It's impossible to use the Web very much and not run into Google Maps in various places, which I suppose is a measure of how useful it is. And of course I'd used it from time to time myself, but hadn't really delved into the possibilities much.
So, looking at the various parts of this assignment -
1445 K St. 68509 is (of course) the Nebraska State Capitol, and yes, in satellite view it's possible to see the color of the parked cars. (For driving directions, though, I'd prefer to use map view. Satellite view has other unexpected possibilities, though; for example, starting from Carhenge, zoom out a few levels to see the cool patterns resulting from center-pivot irrigation.) Looking at the street views you linked to was interesting, but it's surprising that there are not more of these for Lincoln.
I corrected the location of the marker for Bennett Martin Public Library; the information included was OK, if rather basic. Claiming our library locations would be a good idea, but it probably shouldn't be tied to my Google account, so I didn't try to do that - it would need some coordinating with our administrators.
Here's where it started to get interesting: I created a custom map showing all the Lincoln City Libraries locations, and embedded it in our Web site (after first trying it out in a test page). I tweaked the embed code to give a better zoom level (for both the embedded map and the larger breakout version) and re-centered it (which involved using this site - also partly based on Google Maps - to determine the exact latitude and longitude for BMPL, which I wanted as the map's center). Finally, I filled in more detailed information (addresses, phone numbers, hours) and added photos for each of the library locations.
I'm pleased with the result. We'd had something similar a while back, based on Google Maps but via the intermediary Community Walk site. But Community Walk seemed a little unreliable (i.e., it seemed to be down a lot, which made our page behave oddly), so I removed it. It's nice to have the map back again. I'm sure we can find other uses for Google Maps in the future.
About Me
- pejorg2000
- I'm a librarian and (would-be) musician who is also interested in almost everything.
6 comments:
The Google map on the LCL site looks great! I was also happy to read that you moved the marker for BMPL. I had noticed it was a bit off.
A follow-up: I've also created a map showing all of our Bookmobile stops and embedded it into our Bookmobile Service page.
I really like the bookmobile map. I never realized that it stopped at so many locations. I was wondering if it would be useful to designate that there is two separate routes. You could easily do this by using a different marker for one of the routes. When you are editing the information about a specific location you will see the blue default marker in the right hand corner. Click on it to display your other options. If you are creative you can also create your own icons.
When you are editing one of your maps did you know you can also change the order of the locations in the left hand bar? I must admit it took me bit to realize you can do it. All you have to do is click on a location and keep holding the mouse button down. It will turn into a hand then you can drag it to a different location on the list.
Allana - thanks for the tips. I'll look into them - but I don't want to paint myself into the corner of having to do major revisions with every quarterly update of the Bookmobile schedule!
Hi dad!
So, I was wondering...how do I get people to see my post? You've got a ton of followers, and I have, like, none. Please tell me how!
-The Bookworm.
P.S. Join mine!
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