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General
Meeting - Annual Federal Agencies Presentations
FY 2007 FY 2006 FY 2005 FY 2004
CARTOGRAPHIC
USERS ADVISORY COUNCIL (CUAC) 2007 AGENCY PRESENTATION MINUTES APRIL
26-27, 2007 US
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, RESTON, VA Sponsor Richard Huffine,
National Library Coordinator, US Geological Survey CUAC Representatives in Attendance Joe
Aufmuth, University of Florida, ALA/MAGERT Michael
Fry, University of Maryland, WAML Anne
Graham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NEMO Katie
Lage, University of Colorado, WAML Mary
McInroy, University of Iowa, ALA/GODORT Clara
P. McLeod, Washington University, GSIS Anita
Oser, SLA, Social Science Division, G&M Daniel
T. Seldin, Indiana University, NACIS Wangyal
Shawa, Princeton University, ALA/MAGERT Joy
Suh, George Mason University, ALA/GODORT Thelma
Thompson, University of New Hampshire, NEMO Linda
Zellmer, Indiana University, GSIS Federal Agency Presenters (in order of
presentation) Richard
Huffine, National Library Coordinator, US Geological Survey Andrew
V. "Drew" Douglas, Customer Relations, DHS Federal Emergency
Management Agency Enterprise GIS
Solutions Valerie
Martens, Cataloging Supervisor, US Government Printing Office (GPO) –
agency discussion session Betsy
Kanalley, Assistant Program Manager, USDA Forest Service, Geospatial Services Group Eric
M. Hubbell, Program Analyst, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Sam
Wear (for Rob Dollison), USGS Geospatial One-Stop Billy
Tolar, Standards Program Manager, FGDC/USGS Jenny
Runyon, U.S. Board on Geographic Names Timothy
Trainor, Assistant Division Chief for Geographic Areas and Cartographic Data Products, U.S. Census Bureau,
Geography Division Richard
Huffine, National Library Coordinator, United States Geological Survey John
Hebert, Chief of the Geography and Maps Division, Library of Congress Brett
Abrams, Electronic Records Archivist, National Archives and Records
Administration Written Agency Reports Submitted Department
of Energy Federal Agency Presentation Schedule Thursday, April 26,
2007
1:15 – 3:45pm: Agency Presentations Session I 1:15 – 1:30
Welcome CUAC Chairs and Richard Huffine, USGS Introduction of all members and agencies
present 1:30 – 2:00
Andrew V. "Drew" Douglas, Customer Relations DHS Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) Enterprise GIS Solutions 2:00 – 2:30
Valerie Martens,
Cataloging Supervisor, US Government Printing Office – agency discussion session 2:30 – 3:00
Betsy Kanalley, Assistant Program Manager USDA Forest Service, Geospatial Services
Group 3:00 – 3:30
Eric M. Hubbell, Program Analyst, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Friday April 27,
2007 CUAC Chairs and USGS Introduction of all members and agencies
present 8:45 – 9:15
Sam Wear (for Rob Dollison), USGS Geospatial One-Stop Billy
Tolar,
Standards Program Manager,
FGDC/USGS 9:15 – 9:45
Jenny Runyon, U.S.
Board on Geographic Names 9:45 – 10:15
Tim Trainor, Assistant Division Chief for Geographic Areas and Cartographic Data Products, U.S. Census Bureau,
Geography Division 10:30 – 11:00
Richard Huffine, National Library Coordinator, United States
Geological Survey, Host of CUAC 2007 11:00 –
11:30 John Hebert, Chief of the
Geography and Maps Division, Library of Congress 1:15 – 1:45
CUAC Liaison written agency reports Member agencies unable to attend 1:45 – 2:15
Brett Abrams, Electronic Records Archivist, National Archives
and Records Administration
Introductory Session Remarks Richard Huffine, National Library Coordinator, US
Geological Survey Agency Presentation Minutes Andrew V. "Drew" Douglas, Customer Relations,
DHS Federal Emergency Management Agency
Enterprise GIS Solutions, “Disaster Cartographic Products at
FEMA” (submitted by Wangyal Shawa) Andrew
Douglas started his presentation by giving a history of disaster cartography
at FEMA, starting from 1992 when they used MapInfo software to map Hurricane
Andrew, to the establishment of the Geospatial Management Office in the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when they merged into DHS in 2003.
During the 2005 hurricane season, FEMA produced 3,000 unique map products
created by FEMA headquarters with only 12 staff members. Mr. Douglas said
they generated a lot of unique maps; these maps and data are part of the
national records and need to be stored in libraries and made available to the
public. However, they have certain concerns about what information and which
formats of their products need to be made available to the public. He said
that FEMA’s primary duty is to help people during disasters. They make
status and logistic maps for decision makers to show where shelters are
located and how many people are in each shelter, etc. They also make disaster
declaration maps which are based on governors’ requests for disaster
assistance. FEMA
uses different geospatial data products including the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) base product called Homeland Security
Infrastructure Protection (HSIP) Gold, which is made available to all federal
agencies involved in homeland security. The base product includes critical
infrastructure, schools, medical facilities, utilities, transportation, dams,
etc. FEMA not only uses the NGA HSIP Gold data (these data are not shared
with the public) but also use other datasets such as demographic data from
the Census and meteorological data from the National Meteorological Center,
to create hurricane forecasts, hurricane projected and actual paths,
determine people likely and actually effected by hurricanes as well as generate
disaster maps. These maps help planners by giving them good ideas of how to
prepare for the disaster and how to help people to recover from the disaster.
Mr.
Douglas showed sample of maps done by FEMA. Some of their titles are: 1. 2004
Hurricane Season- Named Storms: Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico 2. 2005
Hurricane Season-Named Storms: Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico 3. Hurricane
Florence - Advisory number 37 4. Hurricane
Katrina – Advisory 23 – Elderly Population in Wind Swath 5. Hurricane
Katrina Peak Wind Gusts by County 6. Hurricane
Katrina – Advisory 23A – Evacuation Orders 7. Hurricane
Katrina Damage Overview 8. Hurricane
Katrina – New Orleans - Area Road Closures and Probable Flooding Areas
as of 8/29/05 9. Hurricane
Katrina – Allocated Space for Evacuees as of 1800, Saturday, September
3,
2005 10. Presidential
Disaster Declarations: December 24, 1964 to February 27, 2006 To
access FEMA geospatial data he suggested we visit this URL www.gismaps.fema.gov Valerie Martens, US Government Printing Office –
agency discussion session (submitted by Michael Frey) In
lieu of a formal presentation, Ms. Martens distributed a handout to CUAC
members summarizing developments at GPO and addressing topics brought to
GPO’s attention by CUAC members prior to the meeting. Items from that
handout pertinent to the map librarianship community include: Map-related
statistics From
October, 2006 through February, 2007, GPO distributed 1,685,575 tangible
copies of 3,842 titles (print, microfiche, CDs, DVDs and in-house maps). USGS
map distribution during the same period included 59 titles and 12,673
copies. From October 2006 through
March 2007, 7,171 online titles and 3,294 PURL links to agency titles outside
of GPO Access were added, for a total of 10,465 new online titles. These additions
bring the total number of titles to 216,822, and the total number of titles
linked from GPO Access to 51,248, for a total of 268,070 titles accessible
through GPO Access. From June 1, 2006 to April 15, 2007, GPO cataloged
approximately 259 maps (GPO’s chief map cataloger was ill for
approximately 2 months, and returned to work on a part-time basis for one
month). FDsys The
U.S. Government Printing Office’s Future Digital System (FDsys) will
preserve, authenticate, provide version control, and provide access to
digital content from all three branches of the U.S. Government. FDsys will be
a comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means for preserving digital content
free from dependence on specific hardware or software. The system will
automate many lifecycle processes for digital content and make it easier to
deliver content in formats suited to customers’ evolving needs. FDsys
will be released for agency and public use in late 2007. [For add’l
details about FDsys, see http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/proceedings/07spring/fdsys-0407.pdf.] USDA
Soil Surveys The
Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is
the publisher of the Soil Survey Reports, and these publications have been
available for selection by the libraries in the FDLP for many years. The NRCS
has traditionally issued the Soil Surveys as a printed set: one printed book
and one printed map, packaged inside a file folder. In
2006, the NRCS made a publishing decision to release some Soil Survey reports
with parts in different formats.
This has generated a significant number of inquiries to Library
Services and Content Management (LSCM) because libraries think that the FDLP
has inadvertently distributed incomplete sets. LSCM
is working with the NRCS in an effort to identify which titles are being
published with parts in different formats. We have communicated to NRCS that
the seemingly random choice of formats for the distribution of each Survey
causes confusion in the libraries and may hamper access to these important
and useful documents. NRCS
has indicated their goal is to publish all Surveys online. Until that goal is
realized, NRCS will continue to print parts of Soil Surveys in different
formats. For example, the Soil Survey of Anson County, North Carolina, was
only printed in book form and the maps were available online only. The book
was classed A 57.38/33:AN 8 with Item Number 0102-B-33 and shipped on
Shipping List 2006-0035-S. Conversely,
the Soil Survey Map of Washington County, Vermont, is currently being
processed for shipment to the FDL's. For this Survey, the manuscript that
accompanies the map is online only. The class for this title is A 57.38/45:W
27/MAPS and it will appear on an upcoming shipping list. At
present, there is no indication in the printed documents that the additional
content is available online only. We recommend that libraries consult the
NRCS Soil Survey website at http://soils.usda.gov/survey/online_surveys/ to
determine the online availability of Soil Survey materials before sending an
inquiry to LSCM. Notes
on GPO cataloging records will help identify the parts of Soil Surveys that
have different formats. GPO
cataloging records will be either a map only record (when a map is in print,
but not the book) or a book only record (when there is a book in print, but
no map) with a note stating "Book not distributed to depository
libraries in tangible form" or "Map not distributed to depository
libraries in tangible form," respectively. GPO
appreciates the community's patience while we work with the NRCS going
forward. In
addition to the handout, Ms. Martens fielded questions and comments from CUAC
members. She was clear that maps were outside her area of expertise, and she
agreed to forward CUAC’s comments [see below] to appropriate parties
within GPO. (Policy-related questions, for example, may be directed to Laurie
Hall at lhall@gpo.gov.) Topics
raised by CUAC members included: Geospatial
Metadata.
CUAC asked for geospatial metadata from Fed’l agencies to be converted
to MARC format so the data can be more readily found, and suggested that GPO
use a metadata format for their digital projects (e.g., FDsys) that’s
export-friendly. CUAC expressed continued interest in FDsys’s ability
to incorporate geospatial metadata in all of GPO’s relevant digital
initiatives. Ms. Martens indicated that geospatial metadata searching can be
added to FDsys as a future feature, but clarification is needed as to exactly
what is wanted (e.g., lat-long coordinates). FEMA
Flood Insurance Rate Maps. CUAC asked GPO to distribute Flood Insurance Rate
Maps (FIRMs) through the Depository program. Cataloging
digital maps and geospatial data. CUAC asked for more routine identification
and cataloging of digital geospatial data, maps, etc. from Fed’l
agencies. Existing electronic publications from USGS and EPA, for example,
don’t always have cataloging records. Fed’l agencies should be
working more closely with GPO to make sure items have records. Ms. Martens
noted that GPO’s staff is limited to 2 map catalogers, as well as a
cataloger working more than half-time on EPA docs. She directed CUAC to
Proceedings of the 2007 Spring Depository Library conference, which included
a Depository Library Council session on Web harvesting. [See pg. 124 at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/proceedings/07spring/transcripts-0407.pdf.] Lost
Documents.
CUAC asked about procedures for notifying GPO about lost docs. Ms. Martens:
lost docs are a big priority for GPO, and they’ve made enormous
progress in the last couple years. The most efficient way to notify GPO is
through AskGPO. Libraries can also send electronic docs to GPO for
cataloging. GPO’s
Digital Projects.
CUAC asked if there was a complete list of GPO’s digital projects and
initiatives. CUAC: Is there any way to merge existing digital project indexes
and consolidate them into a single repository? Distribution. CUAC noted a
continuing “disconnect” between what’s produced by federal
agencies (e.g., FEMA’s event-specific maps) and what’s collected
by GPO and distributed to depositories. Agencies are still producing items in
print and electronically, but what’s distributed to depositories
continues to decrease in number, and what’s available online changes
over time. CUAC called for GPO to collect items that agencies aren’t
motivated to keep in perpetuity. (Legacy publications come through GPO pretty
well, but new products and titles seem to be under the radar.) Ms. Martens:
If you find items like this, let us know and we’ll look into it. CUAC:
Libraries could never keep up with that on an item-by-item basis. We need a
comprehensive approach to dealing with how information is being published
now. Betsy Kanalley, Assistant Program Manager, USDA Forest
Service, Geospatial Services Group (submitted by Katie Lage) Ms.
Kanalley began her presentation with an overview of the Forest Service
structure, land management responsibilities, and programs. Her talk covered
strategic goals for Forest Service geospatial programs, the new Forest
Service Geodata Clearinghouse, Forest Service data on Google Earth, print on
demand mapping services, and the map sales program. The
Forest Service geospatial programs are moving towards an integrated business
model. They are integrating their mini data centers into three main centers,
Portland, Kansas City, and Albuquerque. Kansas City will be the main data
center, with Albuquerque working on development and testing of applications
and acting as a backup to ensure continuity of operations for Forest Service
data centers. Geospatial
information is gathered from various resource applications in programs that
the Forest Service manages, such as fire, forest management, range, cultural
resources, and more. Future
mapping efforts will focus on acquiring and producing data to support field
needs,. Acquisition and production of elevation data and ortho-rectified
imagery will continue. The Forest Service is also focusing on keeping data up
to standards for content, accuracy, completeness, and documentation
(metadata). They will continue to produce thematic maps and 1:24,000 and 1:126,720
(1:63,360 for Alaska) The
new Forest Service print on demand (FSPOD) mapping capability will be
available to the public via Forest Service Geodata Clearinghouse in the near
future. The user will be able to
select a 1:24,000 quadrangle extent and print the map or save it in PDF
format. FSPOD uses ArcGIS Server 9.2 to produce 7.5’ 1:24,000-scale
maps over FS lands of the conterminous United States and 15’ X
20-22.5’ 1:63,360-scale maps for Alaska. These products are either
based on the traditional quadrangle footprint, or on a user defined center
point. The FS is working with the
USGS, as they develop a similar map on demand capability, in cooperation with
States and other partners. Ms.
Kanalley introduced the FSGeodata On-Line Geospatial Clearinghouse (http://fsgeodata.fs.fed.us), for
discovering, assessing, and delivering USFS geospatial data. There is a
gateway for raster data (coming soon), vector data, maps, and other data,
including regional datasets. She referred a question about archiving data in
FSGeodata to Dave George, the clearinghouse manager. Forest
Service geospatial data can also be found in Google Earth. The FS has
partnered with Google to provide forest boundaries and recreation sites and
pop-up information windows with links to forest service information and
FSGeodata. Ms.
Kanalley briefly reported on new prices for USFS printed maps, showed the new
plastic material some maps are being printed on, and reminded the group that
they can be purchased through the USGS store and from the National Forest
Store or Forest Service visitor centers. She brought examples of maps and
forest atlases (for Region 5) for CUAC members to look over. Q:
Are there maps of just wilderness areas? A:
These should be available in the new print-on-demand mapping. Ms. Kanalley
may also be able to help provide something like this. USFS
maps are available through the USGS store (http://store.usgs.gov/). Eric M. Hubbell, Program Analyst, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (submitted by Joy Suh) Eric
Hubbell presented “Enterprise GIS at EPA” at the CUAC meeting on
Thursday, April 26, 2006. He
began by introducing the geospatial teams within EPA whose functions have been
developing Web applications and enterprise architecture for GIS and
introduced Dave Wolf, the geospatial team leader who also attended this
meeting. Eric’s
presentation covered background, GIS development at EPA, GIS public
applications, data service offered, technology and future directions of
geospatial program within the agency. The
mission of EPA is to protect human health and environment. Since multiple offices within EPA
oversaw each of EPA’s strategic goals (consisting of clean air and
global climate change, clean and safe water, land preservation and
restoration, healthy communities and ecosystems, and compliance and
environmental stewardship), this resulted in a wide range of data sources.
The challenges were to get the programs to agree to share and then put the
data in a common format. EPA developed Envirofacts Data Warehouse in 1995 to
provide a single public access site for environmental data related to air,
water, and land across the United States. Location or place (such as zip code
and city) is a key to view local community data. GIS
applications have been increasingly important within and outside of EPA since
the first introduction of GIS at EPA in the mid-1980s. Each of the10 regional
offices has a geospatial team. EPA’s Office of Environmental
Information develops enterprise architecture solutions. After developing
Environfacts in 1995, the office developed EnviroMapper (EM), the first Web
based application by using a Web-based GIS application. EM now offers specific programs which answer
questions as specific as: “Are there environmental concerns located
surrounding my construction projects?, “Is this area a potential
environmental justice site?, or “Are there significant sources of
pollution where I live?. The
following specific GIS applications are able to address such concerns: • Window
to My Environment (WME) is a collaborative effort at the local, state,
and national level. This is an interactive tool to generate maps, demographic
statistics, environmental facts and conditions (watersheds and air quality,
etc) in location of choice. It
allows data searches by zip code, city, and state. • NEPAssist
is an EPA centric program, which allows visualization on a regional basis of
automated EPA’s environmental impact statement submissions. It assists
with initial reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NEPAssist provides reports and reviews of potential environmental concerns on
the project sites. • Environmental
Justice (EJ) is similar to WME, but assesses regional statistics
according to the following topics: health, social, economic, and
environmental concerns. • EM
for Hurricanes and Rita Site along with mapping offers images of the area
affected by Hurricane Katrina from Global Explorer. Two
Web sites that provide data services are: • Geographic
Image and Feature services (http://geodata.epa.gov)
for superfund sites, permit application sites, toxic inventory sites, etc • Geospatial
Data Download services (http://epa.gov/enviro/geo_data.html)
available in XML, shape files, or feature class files, eventually KML files. Technology
used at EPA is based on ArcIMS for mapping server, ESRI’s ArcSDE
(spatial data engine), and Oracle Spatial (GIS extension to database). EPA
also uses a service-oriented architecture (Web Service, XML), including data
from USGS NWIS (National Water Inventory System), FWS NWI (National Wetlands
Inventory), EPA STORET, ESRI ArcWeb Services, and USGS Terra Server Aerial
photos and topographic maps. Eric
concludes by sharing the future direction of information technology used at
the EPA. He notes the importance of GIS and the intent of data sharing and
more GIS services on the Web. Questions
and Discussion: CUAC
members had a question about availability of hard copies of EPA basins to the
library community in the future (whether through the depository program or
direct request it from the agency).
Dave Wolf responded that EPA has been trying to upload all the data on
the Web and suggested that libraries should regularly download data at their
own convenience and can contact the EPA for historical data. New NLCD (National Land Cover Data, 2001
source) is now available. CUAC members also inquired about possibility of
formal partnership between EPA and university communities for sharing the web
applications and data created by EPA as back up sources for access and
archiving. Further concerns and
discussion centered on archiving issues and how these Web applications and
data will be accessible 50 years from now. EPA is looking forward to working
with NARA for data archiving. CUAC members also appreciated EPA’s
development of these Web applications since it has proved useful for students
to do environmental analysis without GIS knowledge. For
further information, please contact
Eric Hubbell (Hubbell.eric@epa.gov) Web
Sites for Further Information: • EnviroMapper
- http://epa.gov/enviro/html/em/ • Window
to My Environment (WME) - http://www.epa.gov/enviro/wme/ Sam Wear, USGS Geospatial One-Stop (submitted by Anne Graham) Geospatial
One-Stop (GOS), an intergovernmental project managed by the Department of the
Interior and USGS in support of the President’s Initiative for
E-Government that encourages collaboration to leverage government geospatial
resources and best practices by providing access to national geospatial data. An outcome of the Geospatial One-Stop
E-gov project is Geodata.gov, a portal to our nation’s (local,
regional, national) digital geographic data. The
Geopatial One-Stop portal (www.geodata.gov)
provides access to many different kinds of digital geographic information.
The actual geographic data does not reside in the portal, but rather the
portal is an exploration system to a collection of pointers which reference
different geospatial files, information and data. Essentially the portal contains
records about the files, like a huge card catalog, or a national metadata
catalog. These documented data
sets contain many layers of information such as aerial imagery, elevation
data, ground control, land cover, surface waters, transportation and
structures. The
portal consists of different components: a metadata catalog with a search
application; a map viewer; a data partnership marketplace; and community of
interest collaboration tools. The National Map provides the primary base map
of GOS. The National Map is
a critical asset, providing a seamless base of topographic data upon which
other data, discovered in the portal, can be draped. Interoperability standards allow The
National Map to be leveraged by GOS. The
National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) refers to the technology,
policies, standards and human resources necessary to acquire process,
distribute, use and maintain spatial data by the Federal Government. Geospatial One-Stop is one of the key
components in furthering the building of the NSDI. The GOS catalog is built upon
harvesting copies of the metadata contained in the earlier NSDI collections
and expanding the ways governments can publish their data to this national
collection. Partners
are federal agencies, states, cities, counties (local governments, where the
richest and most detailed data is being developed), tribes, academia, and the
private sector. The biggest
challenge for the Federal government is to provide sufficient incentives to
enable more local government information to be incorporated into the building
of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. State,
Local and Federal web map services are a great resource for the public to
access the most current data. GOS
is a repository for pointers to these publicly available data services. Data can be described with metadata
and downloaded from GOS. In
addition to searching the entire collection of metadata, the GOS portal is
organized around topical themes of information that are organized into data
‘Communities’. In
addition, to data themes the portal contains the following primary
organizational tabs to help with navigation: Communities
tab
– provides a way for users to share information with each other about
specific topics, such as fire, local government, historical collections. The
communities tab can be a pointer to a web site, or to a large amount of
downloadable data. One
local community example is the metadata about Spokane web mapping service. The
Library tab within the Communities gives links to pertinent web sites. Maps
tab
shows popular maps. The
National Map is where different kinds of live web mapping services that can
be fused and mapped within the national map pointed to with GOS. Marketplace
tab
allows you to see what data others are trying to acquire so that you can
develop partnerships for acquiring datasets. There
are approximately 125,000 records in GOS and the content continues to grow
each year. The
home page interface is customizable with a login and maps and searches can be
saved. The following enhancements have been recently made: GOS
2.1 Enhancements: · Improved
Harvesting · Improved
Metadata Management tools · Spatial
Ranking of Search Results (better ‘geographic fit’ in search) · Access
Metadata from the Viewer · Provide
More Feedback to publishers Next
Steps: · Publishing
content to the web · Viewer
Improvements: better Open Geospatial Consortium Web Mapping Service support,
faster base maps, 3-D viewer, possible KML support. Questions/comments: · Loading
from multiple distributed map services can cause viewing and downloading time
differences. This
interface has been very nice. How
do all the data delivery portals fit together? Sam: I will provide the group an
outline that came out of a meeting of several groups under the NSDI. The groups worked to get people to
understand the difference between all the portals of the NSDI. GOS is where those different
technologies come together. The
hope is that metadata records for all NSDI data will be placed in GOS. Jenny Runyon, U.S. Board on Geographic Names (submitted by Mary McInroy) The
Board on Geographic Names (BGN) was established by Executive Order in 1890
and is the longest-standing standards body in the United States. The BGN’s mission, in 1890 as it
remains today, is to oversee decisions affecting “…geographic
names and principles of geographic nomenclature and orthography.” At first interested only in US
entities, the BGN gradually expanded its interests to include foreign names
and other areas of interest to the United States, a process that accelerated
during World War II. In 1947, the
BGN was recreated by Congress in Public Law 80-242. A
listing of BGN membership and organization can be found on their web site at http://geonames.usgs.gov/. Members of the BGN represent federal
agencies concerned with U.S. geographic information, population, ecology, and
the management of public lands. The
BGN’s Domestic Names Committee (DNC) includes multiple members from the
Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Homeland Security, the
Library of Congress, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Government Printing
Office. The BGN also includes an
Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN). Staff support for the DNC and ACAN is
provided by USGS. BGN’s
Foreign Names Committee agency members are from the Commerce, State, and
Defense Departments, as well as the CIA and the Library of Congress. This committee includes Advisory
Committees on Underseas Features and Extraterrestrial names, with staff
support provided by NGA. The
BGN deals with the standardization of names, not their regulation. Standardizing of geographic names and
locations prevents incorrect, inaccurate, or contradictory feature data from
appearing simultaneously in multiple applications, a circumstance which could
have serious and potential catastrophic consequences in such areas as: national security, emergency preparedness
and response, site selection & analysis, and all levels of communication.
Members
of the Domestic Names Committee meet each month at the Department of the
Interior in Washington D.C. to agree on the geographic names to be used in
federal products. The full BGN
(Domestic and Foreign Names committees) meets quarterly at USGS. These BGN decisions on official (i.e.,
BGN approved) geographic names and locations are mandatory only for federal
products, i.e., they are not binding for state and local governments,
although most would agree that names should be consistent throughout all levels of government and the private
sector. Although names and
locations may have historical listings or variant spellings, there is only
one official geographic name for each feature. The Geographic Names Information
System (GNIS) is the authoritative federal source for official domestic
geographic names and locations.
GNIS is searchable online at
http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/index.html, and can be downloaded entirely
or in user-selected sections. The
GEONet Names Server (GNS), developed and maintained by the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), is the official repository of foreign
place-name decisions approved by the BGN. Also the GEONet Names Server, like the
GNIS, is cumulative, i.e., name listings are not deleted except in cases of
obvious duplication. Names and
locations of man made features are determined by the authoritative local
source and are not subject to formal BGN review and decision. However, their names and locations are
recorded in the GNIS, and as such are considered official for federal
use. To
build the GNIS database, beginning in the 1970’s, the BGN collected
names and locations from the 1:24K USGS topographic maps, then moved on to
U.S. Forest Service visitor maps and NOAA charts. Beginning in 1982 and continuing
today, the BGN is in Phase II of a state-by-state data compilation effort,
which involves collecting names from other federal sources, state and local
sources, and other current and historical maps and documents (the final two
states are expected to be completed in 2010). Also, since 2002, the BGN has
initiated Phase IIA, which involves updating names and locations (primarily
new structures and cultural features) for the 46 most critical urban areas as
identified by NGA for homeland security.
The BGN so far has standardized over two million names in 66 feature
classes, i.e., broad categories such as summits, streams, canals, rapids,
woods, and populated places.
Cultural features are the fastest-growing part of the database. The
BGN works closely with a network of fifty State Geographic Names Authorities
(SNA’s), which solicit local input and provide recommendations to the
BGN on name proposals (new names and name changes). The SNA’s, many of whom
represent state government agencies, also work closely with their GIS
communities and other partners to coordinate names activities and to assist
in the GNIS data compilation effort.
Some SNA’s are comprised of one individual in academia, while
others are formal boards established by state legislatures. Several SNA’s also serve as
their state’s archivist or are affiliated with their state’s
historical society. The BGN is
also developing partnerships with many tribal authorities, and in compliance
with the Executive Order requiring tribal consultation on matters of interest
to the federal government, will seek the input of any interested tribal
government on any name proposal it receives. Several tribes are working closely with
the BGN to incorporate names of indigenous significance into the GNIS. The
work that BGN does supports, among others, the following federal
programs: Geospatial One Stop
(GOS), The National Map, the National Atlas, the National Hydrography
Dataset, the National Elevation Dataset, and FGDC standards development. BGN
is currently working with ANSI to make the GNIS Feature ID# the
“official code” for the nation. The GNIS Feature ID# is currently
official for the federal government, but establishing it as a national
standard would permit its usage throughout both the government and private
sector and would create a standard within the international community. Google
Earth currently uses GNIS and GEONet as two of its primary sources for names,
although it also gathers names from a number of other non-standardized
sources. The official names issue
is not a large problem with US names, but the foreign geographic names used
on Google Earth are definitely not standardized. The BGN is attempting to urge Google
Earth to indicate that the BGN is the only official source for these names,
and to also allow Google Earth’s users to feed any updates/corrections
back to the BGN. The
BGN is an active participant in the international arena, primarily through
the United Nations Group of Experts of Geographical Names, and also through
its annual geographic names training course, conducted under the auspices of
the Pan American Institute for Geography and History. BGN
web site at http://geonames.usgs.gov/
includes a brief history of BGN, as well as links to GNIS and NGA’s
GEONet Names Server for domestic and foreign place names respectively. A form to propose or change a domestic
geographic name can be found here also.
In addition, the BGN site links to other geographic place name sites
for US states and a few foreign countries, as well as other general
geographic names sites, e.g. ASU’s “Place Name Servers on the
Internet” and the “Fuzzy Gazetteer.” Tim Trainor, Assistant Division Chief for Geographic Areas and Cartographic Data Products, U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division(submitted by Joe Aufmuth)Tim Trainor, Assistant Division Chief for Geographic Areas and Cartographic Data Products, U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division began with
an overview of presentation topics which included geographic and cartographic products, a 2010 Census update, a review of geographic programs, a FIPS and
ANSI transition update, a MAF/TIGER system status update.Richard Huffine, National Library Coordinator, United
States Geological Survey David Soller, Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, and Chief, National Geologic Map Database Project (submitted by Linda Zellmer) David
Soller reported on the National Geologic Map Database (URL:http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ngmdb/ngm_catalog.ora.html),
an index to geologic maps for the United States. A graphical search interface
using Google Maps is available for selected states. In addition, a new
feature available shows the number of maps that meet the search criteria.
Other improvements include links download GIS data if it is available, links
to a scanned image of the map and links to the scanned image in the
Publications Warehouse. Because not everyone has the Plug-In available, the
images are also available as an image that does not require a plug-in. The USGS
is keeping track of the number of times a publication from a particular
organization is accessed through the site, so that they and the contributing
agencies are able to track use statistics. USGS is willing to share
information on what they have scanned with others to eliminate duplication of
effort. The site also contains links to all of the Digital Mapping Techniques
reports that have been issued since the meetings began in 1997 (http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Info/dmt/).
These reports contain information on the development of digital mapping
technology in the Earth Sciences. A new site on standards and guidelines is
being developed as well. Richard
Huffine, the new National Library Coordinator of the USGS Libraries,
presented the agency update for the USGS. He spoke about how the information
provision side of USGS is evolving and being managed and the various
components of the geospatial information office, which includes the USGS
Libraries. Several statements over the last few years indicate that science
at the USGS is becoming more integrated, rather than divided between various
sub-disciplines (hydrology, geology, biology, etc.). Information services drive a lot of the work at USGS. USGS provides answers to questions via the telephone, e-mail, mail, and even Blackberry. The USGS is developing several information resources in the individual science programs, such as the National Water Information Network (NWIS) and the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). Information Services includes people, tools and processes. People are involved in understanding what the users need, building tools such as the Publications Warehouse, Frequently Asked Questions and the Science Topics are tools that help provide access to USGS information. The Natural Science Network consists of Science Information and Library Services, Knowledge Management and Information Delivery. Information services includes the Library as well as the people who respond to questions vial e-mail and the telephone (1-888-ASK-USGS). Tools are being developed to help manage USGS (Knowledge Management). These tools include the Frequently Asked Questions, Portals, Wikis, and other tools to help USGS collect, manage and create new i |
