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GIS and Data Services

GIS and Data Service's mission is to provide complimentary service to UMD users on various aspects of geospatial data, data science and data visualization for research, teaching and learning. The center can provide support with ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online Web MappingStoryMapping, Mobile Survey, Python, R, NVivo and SAS. You can fill out the service in-take form for a consultation. 

The GIS/Data Lab is now available for in-person use. We are still continuing to provide 24/7 access to the virtual lab for the users who need remote computing needs. The lab is equipped with GIS, data science and statistical software. 

Visit the GIS Lab on the 6th floor of McKeldin Library, Room 6119.

Please contact GIS and Data Services (gisdata@umd.edu) to learn more about the library GIS/Data services and the lab.

 

data help desk

The Center hosts a walk-in (virtual) Data Help Desk every Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 2 pm via Zoom. No appointment is necessary, but we encourage you to register through the Library calendar system

Research and Projects

McKeldin Library is one of the largest buildings on campus, consisting of seven floors and a basement. The library has more than 2,400 stacks and more than 2 million print collections. McKeldin Library also serves as a regional Federal Depository Library, housing the U.S. Government Information, Maps & GIS Services collection. It is quite daunting for a patron to find a particular book/stack/call number or any other point of interest (study rooms, computer labs, digital support, restrooms, and other building amenities). Partnering with the Campus GIS services unit in Facilities Management, the GIS and Spatial Data Center is supporting the Libraries’ effort to develop a mobile application (i.e., Wayfinding) using ArcGIS Indoors and ArcGIS IPS - a GIS-based solution for indoor mapping and navigation. This is a GIS data-heavy project that involves mobile data collection, QCing CAD and GIS data, Bluetooth beacon installation and IPS (Indoor Positioning System) setup. The project team is composed of library staff and the Campus GIS team with technical support from Esri.

McKeldin Library Stacks/POIs and 3D view of the floors
McKeldin Library Stacks/POIs and 3D view of the floors

The STEM Library at UMD Libraries has collected plant patent metadata from various sources and built a web-based database allowing users to search by patent number, title words, inventor names, and US Patent Classification “PLT” codes. This database is periodically updated (more information on project history) that contains color images for US Plant patents, with links to the US Patent and Trademark Office. GIS and Spatial Data Center is leveraging GIS to develop a web map application to visualize plant patent metadata. The application will showcase maps showing locations of plant patents origins, metadata pop-ups for each plant patent, data filtering etc. Here is the recent most release of the portal: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/05fe8e0e86ad4a0f9a757ad76f8b654b/

Plant Patent Portal (P3) Interface
Plant Patent Portal (P3) Interface

GIS Librarian and GIS student staff are collaborating with researchers from University of Illinois Urbana to explore spatio-temporal relationship between urban temperature and crime rates in the City of Chicago. Key focuses are: comparing model outputs from the Weather Research Forecast model (WRF) with daily crime data in the City of Chicago, identify heat stress locations and devise heat mitigation solutions that can help in reducing violence. The overall goal of the research is to explore, analyze and identify seasonal patterns of crimes as well as locations sensitive to temperature change.

Temporal crime distribution and WRF gridded temperature data
Temporal crime distribution and WRF gridded temperature data

The Map Collection at McKeldin Library is located on the fourth floor. We have over 350,000 maps, most of which were produced by U.S. government agencies and came to us through the Federal Depository Library Collection that includes USGS Topographic maps, Soil maps, CIA, Aeronautical maps, Forest Service maps, Historical maps, National Geographic maps, among others. Coverage includes all of the U.S. states, most of the U.S. territories and possessions, and some areas outside of the United States. GIS student staff and Map Volunteer are working together to showcase georeferenced map cabinets and collections on the fourth floor as an interactive story-map to make print map collection more visible to UMD community and beyond.

Current version of the StoryMap

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/12be77b7a7ab4e068cb909b0ba75c6…

McKeldin Library Map Collection Floor Plan
McKeldin Library Map Collection Floor Plan

The GIS and Spatial Data Center is proud to be a part of the Vaccine Mapping Project. Milan Budhathoki (GIS Librarian) is the lead developer of this project in collaboration with researchers from the University of Notre Dame.There are around 200 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 in development. This dashboard will be continuously updated with public information on COVID-19 vaccines aggregated from various sources and annotated to support meta analyses.

People

Milan Budhathoki

Milan Budhathoki, GISP®

GIS and Data Librarian (Librarian II)

gisdata@umd.edu
(301) 405-9260
4119 McKeldin Library

Milan Budhathoki is a certified geographic information system professional (GISPⓇ). He has more than 12 years of experience working in the GIS field, ranging from local/state government to academic settings. He leads and manages GIS and Data Services to provide GIS and Data services to UMD communities in a variety of research, teaching, and learning needs. His team is specialized in GIS analysis, spatial data management, web GIS and server applications, geospatial big data analytics and remotely sensed data processing, data science, data visualization, and research data management. He is also FAA certified remote pilot to fly sUAS (small unmanned aerial system), aka drone, to capture aerial imagery for research. He holds MS in Geo-Information Science from Salem State University and MS in Environmental Science from Pokhara University.

Google Scholar

Computing Facilities

In-person Use

GIS and Data Lab is located on the 6th floor of McKeldin Library (Room 6119)

The Lab is accessible during regular Library Hours

Virtual Lab

Do you need 24/7 remote access to GIS and Data Lab? Request access to our Virtual Lab.

GIS Service Dashboard

(Open in full browser mode!)

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