BTAA-GIN Collection Stories

By Melinda Kernik.  What’s in this collection? The  Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM) archives data generated from student, staff, and faculty researchers from a wide range of disciplines.  Over fifty of the datasets have a spatial component, with varied topics including:   reconstruction of river discharge since the last glacial maximum in North America digitized highway network showing dates of freeway construction in and around the Twin Cities, Minnesota (1920-1995) distribution models of invasive species in Minnesota Librarian curators review all submissions to DRUM and work with researchers to ensure that the data are complete and well described. Collection highlight One of the most frequently downloaded items in DRUM is data about racially restrictive covenants in Hennepin County .  The files have been downloaded more than 6500 times in the last 11 months!   Racial covenants were legal clauses embedded in property recor...

By Cecilia Smith. What are the items? The BTAA Geoportal collates spatial layers from local and state agencies that cover a range of themes, including infrastructure. Among these layers are bridge datasets at the city, county, and state levels. Browse the  bridges of BTAA Counties What BTAA Library submitted the item? All 13 members of the BTAA Geoportal have submitted datasets of bridges in their states. Interesting tidbits: The types of data on bridges differ among states: Some datasets, like Nebraska Bridges , include the date of bridge construction and reconstruction for all bridges in the state. The oldest listed bridge in the dataset was constructed in 1888. IowaDOT provides individual feature layers for bridges proposed to replace the Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing, IA, including alternatives called the Purple Bridge , Blue Bridge , and Green Bridge . Maryland’s Historic Highway Bridges contains historical bridges throughout the state. Images of the bridges can be viewed b...

Interviewer: Kathleen Weessies. This interview is part of our Data Provider Series , which highlights local governments and institutions that offer open GIS data. In each interview, providers tell us about their missions and data resources. We hope this will be a great way for readers to learn more about local GIS developments and new initiatives.