Accessing PolicyMap
Go to Kean Learning Commons: https://libguides.kean.edu/NTCL
Click on the link "Databases A-Z" and choose PolicyMap in the search bar:
Log in with your Kean credentials if prompted.
You can create a free account to save maps, data layers, and custom reports.
Click Sign Up in the top right corner and use your Kean email (choose your own password).
Search by Location
Use the search bar to enter a city, zip code, county or address.
Zoom in/out and pan across the map to explore different areas.
To add data, click “Add Data Layer” and choose from categories such as demographics, income and spending, housing, health, education, and jobs and economy.
After selecting a category, choose a topic and sub-topic to visualize the data on the map:
Customize Your Map
Use the legend with points (displayed as a box with data on the left side of the page) to understand color coding and data ranges:
Adjust transparency, change base maps (by clicking the gear icon on the bottom of the map) or overlay multiple layers:
Click “Create Report” to generate community profiles or comparison reports:
You can find more video tutorials at this link: Video Gallery
Use this link to access Social Explorer which contains demographic information on the United States from 1790 to the most current U.S. Census data sets. Use this tool to create exportable maps and reports.
Create, export and save maps on a category of your choosing, e.g., this is a map of all Owner and Renter occupied houses in Union County and surrounding areas:
You can choose which data you are interested in among these Categories:
You can also create Multi-Layered Maps using the Layers Library, e.g., this map shows Building Footprints and Flood Zones:
You can create comparison reports, e.g., Male versus Female population:
Social Explorer Training Modules
These training modules are built using the Social Explorer "Tell a Story" tool. These are great resources for patrons looking to build data visualizations for their course work and research.
