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Geographic Information System (GIS) software enables maps and spatial data to be created, stored, and studied using personal computers and servers. Any file with addresses or a latitude/longitude field—Census data, for example—begs for spatial visualization or analysis.
ITS staff are available to assist researchers in the process of designing and publishing mapping applications for projects requiring visualization of spatial data. We provide access to and training in both open source and proprietary GIS packages (see below).
Open Source GIS @ NYU
Open source software is computer software whose source code is available under a copyright license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form.
Proprietary GIS @ NYU
Closed source (proprietary) software is the opposite of open source software, and includes any program whose license does not meet the definition of open source software. Generally, it means only the binaries of a computer program are distributed and the license provides no access to the program's source code, rendering modifications to the base software technically impossible.
ArcGIS License Upgraded
ArcGIS, ArcView, and related products from ESRI comprise the premier suite of geographic information system (GIS) tools used for research and instruction at NYU. These tools support a wide range of uses in teaching and research involving spatial data and have long been available for use in ITS computer labs and classrooms, under an NYU site license arranged by ITS.
Now, under a recently upgraded license for these ESRI tools, NYU faculty and researchers will also be able to obtain free one-year licenses for ArcGIS. For faculty who are considering using GIS software in their classes, this new license provides some useful features, including a copy of ArcView for curriculum development, as well as a one-year timed version that may be distributed at no cost to an entire class. This allows students to use a fully-functional version of ArcGIS and to participate in ESRI Virtual Campus classes at their convenience (see http://training.esri.com) . Faculty may even request that an entire class be enrolled in a variety of ESRI's self-paced courses, including a monitored web introduction to ArcView map-making.
ArcGIS, ArcView, and many other ESRI tools, such as Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst, continue to be available at ITS computer labs and classrooms under the NYU site license. For more information, or to obtain the newly available, free one-year ArcGIS license for faculty and researchers, attend a GIS clinic each Tuesday at 1:00 pm in the ITS Data Services Statistics & Mapping Lab (75 Third Avenue), or send email to data.services@nyu.edu to obtain software.
GIS User Group Meeting
ITS will conduct its first Geographic Information Systems Users Group meeting on Wednesday, November 14 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, on the second floor of Bobst Library in the Avery Fisher CenterŐs East room. From 3:00 to 4:00 pm, an ESRI/ArcGIS consultant will introduce ArcIMS (Internet Map Service), which allows interactive functional maps to be published to the web. This product is also part of the suite of ESRI mapping products available via the NYU site license. Attendees are encouraged to stay during the hour following the presentation and discuss common interests related to GIS on campus. Contact data.services@nyu.edu for more information.
Page last reviewed: November 1, 2007