GEOSPATIAL DATA STEWARDSHIP:

KEY ONLINE RESOURCES

AN NDSA REPORT

Modified image courtesy of the state of North Carolina. 

February

2014 An Introduction to Geospatial Data Stewardship Resources

Diane Papineau, Montana State Library

Butch Lazorchak, Library of Congress, National Digital Information

Infrastructure and Preservation Program

Representing the NDSA Geospatial Content Working Group
GEOSPATIAL DATA STEWARDSHIP QUICK REFERENCE, FEBRUARY 2014

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Legislators, funders and planners have long understood the value of using geospatial information in decisionmaking processes and planning efforts. These users are beginning to recognize the value of having access to 

older geospatial data as a resource to explore societal and environmental change over time. Compelling 

business uses such as tracking changes in population, land or vegetation over time or providing a cultural record 

of place to document economic change are spurring users to seek out and use superseded geospatial content.

This document lists online resources that highlight key concepts and practices supporting the preservation and 

stewardship of digital geospatial data and information. GIS practitioners take the initial preservation actions in 

the decisions they make regarding data creation and management. Librarians, archivists and museum 

professionals are often called on to support access and the long-term historical and temporal analysis of these 

same materials. The resources below offer a starting point to methods, tools and approaches across the 

information lifecycle to assist in understanding current best practices in the stewardship of geospatial data.

These resources will be regularly updated at http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/ndsa/working_groups/geostewardship-resources.html.

A comprehensive list of resources can be found at Geospatial Data Preservation, a site hosted and maintained by 

the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University: 

http://geopreservation.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL DIGITAL STEWARDSHIP ALLIANCE

Founded in 2010, the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) is a consortium of institutions that are 

committed to the long-term preservation of digital information. NDSA’s mission is to establish, maintain and 

advance the capacity to preserve our nation’s digital resources for the benefit of present and future generations. 

NDSA member institutions represent all sectors and include universities, consortia, professional associations, 

commercial enterprises and government agencies at the federal, state and local levels.

More information about the NDSA is available from http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/ndsa/.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Persistent URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/lcpub.2013655116.1
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INTRODUCTIONS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA STEWARDSHIP

Resources that provide a high-level understanding of the issues involved in geospatial data stewardship.

 Geospatial Multistate Archive and Preservation Partnership (GeoMAPP) Final Report 

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/GeoMAPP_FinalReport_final_20111231.pdf

 Final Report of the National Geospatial Digital Archive (NGDA) and Federated Archive 

Cyberinfrastructure Testbed (FACIT) Projects http://www.ngda.org/docs/ngda-final-report.pdf

 North Carolina Geospatial Data Archiving Project Final Report 

http://digitalpreservation.gov/partners/documents/ncgdap_final_report.pdf

 DPC Technology Watch Report: Preserving Geospatial Data

http://www.dpconline.org/component/docman/doc_download/363-preserving-geospatial-data-by-guymcgarva-steve-morris-and-gred-greg-janee

 GeoMAPP Geoarchiving Glossary http://www.geomapp.net/using.htm

GEOSPATIAL STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLANNING

Resources on the business and legal issues that must be addressed to secure sustainable support for geospatial 

stewardship activities. 

 GeoMAPP GeoArchiving Business Planning Toolkit 

http://www.geomapp.net/publications_categories.htm#busplan 

 GeoMAPP GeoArchiving Self-Assessment Tool 

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/GeoMAPP_GeoArchiving_SelfAssessment_20100914.xls

 State of Utah Business Plan For Archival Preservation of Geospatial Data Resources 

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/Utah_Business_Plan_Geospatial_%20Archive_2008.pdf

 Libraries as Distributors of Geospatial Data: Data Management Policies as Tools for Managing 

Partnerships http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/v055/55.2steinhart.html

 Legal Agreements Governing Archiving Partnerships: The NGDA Approach 

http://www.ngda.org/docs/Pub_Sweetkind_Arch2009%20_09.pdf

GEOSPATIAL DATA APPRAISAL AND SELECTION

Resources that address the processes of appraisal and selection as they apply to geospatial data with long-term 

value. Appraisal is often associated with government archival and records management processes and concerns 

the identification of records or other information to determine the merits of long-term or permanent retention. 

Selection is typically associated with libraries and addresses the identification of materials for preservation 

because of their continuing value. 
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 NDSA Issues in the Appraisal and Selection of Geospatial Data Report 

http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/ndsa/working_groups/documents/NDSA_AppraisalSelection_report

_final102413.pdf 

 Collection Development Policy for the National Geospatial Digital Archive 

http://www.ngda.org/research/Collections/NGDA_Collection_Development_Policy_11_06_final.doc

 FGDC: Managing Historical Geospatial Data Records: Guide for Federal Agencies 

http://www.fgdc.gov/library/factsheets/documents/histdata.pdf

 Collection Development Policy for Montana State Library 

http://apps.msl.mt.gov/About_the_Library/Policies/22_colldev.pdf

 Collection Policy - Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository

http://cugir.mannlib.cornell.edu/CUGIRCollectionDevtPolicy_20060825.pdf

 Library of Congress Collections Policy Statements: Cartographic and Geospatial Materials 

http://www.loc.gov/acq/devpol/cartog.pdf

 California's Geospatial Records: Archival Appraisal, Accessioning, and Preservation 

http://salt.unc.edu/eLegacy/

GEOSPATIAL DATA DESCRIPTION

Resources that address the issues around efforts to describe geospatial data, especially as the description 

(metadata) deals with the need to document in order to support long-term preservation and use. 

 Federal Geographic Data Committee: Geospatial Metadata http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata

 Center for International Earth Science Information Network : Data Model for Managing and Preserving 

Geospatial Electronic Records http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/ger/DataModelV1_20050620.pdf

 GeoMAPP: Archival Metadata Elements for the Preservation of Geospatial Datasets

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/GIS_OAIS_Archival_Metadata_v1.0_final_20110921.pdf

 An Investigation Into Metadata for Long-Lived Geospatial Data Formats 

http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/meetings/documents/ndiipp08/session7_hoebelheinrich_paper.do

c

 GeoMAPP: Utilizing Geospatial Metadata to Support Data Preservation Practices

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/GeoMetadata_Items_for_Preservation_2011_0110.pdf

GEOSPATIAL DATA MANAGEMENT, TRANSFER AND STORAGE

Resources that address the issues around the management of digital geospatial data, including the challenges of 

managing, storing and transferring digital geospatial data.
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 GeoMAPP Storage Primer 

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/GeoMAPP_Storage_Primer_final_20111231.pdf

 Grade: Scoping a Geospatial Repository for Academic Deposit and Extraction

http://edina.ac.uk/projects/grade/

 GeoMAPP: Best Practices for Archival Processing for Geospatial Datasets 

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/GIS_Archival_Processing_Process_v1.0_final_20111102.pdf

 GeoMAPP: Geospatial Data File Formats Reference Guide 

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/GeoMAPP_Geospatial_data_file_formats_FINAL_20110701.xls

 NCSA/NARA Technical Report: Scientific Formats for Geospatial Data Preservation: A study of Suitability 

and Performance http://www.hdfgroup.org/projects/nara/Sci_fmts_and_geodata_HDF.pdf

 Advancing Geospatial Data Curation

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/pv-2005/pv-2005-final-papers/030.pdf

 GeoMAPP: Best Practices for Geospatial Data Transfer for Digital Preservation 

http://www.geomapp.net/docs/Geo_Data_Transfer_BestPractices_v1.0_final_20111201.pdf

 Library of Congress: “Bagger” Data Transfer Tool https://github.com/LibraryOfCongress/bagit-java

FURTHER INFORMATION

 Geospatial Multistate Archive and Preservation Partnership (GeoMAPP): A multi-year project supported 

by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) at the Library of 

Congress that explored ways to expand the capabilities of state governments to provide long-term 

access to geospatial data. http://www.geomapp.net/

 The National Geospatial Digital Archive (NGDA): A multi-year project supported by NDIIPP at the Library 

of Congress that explored the development of a collecting network for archival geospatial information. 

http://www.ngda.org/

 North Carolina Geospatial Data Archiving Project (NCGDAP): A multi-year project supported by NDIIPP at 

the Library of Congress that focused on the collection and preservation of digital geospatial data 

resources from state and local government agencies in North Carolina. 

http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/ncgdap/

 National Digital Stewardship Alliance Geospatial Content Work Group: Part of the NDSA Content 

Working Group interested in exploring challenges and solutions to the long-term preservation, 

stewardship and accessibility of digital mapping information. 

http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/ndsa/working_groups/content.html

 Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Users/Historical Data Working Group: The U/HDWG 

promotes and coordinate activities among Federal agencies who are primarily users of, not generators 

of, geospatial data. http://www.fgdc.gov/participation/working-groups-subcommittees/hdwg