IFLA Section of Geography and Map Libraries
If you have any suggestions, comments or items that you would like to see added to this collection, please direct your messages to: libmap1@uconnvm.uconn.edu

Title	Digital Map Librarianship: Building Digital Collections: Image GeoData
Image Geodata	Image data can represent any number of types of information. Fundamentally, images are raster datasets, usually considered a picture or graphic. These data can range from scanned historical maps or aerial photographs to computer-sensed satellite imagery. Even thermal and topographical data can be represented as imagery. Image data becomes image geodata when it is associated with spatial information. Projection and coordiante unit and point must be supplied to the raster file, either as metadata or as a GeoTIFF. The experimental site at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning is a good example of supplying the raster/image data with auxillary files the enable spatial analysis. These digital orthophotographs of Boston can be downloaded with header files which render the image files as geodata raster files for MapInfo and ArcView. However, libraries with their extensive holdings, are the best providers of image data. Projects which scan existing library holdings are important contributions that libraries can make to the information community. These are simply a selection of noteworthy projects already underway: The Ryhiner Project at the Ryhiner Kartensammlung of the Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Bern is an important contribution to the way libraries can be Internet information providers. An excellent example is the Antique Maps of Iceland. This initiative of the National and University Library of Iceland and the Nordic Digital Library Center makes available a comprehensive cartographic collection of pre-1900 Iceland to the Internet user. The Library of Congress Geography and Map Division's on-line Map Collections is Americana and Cartographic Treasures of the Library of Congress. These images were created from maps and atlases and, in general, are restricted to items that are not covered by copyright protection.
Examples	Satellite Data Topographic Data Thermal Data Historical Data
Suggested Citation	McGlamery, Patrick, "Digital Map Librarianship: Library functions; Building Collections, Image data." Digital Map Librarianship: a working syllabus, 63rd IFLA Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark. (4, Sept. 1997; updated 9, Aug. 1999) <http://magic.lib.uconn.edu/ifla/lb_bc_im.htm>

Patrick McGlamery Map Librarian Map and Geographic Information Center University of Connecticut Libraries Storrs, CT 06268 libmap1@uconnvm.uconn.edu