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GIS 1

Kimberly Curran
LIS 631
Assignment #2
September 22, 2016

GIS Applications in the Chesapeake Central Library

Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, are computer systems that allow researchers to

display sets of data visually, using preexisting boundaries such as county lines or census tracts to

define the changes in data across a given community or geographic area. Each map and its

corresponding data set can then be analyzed and compared to others of the same area. This can

reveal correlations between different types of information, as well as patterns or trends. For

public libraries, which as institutions are dedicated to providing equity of access to information

for all members of their communities, GIS can be used to gather and analyze detailed

information about the demographics of the area a given library serves. As budgetary constraints

often restrict libraries from providing all the services they would prefer, being able to use this

demographic data to focus their efforts on the actual, rather than perceived, needs of their

community could prove invaluable (Hertel & Sprague, 2006).

This analysis will focus on ways GIS research could be utilized by the Chesapeake

Central Library. The Chesapeake Central Library is the main branch of the Chesapeake Public

Library system, which consists of seven locations and a bookmobile service. Using two online

GIS platforms, SimplyMap and Digital Inclusion Survey’s Interactive Map, census data and

consumer information for the population of the Central Library’s service area was gathered and

displayed by census tracts or, when it provided additional clarity, by block groups. The variables

chosen for analysis included local racial, linguistic, and cultural demographics, age, education,

internet use, and employment status. By examining this information, the library will be able to
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better understand the specific needs of their user population and evaluate areas for improvement

in the services and programming (Bishop & Mandel, 2010).

Findings

According to the report generated by Digital Inclusion Survey, the Chesapeake Central

Library services a population of 42,475 people within a three mile radius of its location (2016).

Of this number, approximately 77% reported as White, 15% as Black, 4% as Asian, and 3.3% as

Hispanic/Latino, with other races accounting for less than 1% of the total population (2016). 7%

of this population, an estimated 2974 people, are recorded as foreign immigrants, with the largest

percentages having emigrated from Germany, Jamaica, and Mexico (2016). 1% of the target

population report limited proficiency with English, while 7.3% reported speaking other

languages at home, with Spanish being the most common (2016).

At 15% of the target population, Black people make up the largest minority in the

library’s service area by a large margin. Reviewing the map generated by SimplyMap reveals
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that this group is particularly present in the immediate vicinity of the library, and could

potentially make up significantly more than 15% of the library’s active user base.

Hispanic people make up one of the next largest minority groups, at 3.3% of the

population of the library’s projected service area. Through examining the map showing the

distribution of Spanish speakers in the areas around the Central Library, it can be seen that the

immediate vicinity of the library falls firmly within the expected range. While other blocks

nearby report greater or fewer numbers of Spanish speakers on average, it is unlikely that the

library’s active user base deviates far from the projected 3.3%.

The largest age group in the Central Library’s service area is the 20-29 year range. Of the

42,475 people in the service area, 13,532 are between the ages of 20 and 29, meaning this

demographic makes up approximately 32% of the total target population (Digital Inclusion

Survey, 2016). The next largest age group, 65+, accounts for an estimated 26% (2016).
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Only 5% of the target population has less than high school as their highest level of

completed education (Digital Inclusion Survey, 2016). Given this information, and the fact that

such a large percentage is of traditional college age, it is reasonable to assume that college

students would make up a significant portion of the library’s potential users. Examining the data

on the map, one can see that undergraduate students do account for up to 5.93% of the

population in the areas directly adjacent to the library, and even more than that in the

surrounding areas.

Students rely heavily on the internet for both communication and research. Using

SimplyMap to examine the percentage of households that rely on school or the library for

internet access, it is evident that there is significant need for this service in the library’s service

area.
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Another demographic that could impact the way the Central Library approaches its

services and programming is employment. The unemployment rate in this library’s service area

is 6.3% (Digital Inclusion Survey, 2016). This is slightly higher than the national average of

4.9% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Of the remaining population, many are families with a

member employed by the U.S. military.


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While this map is less exact than some created with SimplyMap, it still indicates that men

in the majority of the service area have a greater than 3.4% probability of being employed by the

Armed Forces. This data corresponds with the library’s location near two active military bases.

Recommendations

Diversity is one of the core values of public librarianship. It is all too easy to fall into the

trap of only meeting the needs of the community’s majority members, while believing that

because no other need is immediately visible that it must not exist. One benefit of utilizing GIS

to analyze demographic data is that it allows the researcher to identify minority groups and

potentially underserved portions of their community. This analysis has revealed a number of

racial, cultural, and linguistic minorities within the Chesapeake Central Library’s service area.

As “librarians have an obligation to select and support access to content on all subjects

that meet, as closely as possible, the needs, interests, and abilities of all persons in the

community the library serves,” the library should take steps to ensure their services do indeed
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reflect their community’s diverse information needs (ALA, 2014). This could include investing

in multilingual resources or programming, communicating with community leaders to better

understand their specific needs, and targeting underserved areas of their community for outreach

services, such as bookmobile visits.

Other services the library could focus on are homework help, research assistance, and

facilitation of study groups, to better serve their large student population. As the largest age

group this library serves is 20-29 year olds, they might also be able to better connect with new

users by improving their use of social media, which is currently something the entire Chesapeake

library system largely neglects. The research indicates that there is a clear demand for computer

and internet access at the Central Library, so continuing to expand and improve those services

would benefit their users. The second largest age group this library serves is people aged 65 and

older, and as older library users often require assistance with technology, offering more

computer classes or one-on-one technology sessions geared toward that demographic would also

be beneficial.

As previously mentioned, the unemployment rate in this library’s service area is

somewhat higher than the national average. The library could better serve this group through job

search assistance, resume workshops, and other classes or programming that would help build

professional skills.

Military families also constitute a significant demographic that would have unique needs.

These families are often used to moving regularly and may have difficulty connecting with their

new community. Marketing library card sign-up programs and other library events to these

families in particular would be a way to engage with them and draw them into the library.
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While using GIS to visually display demographic data on maps is an extremely useful

tool for developing library services and programming, it is not the only way of using GIS. Using

local consumer data, rather than census data, GIS can be used to develop reports that compare

sales of particular items in different locations. For instance, the following table compares book

and periodical sales in the Chesapeake Central Library service area with those in Chesapeake,

and then in the country as a whole.

Variable Chesapeake, VA Chesapeake Central Library USA


% Households Reading -
Newspapers: Read any daily
newspaper, 2015 25.03% 24.84% 25.17%
% Households Reading - Magazine
Types: Women, 2015 35.60% 35.67% 35.45%
% Households Reading - Magazine
Types: Men, 2015 15.08% 15.23% 14.89%
% Households Buying - Books:
Bought last 12 months: Children's
Books, 2015 9.24% 9.43% 8.93%
% Households Buying - Books:
Bought last 12 months: Novel,
2015 15.65% 15.84% 15.33%
% Households Buying - Books:
Bought last 12 months:
Cookbooks, 2015 7.51% 7.55% 7.47%

Information like this, when combined with the library’s internal circulation statistics, can

be used to predict and anticipate the information needs of the community, allowing the library to

“develop and implement strategies for improving library services” (Milsap, 2011, p. 3).
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Bibliography

ALA. (2014, July 1). Diversity in Collection Development. Retrieved from American Library

Association:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/diversitycollection

Bishop, B. W., & Mandel, L. H. (2010). Utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) in

library research. Library Hi Tech, 28(4), 536-547.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016). The Employment Situation -- August 2016. U.S. Department

of Labor.

Digital Inclusion Survey. (2016, September 22). Interactive Map. Retrieved from

http://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/content/interactive-map

Hertel, K., & Sprague, N. (2006). GIS and census data: tools for library planning. Library Hi

Tech, 25(2), 246-259.

Milsap, G. (2011). Using Market Segmentation to Provide Better Public Library Services.

Marketing Library Services, 25(3), 1-4.

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