It can be hard to know what book to buy when you are just starting to learn open source geospatial technology. This post outlines each GIS & geospatial book in our catalog to help give you the top takeaways to consider.
Geospatial & GIS book categories
Locate Press books cover a wide range of topics but they all fit into a few simple categories which we review, in-depth, after the following summaries.
QGIS book titles cover comprehensively learning the software, designing good maps with it, applying to the domain of hydrology, and writing custom applications with Python.
Specialized geospatial software titles cover web-based mapping, routing analysis, and general raster/vector data management.
General GIS titles covers a wide range of geospatial desktop technology as well as teaching the principles of GIS in a classroom-friendly way for younger students.
QGIS books
Introduction to QGIS
Open Source Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
by Scott Madry Ph.D.
Scott’s book applies to QGIS 3.16 LTR edition, covering the latest stable version of QGIS.
This books introduces how QGIS works, with the user interface, handling different kinds of files, import and export.
Learn the processing toolbox, modeler, and the Python console in particular. Fundamental GIS topics such as raster/vector analysis, 3D map viewing, and map production in QGIS are covered.
QGIS for Hydrological Applications
Recipes for Catchment Hydrology and Water Management
by Hans van der Kwast and Kurt Menke
Hans and Kurt’s popular domain-focused text contains core knowledge for handling data in the hydrology field, including lab exercises and links to more teaching resources.
It includes map algebra, delineating streams, and land cover calculations for catchments. And QGIS basics: digitizing, importing tabular data, interpolating data into rasters, and georeferencing scanned maps.
Discover QGIS 3.x – A Workbook for Classroom or Independent study
by Kurt Menke
This updated QGIS training workbook uses structured study of core geospatial concepts and GIS functions from the latest QGIS 3.x Long Term Release version.
New sections are included in this 2019 update covering advanced data visualization with layer effects, 3D maps, blending modes, and more.
A complete training course — exercises, questions, and solutions are provided.
QGIS Map Design – Second Edition
by Anita Graser & Gretchen N. Peterson
Have you ever wanted to improve your cartography output from QGIS 3? Learn step-by-step instructions to create compelling visuals and new workflows in this second edition.
Basic QGIS knowledge is presumed as the focus is on building maps with the newest and latest functionality of QGIS – including atlases, multitudinous color tools, map label generation, printable maps, and more.
The PyQGIS Programmer’s Guide – Extending QGIS 3 with Python 3
by Gary Sherman
Learn the QGIS 3 Python API for writing scripts and creating plugins.
A chapter is dedicated to helping you set up your development environment and to have a productive development workflow. Each chapter includes exercises for you to put your knowledge to work.
This is an update from the earlier QGIS 2 / Python 2 edition.
On the Way with QGIS – Student and Teacher Edition
by Toni Fisher
Written for teachers and students, those aged 10 to 15 years old continue learning GIS by building on the lessons and concepts from Fisher’s earlier work, Open the Door to GIS.
This edition introduces more advanced topics and encourages inquiry-based learning techniques and storytelling to inspire creativity, problem solving, and building confidence as they work through various scenarios.
Open the Door to GIS – Student and Teacher Edition
By Toni Fisher
Introduce students (age 10 to 15 years) to analytical and graphical skill using open-source GIS technology.
Creative storytelling is used with QGIS to teach students skills for making treasure maps, creating a game, and more, alongside characters in the stories.
Creativity and reflection are encouraged as they grow throughout these weekly lessons covering a full semester.
Other categories
The above books cover all the current QGIS training books. In another post, we will introduce the specialized application books (pgRouting, Leaflet) and the more general GIS training books as well (Desktop GIS, GDAL).
