Kenneth Johnson of the Science, Industry, and Business Library at the New York Public Library recently provided a “boot camp” on the library’s market research resources to budding entrepreneurs participating in FastTrac® NewVenture™. After several weeks, he was eager to learn the extent to which these folks used the available resources to create a pitch for their business idea. SimplyMap proved itself an extremely useful tool – see the NYPL blog for complete details and several examples of SimplyMap in use.
The GRI team is very excited to announce the launch of SimplyMap 2.0! Completely redesigned, it is now easier than ever to access data and create professional quality thematic maps and reports.
We have been working hard on many improvements – too many to list them all, but here are a few of the most significant changes:
Completely Redesigned Interface
Veteran users of SimplyMap will notice the completely redesigned interface right away. The look and feel of the application have been redesigned from the ground up, with input from librarians, faculty, and students. The new look reduces clutter, freeing up more screen real estate for maps and reports, and puts the most important features and controls right up front where they belong.
Interactive Wizards
Hands-on wizards walk you through step-by-step tutorials of each feature — they will help you create professional thematic maps in just minutes!
Tab-Based Interface Organize your maps and reports using tabs to instantly switch between all of your SimplyMap projects. Tabs can be renamed, saved, closed, and reopened in seconds, and you can also add tags and keywords to quickly find your work.
Advanced Data Filters
Identify target areas in maps and reports using SimplyMap’s powerful data filters. Locations that do not match your criteria are removed, leaving you with a clear and concise view of your data. Filters can be simple, such as “average income > $50,000,” or can involve multiple variables and conditions.
Collaborate Share your maps and reports with other SimplyMap users by creating an exact copy of your work that other users can retrieve by clicking on an active link.
Improved Data Search
SimplyMap’s powerful search engine helps users find the data most relevant to their research among more than 75,000 variables using boolean logic. Search the variable name, folder, or source agency in any combination to to see the most popular variables at the top of your list.
Improved Performance
SimplyMap’s code is more efficient than ever, resulting in amazingly fast performance, and the new interface minimizes page reloads, which speeds things up even more.
There is a quick overview, but you really have to try SimplyMap 2.0 for yourself to experience all the benefits first-hand. Contact us today to arrange a free trial or to upgrade at no additional cost.
The GRI team would like to congratulate Barbara Van Hooser from Tennessee State University, our iPad 2 raffle prize winner from the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) show in Philadelphia last month.Congratulations Barbara!
Men’s Health magazine decided to crown one town America’s Most Socially Networked City, and has generated quite a buzz in the process. Their survey examined the number of Facebook and LinkedIn users per capita, followed by overall Twitter usage (NetProspex). They also looked at traffic generated by the major social networks, including Myspace, Friendster, Reddit, and Digg (analyzed by ad network Chitika). And they used SimplyMap to factor in the percentage of households that check out chat rooms and blogs. The result was a list of the top 100 socially networked cities.
The top socially networked city might surprise you. None of the hotbeds of high tech like San Francisco, Seattle, or even Palo Alto rose to the top spot – it was venerable and staid Washington D.C. that took home the title.
The story has been picked up around the Internet; here are a few blogs and other sites sharing the news – some proud representatives of high ranking cities, others, not so much.
The GRI team is looking forward to exhibiting at ACRL 2011 at the PA Convention Center in Philadelphia, March 30 – April 1, 2011.
Every other year, ACRL offers its premier professional development event devoted exclusively to the needs of academic and research librarians.
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching, and research.
Exhibit Hours: Wednesday, March 30 – 5:40 – 7:30PM Opening Reception in Exhibit Hall
Thursday, March 31 – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm Exhibit Hall Open
Friday, April 1 – 9:30am – 4:00pm Exhibit Hall Open
Come visit the Geographic Research booth at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference this season. The conference will take place on February 2-5, 2011 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The Ontario Library Association is Canada’s largest library organization and OLA’s Super Conference is Canada’s largest continuing education event in librarianship, with the country’s largest library tradeshow.
Stop by our booth for a demonstration and to learn about all of the new features in SimplyMap 2.0!
Expo Hours: Thursday, February 3, 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Friday, February 4, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The GRI team will be attending the American Library Association Midwinter meeting this year at the San Diego Convention Center. Visit us in booth 1055 in the exhibit hall from January 7 – 10, 2011.
We will be offering a special preview of SimplyMap 2.0, which has been completely redesigned with superior usability and performance, and a host of new features. Stop by and check it out!
Exhibit Hours:
Friday, January 7, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday, January 8 – 9, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, January 10, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
NC LIVE, a member-driven library service organization dedicated to providing online information services that support education, enhance statewide economic development, and increase quality of life of all North Carolinians, highlighted SimplyMap as its featured resource in their August 2010 NC LIVE Insights newsletter.
NC LIVE members include 197 libraries throughout the state, including the NC Community College System, NC Independent College and Universities, NC Public Libraries and the State Library of NC, and the University of North Carolina System. Users can access SimplyMap via NC LIVE’s online library 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any location with an internet connection.
SimplyMap Canada is now available at several Canadian institutions, including York University and Ryerson University, in Toronto.
SimplyMap Canada has all of the great features included in the US version, and Canada-specific data sets from Environics Analytics Group that include Adjusted Census Data from the year 2006, Current Estimates and Five Year Projections & the Current Estimates Household Expenditure Potential (HEP). It also includes the D&B Canadian Business Directory, with over 1.1 million Canadian business points. All data is available nationwide for all Canadian geographies including Provinces, census divisions, census subdivisions, census metropolitan areas, census tracts and dissemination areas.
There is a demo of SimplyMap scheduled for September 15th, at York University. Learn more.
The American Library Association 2010 Annual Conference is coming and the GRI team is gearing up for another great event this summer. We will be in Washington, D.C. again this year, June 25 – 28 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Stop by booth 1230 to say hello – it is a great opportunity to share your feedback and ideas for SimplyMap.
