In my role as Data and Geospatial Librarian for Ontario's Scholars Portal project (where I manage a project to create a geospatial data service known as the Geospatial Portal), I can be thought of as a "librarian for librarians." Once the portal is launched, I will provide technical support and training to GIS librarians across the province as they assist their students, staff, and faculty in using the service. In order to be effective in my job, it is important that I understand exactly what these folks do. So, I decided to ask them! I spoke to eight academic GIS librarians in Ontario, to find out more about their role, work environment, priorities, and challenges. Here's what they told me …

What does a GIS librarian do?

The core role of a GIS librarian is to provide library services related to collecting, maintaining, providing access to, and supporting the use of geospatial data (note: see sidebar for definitions of terms frequently used in this article). In addition, many GIS librarians are responsible for map, air photo, and atlas collections. Many are also heavily involved in library instruction related to GIS and geospatial data, and some even teach GIS or geography courses at their institution.

Building unique collections. Managing geospatial data collections can be quite an adventure: data comes in countless different file formats, and the availability of metadata is highly inconsistent. GIS librarians often have complete responsibility for the collections process, from acquisitions to cataloguing, to the maintenance of data servers. Geospatial data are created by a wide range of organizations, from commercial vendors to government and international organizations. Collection development requires outreach and relationship-building with local and provincial data producers, who can be resistant to opening up their data and unclear on the meaning of "academic use." With limited budgets, GIS librarians must attempt to acquire data for free or at very minimal cost, and rely on consortial purchasing when dealing with proprietary and commercial data collections. They have followed the growing "open data" movement with interest, and are strong advocates for publicly available government data.

Supporting data users. One of the interesting things about GIS research support is the great deal of supporting knowledge that is required. David Sharp, GIS librarian at Carleton University, described how "it is not enough during a reference encounter to help a user ‘find' the data only, but often it is necessary to help the user open, project, and manipulate the data." This means GIS librarians need a store of technical knowledge in addition to their knowledge about the availability of information resources.

The GIS reference interview can be a lengthy process – GIS librarians need to assess a user's spatial literacy as well as information needs, to determine whether GIS is the appropriate choice for completing the task. An academic GIS librarian typically spends relatively minimal time on a traditional reference desk, but a lot of time in individual consultations with users. Some GIS librarians perform GIS software training and troubleshooting, whereas others tend to refer users to sources of software and the resources to learn how to use it.

Student learning and the "geo" explosion. "Geo-everything" was identified as a two- to three-year trend in the 2009 Horizon Report (wp.nmc.org/horizon2009). I asked librarians whether they felt this prediction has materialized. Most answered yes – as Andrew Nicholson, the GIS and data librarian at University of Toronto Mississauga noted: "From open data to QR codes, ‘geo' is now ubiquitous." When asked what the implications were, most GIS librarians observed that demand for their services has risen dramatically in departments that didn't traditionally use GIS (e.g., history, English, engineering). The impact of these "non-traditional geographers" (as Dan Jakubek, the GIS and map librarian at Ryerson University, calls them), is an increased need for librarians to understand GIS applications in a wide range of fields, and to be able to support analysis and interpretation rather than just access – since these users typically don't have GIS training. Managing user expectations is now a particular challenge. Marcel Fortin at University of Toronto says that "students now assume that there are tools and data to answer every question – unfortunately, data is everything and in Canada we are still struggling to find the data to answer all these questions."
These developments lend themselves to new roles for GIS librarians as educators. Some GIS librarians have identified opportunities to partner with faculty to create innovative learning experiences that promote spatial literacy. Nicholson noted that "bringing GIS into a course can engage students in new and surprising ways."

The Best and Worst Things about GIS Librarianship

The most-mentioned challenge is probably familiar to many librarians: most GIS librarians wear many hats, and there is always too much to do, and too little time. For example, Rosa Orlandini, who recently joined York University as a GIS and map librarian, noted that her biggest challenge is "trying to be patient, determine what can be accomplished in the short term, and what needs to be worked on in the long term."
The best part of GIS librarianship is working with users – and in particular, the wide array of challenging queries they ask, which keep librarians constantly learning and growing. Ongoing skills development was cited by a several as being both the best and the most challenging thing about being a GIS librarian – but overwhelmingly the rewards outweighed the challenges – particularly since most GIS librarians love to play with new technologies!

How Do I Get a Job Like That?

About half of those I spoke to had minimal GIS training before they ended up in their current role. However, training is a must, so if you're thinking this all sounds fascinating, why not enrol in a GIS course? Prior interest and experience with maps, government documents, and technology are assets. People tend to "evolve" into GIS librarians – my own experience was one of successive professional positions, each involving more GIS than the last. Today I consider myself very lucky to be learning constantly from my knowledgeable colleagues in GIS and map libraries across the province.

Sidebar: Important Terms

Geographic Information System (GIS). A system used to store, manage, analyze, and visualize geospatial data.
Geospatial data. Information that is referenced to a precise location on the Earth's surface. Geospatial data can describe both natural and man-made features (e.g., roads, oceans, schools, elevation)
Open data. The viewpoint that data generated by government should be freely available to the public, to use and share without restriction.
Spatial literacy. Understanding and applying spatial concepts (e.g., measurement, coordinate systems, projections) and representation concepts (e.g., principles of graphical design, map symbols), when reasoning and making decisions based on geographic information (books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11019&page=1).

Leanne Hindmarch is Data and Geospatial Librarian at Scholars Portal, a program of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL). She is currently project manager for OCUL's Geospatial Portal project (geospatial.scholarsportal.info). She'd like to thank all the OCUL GIS librarians who participated in writing this article.