Our hope is that this brief compilation of resources can help both novice practitioners learn more about GIS generally, and connect seasoned users with on-campus support. Explore using the links below, and let us know what else you'd like to see!
GIS DAY @ IU 2022
This Year's Format
This year’s GIS Day / Geoweek events are offered in collaboration with the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA)'s GIS Day Online Conference. The online conference will take place on Tuesday, November 15th, 2022, with keynote speakers from Native Land Digital.
You can view more information, including the Call for Proposals and Registration at the BTAA GIS Conference Website.
IU Libraries will also be hosting a networking event for the local Bloomington GIS Community on Wednesday, November 16th, 2022 from 4pm-6pm at Friendly Beasts Cider Company. Geospatial employers, students, researchers, practitioners, and others are invited to join us for a social networking event with map trivia and optional lightning talks. Stay tuned for more information and a registration link for that event!
Questions?
Get in touch with us!
Contact head organizer Theresa Quill (theward@indiana.edu) with questions or concerns, and we'll get you directed to the right place.
Program at a Glance
OCT 31: BTAA GIS Conference Map Gallery Deadline
Submission Form
NOV 16 / 4-6 PM: GIS Networking at Friendly Beasts Cider Co.
Register / Info
NOV 15: BTAA GIS Day Conference
Event Info
Resources
What is GIS?
“A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface. GIS can show many different kinds of data on one map. This enables people to more easily see, analyze, and understand patterns and relationships.” -National Geographic Society
What is GIS Day?
GIS Day is an international initiative intended to "help people learn about geography and the real-world applications of GIS that are making an impact on our society." There are events all over the world--not just at IU! If you're interested in learning more, you can visit gisday.com.
Who's involved with using GIS at IU?
There are several departments, individuals, and organizations on campus who offer GIS resources and information. We've compiled a brief overview below, but if you have any questions, please reach out to us at gisday@indiana.edu.
I came to GIS Day in a previous year, and there was an in-person info fair. How will this be replicated in 2020?
Unfortunately, we won't be hosting an info fair this year--or any in-person events, for that matter. Instead, we've collected some helpful links, contacts, and resources for you below that we hope will assist with your exploration of GIS and other types of spatial analysis.
I'm interested in learning more about GIS as part of my degree. Are there IU classes I can take?
Yes! In fact, IU offers several programs dedicated to GIS. You can learn more through the Department of Geography's website.
Choosing a Digital Method: Mapping
Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities (Mia Partlow)
What Can Mapping and Spatial Analysis Do for You?
Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities (Kalani Craig and Daniel Story)
Core Concepts of GIS and Cartography
GIMMS (Theresa Quill)
CartoShop: Inviting Interdisciplinary Research through GIS Mapping Workshops
IU Libraries / GIMMS (Erika Jenns and Theresa Quill)
GIS Software and Data Sources for Research
UITS (Justin Peters)
Introduction to GIS and Spatial Data Analysis
Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change (Tom Evans)
Visit the Indiana Spatial Data Portal to learn more.
Website: idah.indiana.edu/news-events/_gisday/index.html
Dismantling Borders’ Toxic Discourses and Colonial Cultural Records
(GIS Day 2019 Keynote)
Approaches to public data and archives: Mapping as a form of activism
(GIS Day 2019 Workshop)
Network
Connect with the Bloomington GIS Community! Expand the sections to learn more about groups engaging with GIS on our campus and in our community.
The GIS group is part of our local government's Information and Technology Services Departments. We manage spatial data and provides mapping and spatial analysis services to support operations of City Departments, Boards and Commissions, and the general public.
Website: bloomington.in.gov/gis
Contact: Laura Haley (haleyl@bloomington.in.gov)
UITS GIS administers IU’s subscription to the ArcGIS mapping and analytics platform developed by Esri, which provides a comprehensive set of professional tools for compiling, visualizing, analyzing, editing, managing, and sharing geographic data. Our team provides support for accessing and licensing the software, and we can connect users to Esri support for technical questions. We also administer the Indiana Spatial Data Portal, which provides orthoimagery for the state of Indiana, as well as selected lidar and elevation datasets.
For more information on ArcGIS resources at IU, visit https://kb.iu.edu/d/appk.
To access ArcGIS Online, visit https://iu.maps.arcgis.com/.
Contact: UITS GIS (uitsgis@iu.edu)
GIS Services for the IUB Libraries are based out of the Herman B Wells Library, Government Information, Maps, & Microforms Services (GIMMS). The GIS Librarian offers one-on-one assistance with finding and managing data, GIS applications, and classroom instruction. The library also offers GIS Workshops in the Scholars' Commons on a variety of topics. GIMMS is also home to the Herman B Wells Library map collection, which holds over half a million sheet maps. Collection strengths are the state of Indiana, Russia & Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the African Continent, though the collection contains maps of nearly every country in the world.
Website: libraries.indiana.edu/maps-and-gis
Contact: Theresa Quill (gimms@indiana.edu)
A technology leader and one of the largest providers of e-government geospatial solutions in the US, Schneider Geospatial provides innovative, industry-leading solutions combining GIS and related technologies to help organizations get the most from their limited resources. Schneider Geospatial offers a full range of GIS, technology, and e-government services and products. Whether we are designing a new system for a client, converting paper or digital records into GIS, implementing new technology, providing staff training, or serving as/complimenting an organization’s GIS staff, Schneider Geospatial’s service level raises the bar for what our clients expect. Product examples include creative and award-winning product solutions such as Beacon™ (local government information for the web), GeoPermits™ (cloud-based permitting and workflow management), and Agland™ (automates the calculating process for agricultural assessments) to name a few.
Website: schneiderGIS.com
Contact: Maggie Carter (mcarter@schneiderGIS.com)
We cover the five main disciplines of public health, including epidemiology, environmental health and social and behavioral health. As we know from the current pandemic, mapping is critical to understand the spread of disease and the location of places and situations that promote or detract from health for the population.
Website: publichealth.indiana.edu
Contact: Bernadette de Leon (deleon@iu.edu)
Additional Resources: deleon.pages.iu.edu/spatial_resources_page.pdf