Geospatial: Publications & Blogs

ArcGIS by ESRI is the predominate software in GIS. It can be expensive and has a learning curve for users, but is robust. It can be used in desktop, server or web environment.

Focused on the ArcGIS user, this publication contains many tips and tricks for the software as well as good stories about how it is being used in several areas of the world and across disciplines.

Per ESRI, "ArcWatch is published monthly by ESRI and contains GIS news, practical advice, and updates about the company's software and events."

This site has articles on a wide range of geospatial topics and is available in English or French.

This geospatial magazine has been in publication since 1999 and offers information about jobs, data, discussion forums and more.

An excellent site for GIS data for almost every country in the world. Very easy to use, comprehensive and a great starting point for files on administrative boundaries, water, roads, railroads, elevation, land cover, population, climate and a gazetteer.

A place created by ESRI for educators of all levels, as well as museums and libraries, to share ideas, experiences, curriculum, software & data.

This should be one of your first resources when stuck on an ArcGIS task or looking for a specialized tool for geoprocessing.

Comprehensive guide to GIS literature and resources on the Internet. Includes books, journals, conference proceedings, magazines, reports, and other materials. After searching the bibliography, you can check and save your references.

The metadata and standards agency for the United States for spatial data. Don't forget about the metadata - it is critical!! The FGDC also publishes a newsletter which can be found on the Library section of their website.

This publication is largely private business oriented and has articles on GIS, surveying and mapping.

This is the June 8, 2009 Congressional Report on GIS and geospatial information. It is a landmark document for the Congress in terms of being formally introduced to GIS. The report number is R40625.

From the UCGIS, this body of knowledge seems to lay out the elements involved in the geographic technology realm to prepare educators and students for careers.

This site has links to jobs, news, software info and much more relating to the GIS field.

This dictionary is provided by ESRI to assist with the many terms required to successfully use GIS!

This site has information about GIS, GPS, cartography, and geography, including a forum, events page, job links, and a newsletter.

Free GIS Data & Imagery GeoBlog

From the Google Earth Outreach team, this site has tutorials to how to build better balloons, use their Spreadsheet Mapper tool, how to create regions, and other KML/KMZ related tasks.

Blog devoted to Google Maps mashups. Related to GIS and shows the creativity of the Internet community!

geo.data.gov is a geographic information system (GIS) portal, also known as the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), that serves as a public gateway for improving access to geospatial information and data under the Geospatial One-Stop E-Government initiative. Geospatial One-Stop is one of 24 E-Government initiatives sponsored by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to enhance government efficiency and to improve citizen services.

With a focus on environmental sciences and geography, this international journal holds good information. It does require a subscription, so check with your institution to see if you have one (UCSD does).

Created by the Maps and Geography Round Table of the American Library Association, this core competency document will help librarians, supervisors and those getting an education in GIS, Maps or Map Cataloging to understand basic requirements and skill sets for these disciplines.

A long time player in the GIS software market. Made by Pitney Bowes, and it is reasonable to say that MapInfo has held the position of the second most used GIS for a number of years.

"The National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis is an independent research consortium dedicated to basic research and education in geographic information science and its related technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS)."

This organization helps support teachers and educators about how to incorporate a geographic component into their work.

Excellent free resource for downloadable historical Census data and GIS data. Requires registration to use but is very simple and of good quality.

Online mapping and GIS data download for United States raster and vector data layers or subsets thereof. Can sometimes require patience but is a good resource for basic US data and global imagery. Data comes from the National Map Seamless Server and other USGS sources.

Also has historical imagery available at http://edc.usgs.gov/products/aerial/historical.html which are better found using the Earth Explorer interface at http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/.

The OGC is a "non-profit, international, voluntary consensus standards organization that is leading the development of standards for geospatial and location based services." They have listed standards, a newsletter, events and more.

This organization is specifically positioned to "support and build the highest-quality open source geospatial software."

This is an open source GIS software that is gaining a lot of attention and momentum. It's "an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation" and runs on Windows, Macs, Linux, and Unix.

Online mapping tool for US census data from 1940 to current day. Very easy to use.

This report comes from the University of Virginia Libraries and delves into the issue of spatial methods in the humanities.

Run by renowned Michael Goodchild and self-described as: "Spatial@ucsb is an innovative university-wide resource and research center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Its mission is to facilitate the integration of spatial thinking into processes for learning and discovery in the natural, social, and behavioral sciences, to promote excellence in engineering and applied sciences, and to enhance creativity in the arts and humanities. "

Typically the first place to go to for US Census information for 1990 and 2000. Can download Census data in a variety of ways. Not suitable for Census data other than 1990 or 2000 (NHGIS is a resource geared towards historical census data and is far better for this use.)

The US organization that manages The National Map, FGDC, geodata.gov, National Atlas.gov, US Board on Geographic Names, CEGIS, and emergency operations GIS.

Self-described as: "A Very Spatial Podcast is your weekly source for information on Geography and geospatial technologies. Geography touches most things we do everyday, but we rarely even think of it. This podcast seeks to point out how it is filtering into our digital lives and daily lives."

A good general starting point for learning about GIS. Do note that this is from ESRI, the leading creator of GIS software.