Gary Price's Resource Shelf
indirectly pointed us to a new resource that can provide journalists
with a quick and not-so-dirty GIS tool for their community or any other
in the U.S.  GeoLib is the Public
Library Geographic Database (PLGDB) Mapping site.  But its mapping
engine delivers far more than just push-pining public libraries. 
The GIS server can  display a variety of physical, demographic and
political boundaries and data that can be turned on and off in
traditional GIS layers.  The resulting maps could be easily copied
with a tool like Snag-It and dropped into a document or web page.

“Florida State University's GeoLib Program ( www.geolib.org )
is developing the National Public Library Geographic Database. The
database includes the locations of 16,000 public libraries, data sets
from the US Census, and library use statistics from the National Center
for Educational Statistics. The goal of this database is to provide
consolidated information on public libraries nationwide, easily
accessible over the Internet. The project is sponsored by the Institute
of Museum and Library Services ( www.imls.gov )

A
key ingredient to the long term success of the PLGDB is the ongoing
incorporation of other relevant data. We need your feedback as to what
data you would like to have in the future. We hope the database will
offer public librarians access to data that can shape local, regional
and national library policies. For more information about GeoLib and
its programs and to find out about the latest status and data releases
of the National Public Library Geographic Database check back on this
website regularly.”