NKAPC LinkGIS assisting Library of Congress in national archiving effort

Kentucky officials selected LinkGIS and Louisville Metro's LOJIC to join state archivists and GIS professionals from North Carolina and Utah to assist in the national effort to save these public records, which may hold legal, fiscal, analytical, and historical value.

Because of the nature of GIS systems, this data can often be overwritten and lost forever when updates or changes are made.

Trina Brush, deputy director of GIS administration for NKAPC, says that her staff's effort to archive data over the past several years is part of the reason they were asked to participate in the effort.

"The state was aware that we had taken it upon ourselves to archive our data," she says.  "Once it's gone, these data are unavailable for future use and analysis."

Kentucky’s collaborative Geo-MAPP effort also is working to set geospatial standards for the rest of the state.

One of the goals is to decide what local governments and their constituents want archived and what conditions should be applied to the specific layers.

Brush says that she and her team are excited to be part of the process.

"GIS data represent a model of our world at specific points in time," she says.  "We lose a lot when these files are overwritten or deleted.  We aren't just doing this for our own benefit, but for all those who hopefully will benefit from it in the future."

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission