Guide for Geography and Geographic Information Systems including available programs and GIS data. See the Maps and Aerial Photos guide for additional mapping resources.
Social Explorer provides access to current and historical census data and demographic information. Create maps and reports to better illustrate, analyze and understand demography and social change.
Note: Social Explorer has developed a new libguide. To see the new libguide, you can go this link here
Key content in Social Explorer includes: over 40 billion data elements, 200,000 variables; 18,000 interactive maps; the entire US Census from 1790 to the present as it is available; annual updates from the American Community Survey; InfoGroup data on religious congregations; Religious Congregations and Membership Study; and Carbon Emissions Data. Users can create custom maps, download data, and export, save, and print maps and reports.
Contains basic and some financial information on 24 million US companies. Good source for information on small and private companies, as well as non-profit agencies.
PolicyMap is an data and mapping tool for accessing data about communities across the U.S. to make better-informed decisions without any prior experience.
This website provides GIS shapefiles and census data corresponding to the level of the geographic information that you request. So it is a one-stop center for basic GIS and demographics for all census years down to block group level where available. Free registration is required.
Portal to links for data at USGS, ESRI, EPA, Fish and Wildlife Wetlands, Agriculture's Soil conservation, FEMA flood and coastal barriers, Census Bureau, and assorted other links to Illinois data. You are directed to original data sites.
In additon to maps and interactive mapping, this site has a variety of GIS files (base files, transportation, community areas, etc.) that can be downloaded and used freely. Note that no metadata is available.
MetroChicagoData.org brings interactive information and data from the City of Chicago, Cook County and the State of Illinois into one single, citizen-friendly interface. Search for keywords or browse a unified set of topics and categories.
Access Illinois GIS data sets and documentation (metadata) for ArcIMS Interactive Map Services, USGS digital topographic maps, aerial photography, orthoimagery, orthophotography, geology, land use, natural resources, and infrastructure. Illinois data sets and map data layers are available for download free of charge
Green infrastructure is the interconnected network of open spaces and natural areas that provides wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities and maintains the sustainability of the region.
Commonly referred to as GRASS, this is a Geographic Information System (GIS) used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics/maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization.
Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). It runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, and Windows
SAGA - short hand for "System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses" - is a free, hybrid, cross-platform GIS software.
Geocoding
Often data has address information but needs to be georeferenced or geocoded. This means that you need to add spatial coordinates to a data base to use it in GIS programs.
TAMU GeoServices offers a number of geographic information processing services. These services are provided to the greater geospatial community to assist in geospatial-related research and data processing, analysis, and visualization.
Texas A&M University Geoservices offers direct access to the latest cutting edge research on geocoding, address parsing, normalization and standardization, and open source geospatial mapping and visualization.