Spatial Information Systems Information Resources

This guide lists selected print and electronic information sources available to SFU faculty, students, and  staff.  Check the library catalogue to find additional materials at the SFU Library.

If you need help, please contact Heather DeForest, Liaison Librarian at 778.782.7322 or hdefores@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian.

How to Find:

Help with course assignments

Check the main Geography resource page for links to library research guides prepared for specific courses.

Books and maps

Books

Use the following SUBJECT searches to find books about cartography, geographic information systems, and other spatial information systems topics:

• Cartography
• Map drawing
• Topographical drawing
• Remote sensing
• Spatial systems

Alternatively, you may search by WORD. For example, try the WORD search "cartography and landscape". One of the books you will find is Geographical information systems and landscape archaeology (CC 75 G46 2000 Bennett Library).

Maps

The SFU Library collection also includes atlases, sheet maps, digital maps, air photos and gazeteers. All except for older air photos are listed in the library catalogue. Detailed instructions for finding maps at SFU Library are in the Finding Maps and Atlases at SFU Library guide. See the Map Collection guide for more complete information about map resources at SFU Library.

Journal articles

Use these indexes to locate journal articles on your topic. Print indexes are shelved by call number in the Bennett Reference Indexes section on the Third Floor. Note:  other indexes may be useful for your topic - Ask a librarian for help in choosing the best index for your topic.

Definitions

• Dictionary of Abbreviations and Acronyms in Geographic Information Systems, Cartography and  Remote Sensing

See also these sources which cover all topics in Geography

• Dictionary of Geography (Oxford) (Bennett Reference G 63 M39 1997)
• Houghton Mifflin Dictionary of Geography  (Bennett Reference G 63 H68 1997)
• Merriam Webster Geographical Dictionary (Bennett Reference G 103.5 W42 1997)

Background information & Quick Facts

• GIS Frequently Asked Questions Index (FAQ fom the comp.infosystems.gis newsgroup.  It answers technological questions, provides software ratings, and contains an archive.)
• GPS Primer (Explanation of Global Positioning Systems from the Aerospace Corporation)
• Topographic Map Symbols (USGS pamphlet explaining topographic maps and shows how to read them)

Guides to information sources

• The AGI Source Book for Geographic Information Systems (British) (Bennett Reference G 70.2 A84 1996)
• Canadian Geomatics Source Book (Bennett Reference G 70.2 C361 1998)
• Information Sources in Cartography (Map Reference GA 105.3 I53 1990)

Recent publications in Spatial Information Systems

• Current Geographical Publications (Bennett Reference Indexes G 1 G458) monthly since 1938 (Also available online as Online Geographical Bibliography)

Journal lists - electronic and print

• Spatial Information Systems Serials - a sub-set of the print Geography Serials list below.
• E-Journals for Geography
• Geography Serials - list of print journals of special interest to Geography to which SFU Library subscribes.
• Geosource - Section 2: Cartography, GIS, Remote sensing and geodesy & surveying

To find out if SFU has a particular journal in electronic format (either directly or via one of our full text databases), use the SFU Library Electronic Journal database. To find other journals subscribed to by SFU Library, search for the title the journal you want in the library catalogue.  Print journals are shelved alphabetically on the 6th floor of the library.  If SFU has access to a web edition you can use the "World Wide Web access" link in the library catalogue record to connect.

Online courses

• UNIGIS: Postgraduate Certificate in Theoretical and Applied Geographic Information Systems

Associations and organizations

• American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing
• Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives
• British Cartographic Society
• Canadian Cartographic Association
• Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (IEEE)
• International Cartographic Association
• International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
• Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society
• Society of Cartographers

See also Resources of Scholarly Societies - Geography which has links to 45 scholarly societies dealing with Geography.

Data

• GeoConnections: Canada’s geographic information on the Internet (click on On-line Free Data for a list of searchable data sets)
• GeoGratis (geospatial data of Canada and links to other data (click on Free Links-Data))
• NASA (remote sensing data from the Goddard Space Flight Center)
• TRIM Data Exchange (BC)
• USGS Geographic Data Download

Government information

British Columbia and Canada

• Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch (BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management) Includes links to LandData BC  the BC Provincial Baseline Atlas, and BC Geographical Names.
• B.C. Geological Survey (includes The Map Place where you can create and download custom maps)
• GeoConnections: Canada’s geographic information on the Internet. (Find and download geospatial data, access a variety of resources including Geonames, the National Atlas of Canada, National Forest Information Systems data, and Map News From Canada Map Office )
• Geomatics Canada (Includes sections on geographic information systems (GIS); and global positioning system (GPS) )
• Geoweb: North Vancouver District GIS (Includes orthophotos, community planning maps, emergency maps, environmental maps, maps of facilities, transportation maps, topographic maps, and utilities maps.  Currently free)

United States and International

• USGS National Mapping Information (a whole range of map products including the National Atlas of the United States
• United Nations Cartographic Section:  Maps and Geographic Information Resources ( General maps of countries and regions, peacekeeping maps, thematic maps and more)

Web Resources

Meta sites

• GInfoServer:  Information for GIS on the Internet
• Odden's Bookmarks: the Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping (Utrecht University - site is English)
• The Ultimate GIS Directory
• University of Iowa Center for Global & Regional Environmental Research Maps & References Links (primarily image maps)
• University of Iowa Center for Global & Regional Environmental Research GeoData Information Resources
• Perry Castenada Library links to other map sites
• U of Waterloo: Cartographic Resources on the World Wide Web
• WWW Virtual Library:  Remote Sensing
• The World of Maps (Zurich - site is in English and German)

Map Libraries

• Alexandria Digital Library Project
• American Geographical Society Collection (maps, photographs, rare books and atlases, and bibliographies)
• Library of Congress Map Collections: 1500-1999 (part of the American Memory Collection)
• University of British Columbia Geographic Information Centre
• University of British Columbia Map Library
• U of Texas at Austin: Perry-Castenada Library Map Collection
• University of Waterloo: Map Libraries on the World Wide Web

Aerial Photography/Satellite Images

Note: both of these sites are commerical in nature but provide good images which can be viewed free of charge.

• GlobeXplorer (this one zooms down to a block in a neighbourhood)

Atlases

• National Atlas of Canada
• National Atlas of USA
• BC Provincial Baseline Atlas
• Atlas de Quebec
• Atlas of Saskatchewan
• Atlas of Switzerland

Maps

• Blank and Outline Maps (world, continents, countries, Canadian provinces, US States)
• David Rumsey Collection (18th and 19th century North and South American cartographic materials)
• National Geographic Map Machine (US and international political, physical, climate and thematic maps.
• Make Quick Maps (US, Europe, the World - from ArcData Online. Can be saved as gif files.)
• Mapblast
• Mapquest (Maps from around the world, driving directions for US, Canada and Europe)
• Maps Index (Landkarten & Stadtplan Index) (Maps, city plans, route planer, earthquake Maps, satellite pictures, historical maps and many other maps from around the world. German site.)
• TerraServer (Microsoft site. Topographic maps and orthophotos for the United States from the USGS at the most popular scales  (1:24,000, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000). The satellite maps require a plug-in to view. Maps and images may be downloaded free.)
• TopoZone (Maps a la carte, Inc, a USGS Digital Cartographic Business Partner. Interactive topographic map of the United States. Includes every USGS 1:100,000,:25,000, and 1:24,000 scale map for the entire United States.)
• Yahoo Maps (More street maps for US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK).

Student guides and style guides

• Making Sense in Geography: a Student's Guide to Research, Writing and Style (Bennett Library G 74 N67 1992)
• Study skills for geography students : a practical guide (Bennett Library G 73 K64 1999) - see author's website for additional material.
• SFU Library's guides to APA, MLA and Chicago/Turabian styles.
• Guide to Citing Maps and Atlases
• Harvard System of Referencing (This style guide is based on British Standards 5605 and is similar to APA style)
• Writing and Submitting Your Thesis: Information Resources

Related Guides

• Geography Information Resources
• Research Data Library GIS Resources