Field Research in the Ecological Arts: Maps and Geospatial Data

​CUGIR, the Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository, provides free and open access to geospatial data for New York State, as well as worldwide geospatial data created by researchers at Cornell. CUGIR provides dataset descriptions and previews, and in addition to traditional data downloads, CUGIR also provides WMS and WFS web services for most datasets.

https://cugir.library.cornell.edu/

The NYS GIS Clearinghouse provides a catalog of data from state, county, and local governments across New York State.  Many datasets are freely available, while others require a Cooperative Member login.  Cornell University is a member, so if you find any datasets requiring a login, contact Keith Jenkins (the Mann Library GIS Librarian) for access.

http://gis.ny.gov/

​Geolode is a collaborative catalog of geospatial open data websites around the world, searchable and browseable by location, topic, and other tags, so that searchers can quickly focus on the most relevant websites for their geodata needs. It was originally created by staff at Mann Library, and is maintained by a group of volunteers from several colleges and universities.

http://geolode.org/

Before there was GIS, there were maps.  Olin Library has an extensive collection of over 650,000 paper maps, 4200 books and atlases, and 1000 data discs, representing information that often cannot be found online.  Library staff can help you find and scan historic maps, or to access datasets on disc.  The Map Room is located on the lower level of Olin Library.

https://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/collections/maps

Cornell IRIS (Institute for Resource Information Sciences) has a collection of historical aerial photos covering six New York state counties (Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Seneca, Tompkins, Wayne). Selected years are available for the different counties ranging from 1936 to the mid-1960s and available online. The collection also has photos for 1980 and 1991 for Tompkins County. A project is currently underway to digitize the complete collection photos of all counties.

https://digital.library.cornell.edu/collections/aerialny

The fire insurance maps were mainly designed to help fire insurance agents determine the degree of damage to a property and show accurate information to help them determine risks and establish premiums. The maps included street names, property boundaries and lot lines, and house and block numbers. Today, the maps are an invaluable guide to inner-city history, land use, and historic preservation.