What the Future Holds: Trends in GIS and Academic Libraries

Abstract

Geographic information is ubiquitous, from MapQuest in Google to the use of global positioning systems on PDAs and automobiles. More people use geographic information on a daily basis, from directions and a review of a local restaurant to building new infrastructures for communities. Therefore, libraries and librarians should be planning on how best to obtain, market, and provide this type of information for their users’ personal and professional needs. What are some of the emerging themes in geographic information systems, particularly for libraries? In the convergence of services and resources, emergent themes are cartography; platform/network development; “geoweb” services and resources; geodata management trends; and societal impacts. Sui (2004) postulates that GIScience research will be involved in “computational, spatial, social, environmental, and aesthetic dimensions” (p. 65), therefore “geocomputation, spatially integrated social sciences, social informatics, information ecology, and humanistic GIScience” are areas of research to watch (p. 65). This chapter will address these themes from both a GIS and libraries perspective.