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Library Open Data Initiative

"Open data" is data published by a government entity for use by the public - it can include everything from budget and finance data to detailed scientific datasets of natural environments.  As trusted community providers of information and technology access, public libraries have a unique role to play in helping their communities publish, find, and use open data.  The Galecia Group is seeking libraries for our Library Open Data Initiative (LODI), a project that will foster increased awareness of the importance and availability of data to librarians, local governmen

"The Opportunity Project" - Free Toolkit and Examples For Community Digital Projects!

Submitted by Jim Craner on Thu, 02/28/2019 - 2:24pm

Are you going to build a community digital project, like a new online app or map for your city or region?  Make sure to check out the project toolkit from the US Census Bureau's "The Opportunity Project" for some great tips and resources!  The toolkit includes helpful explanations of the chief steps of planning, building, and supporting a digital product or service - and since it's provided by the Census Bureau, there are tons of links to data sources from federal, state, and local sources.

"Libraries Count!" - Why the 2020 Census Matters to Public Libraries

Submitted by Jim Craner on Tue, 02/26/2019 - 12:43pm

Something big is coming in 2020 - and we're not talking about the presidential election or the Olympics... it's the decennial US census!  And libraries have a critical role to play to ensure that their communities are represented in the census data, and the resulting program dollars that will flow.  Thankfully, the US Census Bureau and other organizations are working together to help everyone be counted fairly.

Data.gov, IMLS, and Other Library Services Fall Victim to Federal Shutdown

Submitted by Jim Craner on Mon, 01/21/2019 - 9:50pm

If you haven't visited the Data.gov website before, you'll need to wait until the federal government re-opens to check out the thousands of free public government dataset that used to be available to explore and download.  And if your library or community uses that data for an application or project - you already know that you're out of luck!  (In the meantime, you can still read our 2017 Public Library Quarterly article about open data in the library.)

Who's Out There? The Power of Spatial Data

Submitted by Lori Ayre on Mon, 07/23/2018 - 2:41pm

Library communities today are not just melting pots, they are roiling stews of people moving in and moving out.  Sometimes it seems like our communities are changing almost as fast as technology! So how do we get a handle on serving that dynamic community? How can we identify the services they need if we don’t really know who they are?

The good news is that there is data and expertise out there to help a library understand more about the people living in the shifting neighborhoods that make up their service area. Using data in the library system combined with census data, and other spatial data, a library can learn who is and who is not using the library. They can identify areas of growth and plan for a new library and they can learn who lives in that growing area to ensure the collection and services reflect their needs. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Ayre%22%20author_fname%3A%22Lori%22&start=0&context=7293930&facet=