NARA INITIATIVES ON GEOSPATIAL DATA RECORDS

FGDC Coordination Group Meeting, May 3, 2005

Ken Thibodeau, DirectorElectronic Records ArchivesProgram Management Office

Geospatial Data : Federal Records• A Federal Record

– Any piece of information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by an agency in going about its business

– That is, or should be, kept• As evidence of that activity• Because it contains valuable data

– 44 U.S.C. 3301

• NARA – Provides direction, guidance, and assistance to all

agencies in managing their records, and – Preserves records with “enduring” value in the National

Archives– Through lifecycle management of records

Directives and Guidance• 36 CFR Subchapter B - Records Management

– Part 1228 -- Disposition of Federal Records• Scheduling Records • Transfer of Records to Records Storage Facilities• Transfer of Records to the National Archives of the United States

– 1228.268 Cartographic and architectural records – 1228.270 Electronic records

• Guidance (examples)– Disposition of Federal Records – Documenting Your Public Service– Managing Audiovisual Records– Managing X-Ray Films as Federal Records – Moving? Consolidating? Reorganizing? – Vital Records and Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery

Process for Saving Geospatial Records

• Authorize Disposition for all Records– Temporary & Permanent

• Identify records with Archival Value – To be transferred to the National Archives,– Or to an “affiliated archives,”– Or to be preserved by the originating agency

• Coordination across agency divisions

Types of Cartographic Records Preserved in the National Archives

• Exploration and Scientific Surveys • Public Land Surveys and Settlement • Indian Affairs • Hydrography and Navigation • Topography and Natural Resources • Census Mapping • Urban Development • Maps of Foreign Countries • Military Campaigns • Aerial Photographs

Digital Spatial Data Records in the National Archives

• Records of The National Agricultural Statistics Service – Crop Estimates: County-level Estimates Of Crop Yields, 1972-1989

• Records of The Bureau of The Census – Annual Housing Surveys/American Housing Surveys (AHS), Standard Metropolitan

Statistical Areas – Census of Population And Housing, 1950, Public Use Sample, 1/100 Sample

• Records of The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff – Combat Air Activities File (Cacta), Oct. 1965-dec. 1970

• Records of The National Institute of Education– National Assessment of Educational Progress, Study Year 1, 1969-1970

• Records of The Historic American Buildings Survey– Historic American Buildings Survey/ Historic American Engineering Records

Database

• Records of The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration – Capital Punishment In The United States, 1973-1987

• Records of The Environmental Protection Agency– Toxic Chemical Release Inventory System

NARA Targeted Assistance Initiative

• NARA and NPS, USFS, BLM, and Fish and Wildlife to schedule their GIS Fire Management Records

• Big Problems – Widely Dispersed– Lack Strategy

Current Standards for Transfer of GIS Records

• Spatial Data Transfer Standard• FGDC Content Standards for Digital

Geospatial Metadata

Electronic & Special Media Services Division

• Transfer: getting data into NARA• Verify: records are what was

scheduled for transfer• Validate: records conform to specs• Preserve and Store: tar and put on

DLTs• Reference: provide access on request

Aspects of the Electronic Records Challenge

• Diversity

• Complexity

• Open-ended Growth

• Obsolescence

• Continuing change

• Durability

Electronic Records Archives Vision

“The Electronic Records Archives will authentically preserve and provide access to any kind of electronic record, free from dependency on any specific hardware or software, enabling NARA to carryout its mission into the future.”

NationalScienceFoundation

San Diego Supercomputer

CenterNISTNIST

Partnerships

Global Grid Forum

Army ResearchLaboratory

National Agricultural Library

National Center National Center for for Supercomputing Supercomputing ApplicationsApplications

Research with NARA Holdings

Mapping Herbicide Missions in Vietnam

Adding alphanumeric data to map layers