Improving Discovery & Access through the use of Map Services at the University of Texas Libraries

Michael Shensky, GIS & Geospatial Data Coordinator
Jessica Trelogan, Research Data Services Coordinator

Transcript

1. Michael Shensky, GIS & Geospatial Data Coordinator Jessica Trelogan, Research Data Services Coordinator Improving Discovery & Access through the use of Map Services at the University of Texas Libraries
2. GIS at UT Libraries Mission: UT Libraries advances teaching, fuels research and energizes learning through expansive collections and digital content, innovative services, programs, tools and partnerships to develop critical thinkers and global citizens that transform lives. Research Data Services  Partnerships  Consultation  Training  Data preservation & publishing
3. System Architecture Goals  OGC format support + ArcGIS capabilities  Decisions based on best practices & system testing  Compatibility with existing IT protocols  Scalable  Cost effective  Agile
4. Service Requirements  Efficient resource use (RAM + storage)  OGC formats  Good image quality  Acceptable performance  Scriptable publishing Service Configuration
5. Scripted Workflows Necessary to manage service publishing for massive data collections Exceptions: Vector services with custom symbology or configurations  Easy to adjust and rerun, allows for quick iteration  Helps document workflows  Shared with team using GitHub
6. Data Management Protocols Status Currently testing data editing workflows to assess viability Scripted wherever possible Still evolving as new, related systems develop Challenges Universal data schema vs collection specific schema Traditional approaches vs new techniques Designing secure & sustainable editing workflows Establishing effective data management protocols will be integral to keeping services accurate and up-to-date
7.  Geospatial services improve user experience  REST end points made easy to look up and use  Index map services facilitate spatial browsing Data Discovery & Access with GeoBlacklight GeoBlacklight is an open source geospatial data discovery portal built with Ruby on Rails that allows federated searching across collections of OpenGeoMetadata participating universities GeoBlacklight is used by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Big 10 Academic Alliance Princeton University Stanford University Virginia Tech UC Berkeley & more…
8. Future Development  GeoBlacklight customization  Scripting metadata management  Expansion beyond test collections  Production testing of data management workflows  Outreach to promote use of GIS services & infrastructure  Integration with UT Libraries new Digital Asset Management System  Monitor system statistics & make targeted configuration adjustments