Library to create a Web-based state atlas

The UA's main Library recently received a grant that will allow it to begin work on an interactive Web-based atlas of Arizona.

The $123,672 grant was awarded to the University of Arizona by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. This project - the Arizona Electronic Atlas - will serve as a model for other institutions to launch similar programs.

"There is nothing quite like it that exists right now. There are similar (resources) at the national and state levels, but not at the local level," said Eileen Maxwell, a spokeswoman for the IMLS.

When it is completed in two years, the atlas will contain both satellite images and traditional maps, combined with large amounts of data that correlate with the maps.

This data will include statistics on health, crime, income, population and other information, said Atifa Rawan, a social sciences librarian specializing in government documents.

Harvard University and the University of Delaware have similar databases, but UA's database will contain a greater variety of information and will be easier to use, said Chris Kollen, an associate social sciences librarian.

The atlas will allow all users to remotely access not only geographic information, but cultural, environmental, archeological and sociological data as well, Maxwell said.

"Departments as disparate as women's studies, the humanities program and the College of Agriculture have expressed a desire for easier access to geographic maps and data," Carla Stoffle, dean of libraries and the Center for Creative Photography, said in a press release. "This important project will creatively address this need."

The atlas will enable students to access different types of data and geographic information in a single source, which is anticipated to be a significant time-saving advantage.

Additionally, students and other users in the community will be able to manipulate the interactive data. The information contained in the electronic atlas will be more current, more available and more easily accessible than most existing sources, Rawan said.

The data used to compile the atlas will be taken from federal, state and local government agencies.