No. 30 (May 2017), p. 34-40

Connecting Libraries with Geographic Information Systems

Summary

There are numerous challenges facing modern communities in the world of today. Climate change, poverty, epidemics, land usage, are just some of them. Effective use of information about the exact locations has become one of the key components in addressing these global issues. Geographic information systems (GIS) enable collecting, visualization, handling and analyzing spatial information. They are very useful in decision making, rational usage of resources and taking precautions where needed. Geographic information systems are gaining increasing importance in academic and business environment. With the growth of the amount of data collected from satellites, mobile phones, cars, house appliances and other sensors, the demand for information specialists with skills in gathering, describing, organizing and searching data is also growing. Libraries can incorporate GIS into their services in different ways: providing computers with installed GIS software, designing and conducting workshops, assistance in spatial data gathering, georeferencing, etc. The development of specialized portals and digital libraries for storing spatial data are also good examples of implementation and use of GIS services in libraries. University libraries of the USA and Canada have made the greatest progress in implementing this practice. It is well received by the users, because it significantly reduces time and effort needed for gathering the right spatial data. The librarians of the Cultural Center Studentski Grad are working on the development of a digital library for gathering spatial data, in cooperation with the Geographic Faculty and the Geographic Institute Josif Pančić. The project will be executed using Geonetwork opensource, the free and open-source platform for developing spatial data infrastructure. There are many challenges facing the development of the project: designing workflows, data gathering policies, quality control assessment, staffing, implementing guidelines and standards, etc. The project Digital Spatial Data Library can bring multiple benefits to students and professors who use GIS in their work, and as for librarians, it can enrich them with knowledge and experience when it comes to providing new services for library users.

Keywords:

geographic information systems, GIS, spatial data, spatial data infrastructures, digital spatial data library, information resource management, spatial data standards, Cultural Center Studentski Grad

Submitted: 28th February 2017
Correction to the manuscript: 20. March 2017
Accepted for publication: 2. April 2017

Connecting Libraries with Geographic Information Systems by Obrad Vučkovac is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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