[August 17, 2007] The Office of Library and Information Services is pleased to announce a new tool to locate Rhode Island libraries. The Library of Rhode Island (LORI) Map is a visual directory of Rhode Island’s libraries, combining the free Google Maps application with data about Rhode Island libraries. Now it is possible to map the location of a specific Rhode Island library or view a map of all public and academic libraries in the state or in a community. While current data is limited to public and academic libraries, more LORI libraries will be added as data becomes available.

LORI Map works like a Google map. Pinpoints on the map indicate the exact location of each library; mouse over the location and the name of the library appears, with a link to more information. While it’s easy to use, assembling the data to mark the precise location of each library building involved a little bit of detective work. The latitude and longitude coordinates that Google Maps use are not precise enough to mark exact locations of buildings. Thus, when you zoom in on the alleged location of your library in the satellite view of a Google Map, you might find that it’s really just the empty lot across the street (see Island Free Library). In order to accurately map Rhode Island libraries, OLIS needed more precise latitude and longitude coordinates than Google could supply.

Enter John Stachelhaus, Coordinator of the Rhode Island Geographic Information System (RIGIS). RIGIS is a consortium of government and private organizations that uses computer and communications technology to manage a collective database of comprehensive geographic information. John provided data on RI library locations, with the caveat that some of the data needed to be corrected; while he knew some data was incorrect, he was unable to correct it as he did not always know exactly which buildings were libraries. For instance, zooming in on Google's satellite view of West Greenwich, where exactly is Louttit Library? With the assistance of OLIS staff, a handful of incorrect library locations were corrected in the RIGIS data.

The final piece of the puzzle involved pulling information from OLIS’s LORI Directory database. When you mouse over a library location on LORI Map, a balloon will appear with information about the library, including a link to the page in the LORI Directory that provides more information about the library, such as hours, directions and a link to the library website. Combining data from RIGIS, OLIS and Google and feeding it into the free Google Maps API (a tool to embed Google Maps into web pages using JavaScript), LORI Map provides a visual directory of Rhode Island libraries.

The LORI Map mashup (a web application that combines data from more than one source into an integrated experience) now provides a definitive and searchable map of Rhode Island public and academic libraries, thanks to the cooperative efforts between OLIS, RIGIS and the State of Rhode Island’s Summer Intern Program with free technology provided by Google. Check it out!

LORI Map was developed by OLIS' Summer Intern Mathieu Auclair under the supervision of OLIS Library Program Specialist Chaichin Chen. Mathieu is entering his senior year as a Computer Science major at the University of Rhode Island and has provided invaluable programming assistance to OLIS this summer.

For more information about LORI Map, contact Chaichin Chen.