Edmonton Public Library and the City of Edmonton are partnering again to celebrate International Open Data Day 2015. We have a number of excellent events lined up this year.

All of these events are inclusive and will respect the Hack Code of Conduct.

Open Data Day Hackathon

Saturday, February 21, 9:30 am–5 pm
The Makerspace
Stanley A. Milner Library
Bring your laptops and we’ll bring lunch

Again we’re calling all hackers, developers, designers, statisticians and anyone with an interest in open data to spend the day experimenting and creating with open data. Visit the Open Data Day Hub to see what ideas have been proposed and to suggest your own.

City of Edmonton staff involved in open data will be on site to answer questions, propose ideas and hear your thoughts on how open data can be mobilized to improve the lives of Edmontonians.

Space is limited to 45 participants. Register now!

Coffee for the hackathon provided by

Workshops

Like the sound of open data, but not sure how to hack it? EPL is hosting two, hour-long workshops designed to provide interested citizens with a basic introduction to open data hackathons.

Intro to Hackathons: Hacking for Non-Hackers
Tuesday, Feb 17, 12-12:45

This workshop will provide tips for non-coders interested in the many ways they can meaningfully participate in an open data hackathon

Levelling the Playing Field: Using Open Data to Better Understand Edmonton
Thursday, Feb 19, 12-12:45

This workshop will explore open datasets and simple tools that can help create a better understanding of Edmonton.

Drop-in – Open to all
Program Room, Stanley A. Milner Library
Lunch not provided, but bagged lunches welcome

Co-presenters:
Matt Dance, Geographer and Open Data Advocate
Alexandra Carruthers, Digital Public Spaces Librarian

Workshops developed for beginners with basic computer literacy

Open Data Resources

Open Data

Government Portals

• City of Edmonton Open Data Catalogue
• Strathcona County Open Data Catalogue
• Alberta Open Data Portal
• Government of Canada Open Data Portal

EPL Open Data

• Branches and events
• Rooms for rent and popular book holds
• Catalogue data
  Note: This data is not yet fully open. Please see the data license. You must be sure to mention the Hackathon in the application details to gain access.

Data Literacy

Data Literacy Resources at EPL – books on the exciting potential of civic hacking, practical guides to data analysis and visualization and links to online courses in everything from GIS to Tableau to app development. A few resources for kids as well.

School of Data – School of Data’s mission is to teach people how to gain powerful insights and create compelling stories using data.

Government of Canada Open Data Resources

Spatial Analysis Online – the industry standard for geographic information systems concepts and methods.

Learn to Code

Want to learn some Python or Ruby, or maybe how to build an iPhone app? Library card holders have free access to great resources.

• Lynda.com – video courses taught by recognized industry experts
• Treehouse – over 1,000 videos created by expert teachers on app development, web design, coding, business, and much more, continually refreshed so you never fall behind
• Gale Courses – interactive instructor-led online courses.

Register for Open Data Day

Registration will open on February 2nd.

Registration information will only be used in accordance with EPL’s Confidentiality Statement