The Libraries offer a variety of support services for researchers who want to view and analyze data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS is software that links location to information (such as people to addresses, buildings to parcels, or streets within a network) and layers that information digitally to give a better understanding of how it all interrelates, ultimately leading to more informed decisions for businesses and communities.

“At UCI, departments as diverse as Arts Computation, Business, Social Ecology, and Information and Computer Science have researchers who regularly use GIS techniques,” said Carol Ann Hughes, Associate University Librarian for Public Services. “The Libraries provide a hub for these faculty from across the campus to discuss the common issues and challenges of using geo-spacial data in theoretical and applied research.”

In 2004, the Libraries began a GIS Brown Bag Series so that researchers using this powerful tool can meet and discuss their projects. The most recent brown bag featured Dr. James Pick, a visiting researcher in the Center for Research on Immigration, Population, and Public Policy at the School of Social Sciences, on the use of GIS to study cities. His talk illustrated uses of GIS analysis to gain new insights into neighborhood migration, urban sprawl, “edge cities,” and population behaviors.

GIS software and compatible datasets are available to the public on computers in the Langson Library Technology Enhanced Classroom. GIS brown bags are free and open to the public. For more information please contact Heather Tunender, Electronic Reference Services Librarian at tunender@uci.edu or 949.824.9266.