University of Washington Libraries Joins the BTAA-GIN!
The University of Washington (UW) Libraries is one of the new members of the BTAA-GIN this year. UW Libraries representatives to the GIN are Matthew Parsons, Geospatial Data & Maps Librarian, and Allison Anderson, GIS Infrastructure Support Specialist. We are excited to begin working with our fellow BTAA colleagues and contributing to the mission and vision of the GIN.
UW Libraries Map Collection
Suzzallo Library, photo credit Pamela Dore, 2021
The UW Libraries map collection is administratively part of the Government Publications, Maps, Microforms & Newspapers (GMMN) Unit located in the iconic Suzzallo Library. The map collection comprises over 280,000 items in total (maps, digital data, aerial photography, monographs, etc.). A strength of the collection is the nearly 100,000 aerial photographs of Washington State, dating between 1942-2003.
The map collection also serves as a provider of GIS services to campus. Map collection GIS staff include myself (Matt), Allison, a .50FTE GIS Graduate Staff Assistant, and a Student Lab Assistant. Together we assist with data discovery and use, provide classroom instruction sessions, offer workshops, do minor software troubleshooting, and host events. To learn more about our services and collections, you can visit our Geospatial Data Resources Guide and our Map Collection web page.
A major event the map collection hosts is the Annual UW GIS Symposium. Entering its tenth year, Symposium highlights and celebrates the transformational role of Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing, and data visualization technologies at the UW by featuring keynote speakers and short talks from the UW GIS faculty, students, and staff. Each symposium is subsequently published as an Annual Proceedings and hosted on the Libraries’ Manifold platform.
We are looking forward to increasing the exposure of the UW Libraries map collection holdings through participation in the GIN and to continuing to contribute resources to Geoportal (so far we’ve added over 3,500 Washington-related web services with Karen Majewicz’s help!).
Geospatial Data and Maps Librarian
Subject Liaison for ESS, Atmos. Sci., Disability Studies
University of Washington Libraries