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# U.S. Geological Survey Business Partner Program

### Fact Sheet 082-99 (April 1999)

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           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| Part of a 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle.
The Business Partner Program is composed of a network of private sector organizations thatdistribute U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) products. By engaging the private sector, State andlocal government, and academic and nonprofit organizations in product dissemination, theUSGSexpects to increase the availability of its products to end users, locate customer service closer tothe user, and provide cost savings to the Federal Government.

Aside from substantial price reductions available only to Business Partners, benefits toparticipating organizations include a customer service staff dedicated to serving their needs,priority in processing orders, referrals of customers to Business Partners, and some assistance inproduct marketing and promotion. The Business Partner Program offers private firms anexcellent opportunity to resell or value-add and sell USGS products, most of which have nocopyright restrictions. Business Partners may be required to adhere to certain minimum annualpurchase requirements. 

Although in existence for many years as the Map Dealer (Published Products) Program, thenew Business Partner Program now includes the additional product lines of digital cartographicdata and aerial photographs. Published products include national coverage of topographic mapsat several scales, including the 7.5-minute series, other thematic and special edition maps,books, posters, and some mass-produced CD-ROM's containing selected digital data. Price reductionsavailable to the Published Products Business Partners range from 25 to 50 percent off publicprices, depending on the quantities ordered. Currently, Business Partner sales account for nearly80 percent of all USGS public map sales. 

Part of an Aerial Photograph.

The aerial photography product line includes the 8 million pictures of the United Statestaken through the National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP). The NAPP photographs cover theentire lower 48 States on a 7-year cycle. The photographs are available as black-and-white printsand positive or negative transparencies in their contact-print size of 9 by 9 inches, in severaldegrees of enlargement, or in custom enlargements of areas. A standard 9- by 9-inch photographcovers roughly 5 miles by 5 miles of the Earth's surface. The photographs are custom printed ondemand from the USGS archive copy for each Business Partner order. Business Partners receivea 30 percent price reduction off public prices on orders for 12 or more photographs.

Part of a 7.5-minute digital elevation model plot of Tumwater,Wash.

The digital cartographic data product line includes digital orthophoto quadrangles (DOQ),digitized NAPP images that have been corrected for distortions caused by camera tilt and terrainrelief; digital raster graphics (DRG), scanned topographic maps; digital elevation models(DEM), terrain data usually digitized from topographic maps; and digital line graphs (DLG), layers oftopographic map information in vector files useful in geographic information systems. Pricereductions for Business Partners on digital cartographic data are 50 percent or more off of publicprices. However, reductions are offered only for large quantity purchases on high-density mediawith some sacrifice of format options. 

To become a Business Partner, a private firm must sign a Business Partner Program RetailAgreement, which is an umbrella instrument covering general terms of business. In addition, asignature is required on one or more product line addenda, which cover the specific businessterms and conditions for a product line. A Business Partner may sign up to distribute any or allproduct lines offered. 

To obtain more information or to sign up as a Published Products (map) Business Partner,contact the program staff at the USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center in Denver, Colo., at1-888-MAPDEAL, or by e-mail at [email protected].

To obtain more information or to sign up as an aerial photography or digital cartographicdataBusiness Partner, contact the program staff at the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD at605-594-6142, or by e-mail at [email protected].Additional information on the Business Partner Program, along with links to product linedescriptions and some samples, can be found at  geography.usgs.gov/www/partners/bpmain.html.
Information
For information on other USGS products and services, call 1-888-ASK-USGS, or visit the general interest publications Web site on mapping, geography, and related topics at erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/pubslists/.

For additional information, visit the ask.usgs.gov Web site or the USGS home page at www.usgs.gov.

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*Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does notimply endorsement by the U.S. Government.  This document has undergone official review andapproval for publications established by the National Mapping Discipline, U.S. GeologicalSurvey. Some figures have been modified or added to improve the scientific visualization ofinformation.*

U.S. Department of the Interior — U.S. Geological Survey — 509 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, USA **URL:***http://mac.usgs.gov/mac/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs08299.html* — **Contact:**[email protected]**Page Maintainer:** USGS Eastern Region Geography**Last modified:**   13:38:51 Fri 20 Feb 2004 — USGS Privacy Policy and Disclaimers— Accessibility |