Amigos Fellowship Award to Help UALR Library Bring GIS to Students, Community

Editor's note: this article is the first of two spotlighting recipients of 2015 Amigos Fellowship and Opportunity Award funding. The second article will appear in the next issue.

At the May 13 Amigos Member Business Meeting, the Amigos Board of Directors announced the recipients of the 2015 Amigos Fellowship and Opportunity Award. Among those receiving funds was the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) for its project entitled "Developing a GIS Resource Service at a Community-Engaged Metropolitan University."

In the school's application for funding, project member J.B. Hill, Director of Public Services for the university's Ottenheimer Library, noted the money would be used to develop a new innovative service for the UALR campus that provides the technological infrastructure and staff expertise to support students' use of GIS – geographic information systems – technology.

GIS is a computer application that facilitates the capture, manipulation and visual representation of spatial and geographic data. It is becoming an increasingly important interdisciplinary research tool that not only enables students to manipulate data and create visual representations, but also to think critically about spatial patterns, linkages, and relationships in data.

The library's Collections and Archives division had sought funds it would use to develop the technological infrastructure and staff expertise needed to assist students in the application of GIS technology to their scholarship. The Amigos Fellowship award will enable the project staff to:

• Create and install one robust GIS computer workstation in the Ottenheimer Library
• Train librarians and staff on GIS theory and methodology
• Develop an interdisciplinary GIS project in collaboration with UALR faculty

The funding application noted that UALR has recently undergone an academic restructuring to position the institution as one of the top metropolitan, community-engaged, research universities among the 16 member states of the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB). As the main metropolitan research university in the state, UALR serves a diverse population of approximately 12,000 students. The average age of undergraduates is 27.8, and 22.5 percent of the students are African-American.

Because the UALR student population includes a large percentage of non-traditional and first-generation students, a significant number of them can be categorized as at-risk. Consequently, the university needs to provide facilities, services, and experiences that will foster student success. The university seeks to connect students to the metropolitan area through a focus on interdisciplinary studies, internships, service learning, and community engagement. The Ottenheimer Library staff feels GIS has the potential to enhance student research projects and undergraduate experiences and to support students in all disciplines, particularly in community-engaged social science research that the university promotes.

GIS is gaining increasing importance in the university's curriculum. The university offers a certificate in geospatial technology, and GIS methods and theory are incorporated into a wide range of disciplines, including geography, earth sciences, anthropology, business, criminal justice, engineering, health studies, history, sociology, and interdisciplinary studies. A library-based GIS resource service would provide instructional and research support for UALR students from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines. Project members anticipate that once it is implemented, an innovative GIS service will immediately benefit approximately 1,750 students majoring in these fields with potential GIS projects.

In addition to the student population, the Ottenheimer Library provides free and open access to all members of the Little Rock metropolitan community, including residents of the University District, an economically-disadvantaged area of the city. GIS hardware, ArcGIS software, and librarian support will be available to members of the community. Because the local public libraries do not offer a GIS support service, the Ottenheimer Library will support underserved students in the metropolitan area for the inclusion of GIS into their academic pursuits.

"We are excited about the opportunity the Amigos grant presents to us," said UALR Associate Provost Deborah Baldwin. "The UALR Collections and Archives division has a new vision, for a technology-rich library and archives organization that will be a hub for students to use information and technology resources for collaboration and scholarship." Baldwin noted that the Amigos grant will provide seed money for the first steps in supporting this vision.