Every semester I offer a day-long crash course that covers the basics of geographic information systems. You’ll learn the fundamental concepts of layering, joining data to map layers, coordinate systems, and geoprocessing, and you’ll work through examples of doing neighborhood-level site selection and creating thematic maps (like the one in the image below). I use the free and open source software package QGIS, which is cross-platform and ensures that you’ll be able to take both the GIS skills and tools you’ll learn with you wherever you go.

All current CUNY graduate students, faculty, and staff are eligible to attend. There is a small registration fee, which covers a light breakfast and a detailed tutorial book you’ll receive. For details and to register visit:

http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/gis/gisprac

We’re mixing things up a bit this year in terms of format and location. We’ll be holding two sessions in the relatively new GIS Lab at Baruch on Oct 2nd and Oct 23rd. These will be small sessions (10 seats each) and participants will need to bring their own laptops with the software pre-installed. The third session will be held at the Dept of Earth and Geospatial Sciences at Lehman College in the Bronx on Nov 13th. This will be a larger session (20 seats) and PCs will be provided (laptops are optional).

The session for Oct 2nd is already full and closed, but seats are still available for Oct 23rd and Nov 13th. I hope to see you there – but if you can’t make it, the materials we use in class are available on-line at https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/confluence/display/geoportal/GIS+Practicum  if you’d like to work through them on your own.

– Frank Donnelly, Geospatial Data Librarian, Baruch CUNY