Presentation on Open Geographic Intelligence and Library Data.

Me

Half-time Geospatial software developer CartoConsult - do things with maps and map data.

Half-time Library Systems Officer LibrariesWest - do things with maps and map data.

We are publishing our Open Data at https:///www.librarieswest.org.uk/opendata

Also see our open data book.

Everything happens somewhere.

Geography data is becoming increasingly important, because there is so much we can use about locations. Examples include:

• deprivation statistics and need of areas which include: income, education, work, services;
• population density and rural/urban split;
• number of young/old people;
• government, local government boundaries (and all sorts of other boundaries);
• the history of a place;
• natural environment such as flood plains, climate, and biodiversity.

Not only is geographic intelligence powerful and essential to data analysis, but it is fun!

What is the difference between location and place? We tend to use 'Location' when talking about exact defined points or areas. For example, a local government boundary, or the location of a library. 'Place' is usually more indefinable. It may be 'the North', or 'Abroad', or 'Home'.