National Spatial Data Infrastructure Research Articles

Future Directions for Geographic Information Science

Abstract Geographic information science (GISci) can be defined as the set of basic research issues raised by the handling of geographic information. Although geographic information systems are often seen merely as tools, there is ample historical precedent for the role of tools in stimulating science, and provoking new ways of thinking about problems. GISci is a distinct specialty within a more broadly defined information science, with a multidisciplinary base that ranges from surveying to cognitive science. The paper addresses two topics among the many potentially fruitful areas for research within GISci at this time. Il traces the development of debate in the U.S. over the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, and its implications for the research and education communities. Spatial data provides a distinct set of problems for the development of digital libraries, and the paper reviews the Alexandria Project and some of its more fundamental objectives. The paper concludes with comments on the current sta...

Standards to support the national spatial data infrastructure

Standards to support the national spatial data infrastructure

Developing a National Spatial Data Infrastructure

The present paper briefly reviews the findings of a recent U.S. National Academy of Sciences report on the proposed development of a national spatial data infrastructure that will be the foundation for the evolving spatial data industry and will provide business, government, and the general public with more effective access to a variety of information products and services.

Developing Standards for a National Spatial Data Infrastructure

The concept of a framework for data and information linkages among producers and users, known as a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), is built upon four corners: data, technology, institutions, and standards. Standards are paramount to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the NSDI. Historically, data standards and specifications have been developed with a very limited scope — they were parochial, and even competitive in nature, and promoted the sharing of data and information within only a small community at the expense of more open sharing across many communities. Today, an approach is needed to grow and evolve standards to support open systems and provide consistency and uniformity among data producers. There are several significant ongoing activities in geospatial data standards: transfer or exchange, metadata, and data content. In addition, standards in other areas are under discussion, including data quality, data models, and data collection.

Standards for spatial information interchange: a management perspective

Agreement on spatial information standards will be critical to the implementation of a national spatial data infrastructure. After reviewing some of the background leading up to the current demand ...

Opportunities for Use of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard at the State and Local Level

Dramatic changes in the way that spatial data have been collected and processed over that last 20 years is leading to a rethinking and restructuring on the most efficient ways to handle geographical information. These changes are taking place at the federal, state, and local governmental levels with great potential for the private sector as well. The formal adoption of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) as the federal database transfer standard for spatial databases signals a new era in this long chain of developments. It offers more flexible and efficient database transfers than earlier tools, and will become the workhorse for implementing the new National Spatial Data Infrastructure. It offers organizations a standard that will make possible and practical a much wider sharing of databases than is currently being done today. Use of the SDTS presents an opportunity to many organizations to share data more easily and reduce the duplication of expensive spatial database resources.

CAN/SDI: A National SDI System in Canada

CAN/SDI: A National SDI System in Canada