As the BTAA Geoportal continues to grow, so do the demands on our technology. With the recent expansion of the Big Ten and the addition of new geospatial resources from the West Coast, we saw an opportunity to explore more modern and flexible ways to manage our collections. The result is a new Strategic Technology Plan: a roadmap for building a technology stack that is modular, resilient, and future-ready.
Held in May at the University of Minnesota, Geo4LibCamp 2025 convened over 20 software developers, librarians, curators, researchers, and administrators to share strategies and tools shaping the future of geospatial data services. This year marked a turning point—not just in technology, but in redefining the community’s scope, structure, and identity.
At the 2025 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference in Minneapolis, BTAA-GIN members Ryan Mattke, Karen Majewicz, and Amanda Tickner presented a poster highlighting the program’s evolution and the social infrastructure that underpins its long-term success.
The fifth annual Big Ten GIS Conference, held virtually on April 11, 2025, marked a milestone for BTAA-GIN. With 664 registrants from 230+ institutions, the event tripled registration from the previous year and drew participants from academia, libraries, government, and research communities.
The BTAA-GIN FAST for Subject Terms Workgroup explored using FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) to improve search and discovery in the BTAA Geoportal. FAST, adapted from Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), offers a more streamlined and accessible way to tag metadata.
The BTAA-GIN Geodata Pilot Workgroup has successfully completed its current phase, establishing the technical and metadata infrastructure for a scalable geospatial repository. Over the past year (Q1 2024–Q1 2025), the workgroup focused on building a framework for data curation, refining metadata standards, and improving workflow automation.
📍SAVE THE DATE: The virtual Big Ten GIS Conference takes place April 11, 2025
We are excited to announce the Big Ten GIS Conference, a free virtual conference happening on April 11, 2025! This annual event brings together researchers, educators, students, and GIS professionals to present their work, exchange ideas, and explore the latest advancements in geospatial research and tools.
Call for Proposals is Open!
Are you working on an exciting geospatial project? Have insights to share about GIS applications, research, or tools? We invite presentations, lightning talks, and map gallery submissions from any discipline using geospatial information. You do not need to be affiliated with a Big Ten university to present—submissions from all institutions and industries are welcome!
We are thrilled to welcome the University of Oregon and the University of Washington to the Big Ten Academic Alliance Geospatial Information Network (BTAA-GIN). Their addition marks an exciting step forward in our mission to enhance the resources and expertise available to our members and the broader geospatial research community.
The BTAA-GIN Geoportal has reached an impressive milestone: over 100,000 geospatial resources, with a large percentage of this growth happening in the past year alone!
Whether you're researching urban planning, environmental change, or historical maps, the Geoportal connects you to data from state and local governments, universities, and beyond. With one powerful interface, you can uncover a vast range of datasets to power your research.
We are happy to announce that Colleen Wilson has joined the Big Ten Academic Alliance's Geospatial Information Network as our new Associate Director of Program Management and Outreach Coordination. In this newly created role, Colleen will play a vital part in stakeholder engagement and work to strengthen connections within our diverse geospatial data community. Her leadership will be instrumental in driving outreach initiatives, coordinating program goals, and managing team activities.