Panel: Geospatial Discovery and Data

Chair: Eka Grguric (Digital Scholarship Librarian, Library, UBC-V)

Speakers:

Mark Goodwin (Geospatial Metadata Coordinator, UBC-V)
Paul Dante (Software Engineer, UBC-V)
Eugene Barsky (Head of Research Commons, UBC-V Library)

Abstract: With increasing demand for geographic components in research, there is an opportunity for research data repositories to provide alternatives to text-based discovery. Enter Geodisy: an open-source spatial discovery platform for Canadian open research data. Initially funded by CANARIE and now in partnership with Portage, Geodisy provides a map-based search that is available alongside Canada’s Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR). Data is discoverable based on its location, and users have the ability to preview datasets as overlays on a digital map and access comprehensive metadata. Data is currently sourced from Scholars Portal Dataverse, which houses open research data from over forty Canadian institutions. The project’s next goal is to continue to integrate with FRDR and expand the interoperability of the tool to include additional data sources, including governmental open research data. For humanities research that relates to geospatial location, this work provides a new and useful form of data discovery. In this presentation, we will share software architecture, metadata processes, and a demonstration of the platform.

2. Geospatial Data from the Map Cabinet: Digitizing British Columbia’s Mid-Century Forest Cover

Speakers:

Claire Williams (Forestry Archivist, Rare Books and Special Collections, UBC-V)
Evan Thornberry (GIS Librarian, Humanities & Social Sciences Division, UBC-V)
Abstract: In this talk, we will share a special collaborative project undertaken between units within UBC Library and Faculty of Forestry which resulted in the scanning and digitizing of 149 maps detailing British Columbia’s forest landscape during the 1950s. As a result, this digital archive now enables users to better conceptualize the historic ecosystems of our province. The talk will discuss the transformation of this set of maps from physical to digital, providing users with scanned images, geodata, and spatial access to this unique archive. We will discuss the process, challenges, and opportunities involved with scanning the maps, creating item-level metadata, providing public access to the map images, and using Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) to transform the map images into geodata that can be spatially analysed.