Readings
Zeroing In
Andy Mitchell
Excellent book presenting examples of GIS mapping used in business, schools, urban development, city needs, & more by students and adults. The book is excellently designed providing a vivid picture of the possibilities with GIS mapping. Highly recommended.
GIS Mapping Described
Benton Foundation
Geographic Information Systems is a data assembly tool for public officials, planners, and activists. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are a type of computer software that allows data to be located and represented on a map. Also of interest is their page of links on Community Networking including Davis Community Network and Philadelphia's Neighborhoods Online.
Bay Area Automated Mapping Associatin BAAMA
The Bay Area Automated Mapping Association (BAAMA), is the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association URISA also includes the SonAMA section in Sonoma County. BAAMA is a non-profit, professional organization which provides bi-monthly forums for topics relating to automated mapping, geographic information systems (GIS) and related topics.
ESRI
What Is GIS? How GIS Is Used GIS for What You Do
Census Bureau
This is the index of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) along with answers to these questions. The FAQ is a resource of the comp.infosystems.gis newsgroup which is connected to the GIS-L mailing list.
About the USGS Geospatial Data Clearinghouse
The USGS node of the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse is a component of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The Clearinghouse provides a pathway to find information about geospatial or spatially referenced data available from USGS. The information is in the form of metadata. Metadata or "data about data" describe the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of data. Metadata are used to organize and maintain investments in data, to provide information to data catalogs and clearinghouses, and to aid data transfers. This site is maintained by the USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC).
What Is A Geographic Information System (GIS)?
An information system that is designed to work with data referenced by spatial or geographic coordinates. In other words, a GIS is both a database system with specific capabilities for spatially-referenced data, as well as a set of operations for working [analysis] with the data. (Star and Estes, 1990)
A system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analyzing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth. (Chorley, 1987)
Automated systems for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of spatial data. (Clarke, 1990)
A system of hardware, software, and procedures designed to support the
capture, management, manipulation, analysis, modeling and display of spatially-referenced data for solving complex planning and management problems. (NCGIA lecture by David Cowen, 1989)
An integrated package for the input, storage, analysis, and output of spatial information... analysis being the most significant. (Gaile and Willmott, 1989)
GIS are simultaneously the telescope, the microscope, the computer, and the xerox machine of regional analysis and synthesis of spatial data. (Abler, 1988)
art by ashley james