work at all or, even if it helps to relieve the problems somewhat, it may not produce the results that could have been achieved had it been done properly.

Most of all, library managers considering outsourcing should recommend the initial chapters on assessing the library’s cur- rent situation and asking how reengineering can improve it as required reading to every member of their technical services department, from its top level administrative officer down to its least powerful worker. The library whose own staff develops the scenarios outlined in Outssourcing Lihrury Technical Srr-

1icc.s and suggests changes appropriate to fulfilling its institu- tional mission is miles ahead of one given the message by some higher power and forced to toe the line.

The Massachusetts Electronic Atlas: An Interactive Web Site for Access to Maps and Geographic Data for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

by David Cobb and Arlene Oliver0

M assachusetts now has an interactive mapping website containing digital data and geography for its 35 1 cit- ies and towns at http://icg.harvard.edu/-maps/maat-

las.htm. The Massachusetts Electronic Atlas represents a three- year collaborative effort by the Harvard Map Collection, The Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and a geography professor at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, to increase access to geographically-referenced information about the Common- wealth of Massachusetts. From this website, users can create customized maps, do simple spatial queries, and download maps and their associated numeric datasets. While it is not the first dig- ital state atlas, it certainly is unique because of its interactivity and easy access to the raw data “behind the map.”

The atlas is currently being served from a Dell Optiplex GXPro in the Harvard Map Collection which is running Win- dows NT with 128 MB RAM and a 200 MHZ processor. It is designed to be accessed by any user with Netscape 3.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher from a computer with at least 256 colors. The Internet interface of the atlas was devel- oped by Harvard Map Collection staff along with an Environ- mental Research Institute (ESRI) consultant using ESRI Internet Map Server software, ESRI ArcView software, and customized ArcView scripts. Data accessible for mapping on this site was obtained from a variety of partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies such as the Metropolitan Area Plan- ning Council (MAPC), MassGIS, and Richard Gelpke of UMASS Boston. The data were then processed and linked to the existing main GIS database for inclusion in the atlas by Harvard Map Collection staff.

The interactivity of the Massachusetts Electronic Atlas rep- resents a major step in moving GIS, a sophisticated computer mapping and database linked technology, from high-tech work- stations to the Internet accessible environment of the non-spe- cialist. Unlike most traditional GIS systems, the Massachusetts Electronic Atlas provides a user-friendly Web interface where users of all skill levels can create, manipulate, and download maps and data. For example, users can select from over 170 lay- ers of data for display (see Figure I), turn layers on and off, zoom and pan within the map (see Figure 2) obtain legends or detail maps (see Figure 3) and do simple spatial queries (see Figures 4a and 4b). Spatial querying options allow users to identify and view the data attributes of objects in the active layer by clicking on a single object, selecting all objects in the active layer shown on the map, or even selecting all the objects of a given layer that are within a certain radius of a point the user clicks on a map. These querying functions were previously only available on stand-alone GIS systems.

The Massachusetts Electronic Atlas also stands apart because it provides a mechanism for accessing the numeric data

David Cohh is Head of the Harvard Map Cdec-tion, Harvard

University Cambridge, Ma.~.sachutetts, 02138; Arlene Olivero is a

CT/S Spec-ialkt of Ihe Harvard Map Collection.

May 1997 231

“behind a thematic map” and relevant metadata regarding these data. Although a picture (or map) is often said to be worth a 1,000 words, in reality, one map often represents over 1,000 tables of data. In the current version of the Massachusetts Elec- tronic Atlas, users can now select the data “behind” an active theme displayed on a map and then view or download these data in a formatted table or comma delimited text string. Once down- loaded, these data can be easily imported into other database management software for further analysis. The atlas also pro- vides access to extensive metadata for each layer. By simply clicking on the name of a layer, a user is taken to a hyperlinked document describing the source agency and other background information for that data layer. If the source agency has an Inter- net site, a link from the metadata page to this website is also pro- vided so that users can quickly obtain additional information about the agency providing the data. This metadata provides important information on such topics as description, reliability, completeness, and currency of the data which is essential to many individuals striving to use the data and maps to analyze research problems.

The Massachusetts Electronic Atlas currently contains hun- dreds of non-decennial census datasets as well as data from the 1990 federal census. Available subject areas include communi- cation, economy, education, employment, environmental regu- lation, health, income, physical features, population, race, real estate, transportation, and political boundaries. With the 1990 census aging and widely available, the atlas focuses on alterna- tive and more recent sources of demographic, business, and environmental information. At the moment, the available data

are listed only by towns, not census tracts or block groups, how- ever, as more data become available, different census divisions within the towns and cities will be seen in greater detail. In the future, existing datasets will be updated and new datasets added as additional federal, state, local, and commercial sources are identified for inclusion in the atlas.

The potential uses for the Massachusetts Electronic Atlas are expected to be extensive and continue to expand. Although the atlas was first designed with a target audience of students and research scholars, a variety of businesses, local and state gov- ernments, nonprofits, and the public are expected to use and evaluate their needs with this site’s broad range of information. For example, their searches could vary from property tax rates and home sale prices to elder health care needs and physical characteristics of the environment. Local town governments have already begun to use the atlas to gather data on ethnicity in terms of births to predict changes in the school systems and plan for future needs such as languages that may need to be taught. Many tourists and newcomers to the state are also likely to use this atlas to identify areas of interest for visiting or residence.

In the future, this atlas and others will continue to serve as extensions to traditional map libraries. Through innovative Internet interfaces, users can now create maps that directly mir- ror their needs, rather than waiting for government agencies to print and distribute maps, libraries to acquire these maps, or spending time learning how to use the often daunting stand- alone geographic information systems available. By providing a “neutral site” for the collection and access to digital data for the state, libraries can continue to forge strategic partnerships

Figure 1 Map Layer Selection Page

Note.\: From the Map Layer Selection Page. u\en can select from o\er IS0 layers. Layer\ choosen on thts page will appear a\ available layers that the uers can turn on or off whde budding maps in the Map Browser Page. The name of each laker is a hyperhnk to a metadata page for that layer.

232 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

Figure 2 Map Browser Page

Now: Thr Upper Frame in the Map Browser Page contams the Map Box whtch displays the user IE building. a 11~1 of available layer\ Ibr display. selection controls windowing controls. utlllty controls. and help.

Figure 3 Zoomed Map and Legend Display

Nole: This view displays a norned an view in the Map Box of the Upper Fram e and at\ legend in the Lower Frame of the Map Browxr Page.

May 1997 233

Figure 4a Selecting Objects in the Active Layer

Figure 4b Result of Selection

and play a critical role in disseminating the increasing flood of digital information available. The librarv collection of the fu;ure must development innovative mechanisms to allow users to access library resources “beyond library walls.” As libraries accept these changing digital challenges and patron needs, libraries will no longer have to “risk becoming paper muse- urns.”

GIS as a Service Option

by Peter Hernon

A s the enthusiastic reception of academic librarians to the July 1995 issue of the Journul c!f’Acudrmic Lihmr- ianship (JAL) and other recent writings indicate, more

academic librarians are exploring the potential offering of a geographic information system (GIS) to students, faculty, and perhaps others. GIS combines cartography with demographic, environmental, health-related, and other datasets to display, in map form, information relevant to public policy, marketing, and other issues. User manipulate the datasets to display visu- ally answers to specific questions or to depict data representing one or more variables within a specified location or locations (e.g., census tract, ZIP code, voting district, or block group- ing). The literature of library and information science, as well as conference presentations, tend to focus on GIS’s value within a reference context: enabling students and faculty to find, manipulate, and display geocoded data (or data that can be geocoded) such as from the private sector or government (e.g., CD-ROM produced by the U.S. Bureau of the Census). The data might also come from a site on the World Wide Web.

Starting to appear in the literature are discussions of other applications of GIS. These might pertain to library collections and services, or even to the management of libraries. We learn, for instance, that public libraries might use a GIS for planning and reviewing site selection for (or site consolidation among) branch libraries, or for analyzing “patterns of library utilization in public libraries with multiple branches.“’ It would seem that academic librarians might also examine use patterns.l They might also introduce institutional researchers to GISs. For instance, by using a GIS, admissions staff at a private college could identify those high schools or census tracts in which the preponderance of students from the past, say, five years have come. What are the demographic characteristics of students liv- ing within a certain radius of certain high schools, or within spe- cific census tracts, in the years 1990 and 1997? (It is possible to make projections to 2,000 or beyond.) How about the character- istics of students in middle schools (e.g., grades 7-9)? Demo- graphic characteristics might be viewed in terms of gender. ethnicity. educational levels attained by parents, and so forth. Economic information relating, for instance, to household income might also be included in the detailed profiles that emerge.

Such information, combined with other insights, might also be useful to library staff in the planning of programs and ser- vices. Clearly, the value of GIS to academic libraries has not been fully explored, nor is it the intention of this essay to do so. Rather, the purpose here is to encourage more assessment of GIS as a service for library users and staff themselves.

SERVICE ASSESSMENT

The developing literature on service quality, benchmarking, and planning encourages librarians and other managers to assess the services which they offer and to place greatest atten- tion on those which best meet the organization’s mission and

Peler Hernon is a Professor, Simmon.s Cokge, Graduate School oi

Library and information Science, 300 The Fenway, Baton, MA

O211.5-58% <phernon@simmon.~.ea’u>.

May 1997 235