Displays and lectures at the Knight Library today will honor Geographic Information Systems Day.
GIS Day is observed around the world as part of Geography Awareness Week, which is principally sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
The goal of the event is for GIS users and vendors to show applications of this technology to schools, businesses and the general public, according to www.gisday.com.
GIS technology allows for the rapid update of maps and is the reason why most modern maps are computerized rather than hand-drawn, said Jon Jablonski, the University’s MAP/GIS Librarian.
GIS technology has been in existence for about 25 years, Jablonski said, but came into public awareness recently with programs such as Google Earth and MapQuest.
“Ten years ago it would have been an army of GTFs and five or six journal articles. Now it’s all free,” Jablonski said.
On campus, departments such as landscape architecture, geology and geography use GIS technology, Jablonski said. He added that introductory-level geography classes explaining the use of GIS are very popular.
The library’s sole computer workstation with GIS data is used at least 30 hours per week, and Jablonski said librarians are looking for ways to add GIS data to other computers.
“The demand just keeps increasing,” Jablonski said.
Ron Renchler, communications director for University libraries, wrote in an e-mail that the following events will take place in the Knight Library Browsing Room today:
Students, researchers and local government agencies will present posters describing GIS applications from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The posters and maps will remain on display until 9 p.m.
At 3:30 p.m., University of British Columbia geography professor Daniel Hiebert will speak on the use of GIS in human migration studies.
At 6:30 p.m., there will be a panel discussion about using GIS to plan for natural disasters.
Jablonski said the panel will include representatives to speak on the following topics: the Eugene Water and Electric Board’s mobile GIS system, which facilitates response to chemical spills and other emergencies; the use of GIS maps to plan for wildfires and how they may affect people living near the urban-wildland interface; and a plan to find out about tsunamis in advance using GIS and deliver automated phone warnings to people living in affected areas.

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