Exploring the Collaborative Landscape of GIS and Data Services in a Graduate School of Design

Librarians and other academic staff who provide GIS and data services are sometimes treated as unicorns or invisible, siloed, and isolated experts. This presentation seeks to dispel this impression by providing an exploration of the current collaborative landscape necessary for providing geospatial (GIS) and data services at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD). The intent of this presentation is to illuminate and elevate the collaboration that is necessary to provide the expertise and support required by GSD students and faculty to do scholarship and design work that meets their standards. An outline of the scope of responsibilities of the GIS, Data, and Research Librarian (GDRL) at the GSD will be provided as a framework for identifying the many different types of collaboration that are necessary to accomplish each task. Workshops, class sessions, and 1 to 1 and small group consultations all require a broad range of resources. Relationships with and expertise provided by many different units in the school, in Harvard Library, and with Harvard University will be identified and explored. The GSD's Information Technology group provides the computing infrastructure for the GSD community, the GSD's FabLab makes it possible to transform data into physical objects to be inspected visually and tactilely. Harvard's Center for Geographic Analysis licenses software and data, and software as a service tools. Harvard's Map Library provides digitized data, historical map collections, and scanned map collections. Harvard Library also provides vast collections and general digital scholarship expertise. These are all examples of the collaborative landscape necessary for the or a GIS, Data, and Research Librarian to excel in their work. Perhaps the experiences of one individual at one institution can provide applicable lessons for other experts and their institutions.