Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
www.oregonexplorer.info
After the training session and/or using this document, you should be able to accomplish the
following:
1. Explain to someone what the Oregon Explorer is all about
2. Comfortably navigate yourself around the Oregon Explorer home page
3. Access archived documents
4. Make a custom map for an area of interest in Oregon
5. Generate a report for areas of interest in Oregon
Background:
The Oregon Explorer is a natural resources digital library co-managed by Oregon State
University Libraries and the Oregon University System Institute for Natural Resources.
The Oregon Explorer was developed to specifically address the information needs of natural
resource decision-makers and practitioners; however, we also want the site to be useful to
researchers and scientists, educators and students, and interested citizens wanting to learn
about and engage in natural resource issues at a variety of geographic scales.
Much of this information can be difficult for non-experts to access, manipulate and use.
The mapping and reporting tools in the Oregon Explorer are designed to address this problem
by providing a user-friendly, interactive way to view the information in map or table form.
Stories and annotations are also provided as an additional way to learn about Oregon’s natural
resources.
We want this to be your best source of natural resources information in Oregon. The Oregon
Explorer was developed based on the prototype success of three basin portals and one topic
portal (Willamette Basin Explorer, North Coast Explorer, Umpqua Basin Explorer, and the
Wildfire Risk Explorer). These can all be accessed from the home page of the Oregon Explorer.
New information and tools will continue to enhance the Oregon Explorer with the development
of new basin and topic portals, much like the way new collections are continuously added to
traditional libraries.
The Oregon Explorer (phase 1) was launched to the public on June 28, 2007.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
The home page as of 6/27/07:
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
1. Getting comfortable with the home page:

Feature story: watershed restoration
The feature story will change over time as new stories are created.

“Learn about” section: providing context
All of the Explorer sites are now using a consistent template for the “learn about” section,
with the exception of the topic portals which will be customized for that topic.

“Tools” section: accessing content
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)

“Tout boxes”: touting new information, tools & soliciting content and feedback
(1)
(2)
(3)
Touts will change as new information and tools are made available.
2. Navigating around the Oregon Explorer:
 Using the search box
From the Oregon Explorer home page or from secondary pages and other Explorer portals

Accessing mapping and reporting tools – Maps
Various map options are offered for different user needs.
Charts and Tables
You can use this tool to create your own acreage reports and bar charts using our
collection of Geographic Information System (GIS) data layers (a subset of data
featured in the mapping tools) and other databases
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)

Browsing available data – Data Collections
Creation and use of a distributed data portal is the long-term vision for accessing
spatial data and databases—until then, relevant natural resource data sets have
been identified, organized and linked within this section.
 Finding photographs or streaming videos – Photos and Videos
Access a directory of photo collections or videos that relate to images of Oregon’s
places and people.

Accessing reports, documents, articles – Reports and Publications
These are all documents that have been archived in Scholar’s Archive (Oregon State
University Libraries institutional repository). In the future, the documents retrieved
will be from other accessible repositories with collections pertaining to Oregon.

Knowing who to contact if you have a question or idea –Expertise and Contacts
These are all contacts that tend to be statewide in nature. Use the basin portals or
topic portals to access specific expertise for a particular topic or location, such as a
particular county extension agent, local watershed council or soil and water
conservation district.

Accessing natural resource press releases or websites– Additional Resources
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)

Returning to the home page – Home
3. Accessing archived documents:
Browse
or
Search for specific documents
Here is copy of the title page from
193 pages of the archived Community
Wildfire Protection Plan for the Applegate.
In ScholarsArchive, all pages can be
viewed, copied and pasted, and printed in
full text.
Each document in the archive also has a
permanent URL which will preserve it over
the long-term. In this example, the URL is
http://hdl.handle.net/1957/3029
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
4. Making a map: the basic and advanced mapping tools are a main feature of all the
Oregon sites and accommodate the needs of novices and experts alike. The mapping
tools are accessible from the Maps selection on the home page of each portal. The
mapping tools have been designed to help you create GIS applications and online maps
for the entire state, as well as many local geographic areas. A mapping tutorial has also
been developed and is available online from the introductory page associated with the
Maps selection from each portal’s homepage.
Three versions of the mapping tool (basic, advanced and ready-made maps) will be
demonstrated.
A. Making Basic Maps demonstration
For the novice user, the “Making Basic Maps” option requires three easy steps. You must first
click on the “basic mapping tool” text.
When the basic mapping tool has opened, you first select what to map. A drop-down menu of
different map types is available in step 1. Remember to click on the
after you have
selected a map type. Second, choose the place you want to map. You can enter a place name
or view all of Oregon. Once you have selected what and where to map, you get a “live” map.
With the “live” map, you can zoom in and out, turn on and off map layers, and identify map
features.
Here I selected “Ecoregions” as the selected map type (click “next). Tip: remember to click
“next”.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
The second step is to pick where to map.
In this example, I selected the option to view “all of Oregon”.
The last step is to “View map” and select different map overlays for your final map for printing or
emailing.
For this map, I selected to turn on the “3rd field Watershed” boundaries map layer and turn off
the “counties” map layer. I then zoomed in on the Willamette Basin.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
You can select identify map features in the blue bar at the top and click on an item of interest
to find out what it is. With this selection, you can identify multiple sites by clicking different
locations.
In this example, I identified the three different ecoregions in the Willamette Basin. The example
above shows the results for one of three ecoregions (level 3) identified—Willamette Valley.
Use the “Making Advanced Maps” tool if you feel comfortable using basic GIS mapping
techniques and choosing from an expansive list of map layers (GIS datasets). You will be able
to create maps using all available data layers and make use of the advanced tool set.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
B. Making Advanced Maps Demonstration
All of the Maps (geospatial data layers) are
organized into folders that match the
Oregon Explorer high level topics in the
“learn about topics” section of the site.
Yellow folders can be opened or closed to
reveal all of the map layers available for
use.
Boxes that are checked indicate the active
map layers on the map. You can turn on
and off data layers by clicking the box
associated with each map. You can also
access the metadata (or “data about the
data”) by right clicking on a particular data
layer.
You can also download an active data layer
for the geographic area represented in the
map viewing area (just click on Download
and follow instructions). This is only
available for vector GIS coverages.
Before you begin selecting map layers, click
on the Automatically Refresh Map box at
the top (unless you are using dial-up
access)
There is also a Help section for each
standard and advanced map tab that lists all
the descriptions for each icon shown in the
tool bar (dark blue bar) in the order that they
appear. Advanced map tool and buttons
include the ability to set map scale, print,
email, save session, drill down identify,
identify, identify radius, select, buffer,
measure distance, measure area, display
location, and place a point, line, rectangle,
polygon, text, grid on your map, as well as
erase or clear these markers.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
Here is a map I created using the advanced map tool. I typed in “philomath” for the “Named
Place” search box (it is not case sensitive). I then selected “water quality-303d streams, rivers
1:100k, and urban growth boundaries“” as my three map overlays. I then clicked on the tab
“advanced” to see all of the mapping tool options (in the dark blue tool bar). From here, I can
identify features (such as the water quality information for the stream in yellow in the map
below) or simply print the map displayed in the viewer. I like to use the advanced mapping tool
to select from all the different layers, toggle on and off, make annotations and zoom and pan.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
C. Ready-made Maps demonstration
“Ready-made maps” are another available Maps option. These are maps that have already
been created and should be ready for immediate printing, but offer the flexibility to turn on and
off the individual map layers using the basic or advanced mapping tool options described above.
5. Generating a report: Click on the “Making charts and tables” from the Charts and Tables
button on the home page. From here, you can select from a variety of reports at state and
basin scales.
Much like the basic mapping tool, there are 3 steps to generate a report. The first step is to pick
a statistic.
In this example, I selected the “overall fire risk rating” report.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
The second step is to pick where to report. More than one place can be selected within a
geographic category.
In this example, I selected the communities of Corvallis, Bend and Medford.
Two reports can then be viewed: table or bar chart. The examples below show both views.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
A. Viewing statistic as a table (printer friendly version):
B. Viewing statistic as a bar chart:
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
Final Remarks: Now it’s time to go out and explore Oregon’s natural resources information on
your own!
After using this training document, we hope you feel proficient enough with the Oregon Explorer
to:
1. Explain to someone what the Oregon Explorer is all about
2. Comfortably navigate yourself around the Oregon Explorer home page
3. Access archived documents
4. Make a custom map for an area of interest in Oregon
5. Generate a report for areas of interest in Oregon
Please share your experiences (good and bad) with the Oregon Explorer or any of the basin or
topic portals using the tout box online user survey on the home page.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about the content and tools featured on the Oregon
Explorer and the related sites. You can access the other Explorer portals by selecting from the
“more” drop-down list. We expect new basin and topic portals to be added in the future.
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
Oregon Explorer Training Document (6/07)
Oregon Explorer
A Natural Resources Digital Library
Served by OSU Libraries and the OUS Institute for Natural Resources
Vision: The Oregon Explorer uses the power of today’s cutting edge information technology to
create a state-of-the-art web-accessible natural resources digital library building on, accessing
and integrating data from state and federal agencies, local governments, university scientists and
citizens to support informed decisions and actions by people concerned with Oregon’s natural
resources and environment.
Goals
 Be Oregon’s “go to” place for natural resources information
 Enable users to quickly find, retrieve, integrate and synthesize geo-referenced and wellorganized natural resource and environmental information and access experts through a
web portal.
 Develop customized data products and tools to provide decision support, streamline
environmental permitting and target investments in order to improve natural resource and
environmental management in the public and private sectors.
 Develop a statewide environmental assessment framework and apply it at recurring
intervals as part of an overall statewide sustainability strategy.
 Empower users to share their information with others in order to create and build shared
understanding about Oregon’s natural resource and environmental issues, problems and
opportunities and build community networks.
Objectives
 Build a distributed network linking disparate users and encouraging them to publish on
the Oregon Explorer.
 Assure value-free, neutral information with clear labeling of data quality allowing user
evaluation of information quality.
 Provide search tools that enable searching across collections, inside and outside existing
libraries, including spatial and non-spatial information.
 Allow integration and synthesis of varied types of information including digital
documents, maps, computer models, data bases, photographs, video and audio and
satellite imagery.
 Recover and digitize legacy data and literature from resource management agencies.
Targeted Users: natural resource decision-makers and practitioners.
However, we also want the Oregon Explorer to be useful to researchers and scientists, educators
and students, and interested citizens for addressing natural resource issues at a variety of
geographic scales.
Oregon Explorer Co-managers:
 Janine Salwasser, Natural Resource Digital Library Program Director, OSU Libraries -janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu
 Jimmy Kagan, Information Office Program Manager, OSU Institute for Natural
Resources--jimmy.kagan@oregonstate.edu
Training offered in Oregon State University Valley Library (Autzen or Barnard Classrooms) by Janine Salwasser,
OSU Libraries, Janine.salwasser@oregonstate.edu