North American Cartographic Information Society
The North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) is a US-based cartographic society founded in 1980. It was founded by specialists in cartography, which included government mapmakers, map librarians, cartography professors and cartography lab directors. It now represents a broad mixture of academic, government and commercial interests, with a sizeable proportion of working cartographers. Many NACIS members come from related vocations (e.g. art, design, information visualization, GIS, historical research, and software development.) NACIS offers both volunteer opportunities and travel grants for students and members of the community. Objectives. To improve communication, coordination and cooperation among  the producers, disseminators, curators, and users of cartographic information. To support and coordinate activities with other professional organizations and institutions involved with cartographic information. To improve the use of cartographic materials through education and to promote graphicacy. To promote and coordinate the acquisition, preservation, and automated retrieval of all types of cartographic material. To influence government policy on cartographic information. Membership. The membership is largely from the United States and Canada, with a small but steady number from other countries. In recent years, NACIS has focused on increasing membership in Latin America and the Caribbean. Diversity, inclusion, and a welcoming  environment are important goals of the organization. Conference. NACIS hosts an annual conference in the fall at a variety of locations around North America. 1980: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1981: Gatlinburg, Tennessee 1982: Arlington, Virginia 1983: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1984: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1985: Chicago, Illinois 1986: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1987: Atlanta, Georgia 1988: Denver, Colorado 1989: Ann Arbor, Michigan 1990: Orlando, Florida 1991: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1992: St. Paul, Minnesota 1993: Silver Spring, MD 1994: Ottawa, Ontario 1995: Wilmington, North Carolina 1996: San Antonio, Texas 1997: Lexington, Kentucky 1998: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1999: Williamsburg, Virginia 2000: Knoxville, Tennessee 2001: Portland, Oregon 2002: Columbus, Ohio 2003: Jacksonville , Florida 2004: Portland, Maine 2005: Salt Lake City, Utah 2006: Madison, Wisconsin 2007: St Louis, Missouri 2008: Missoula, Montana 2009: Sacramento, California 2010: Madison, Wisconsin 2011: St. Petersburg, Florida 2012: Portland, Oregon 2013: Greenville, South Carolina 2014: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2015: Minneapolis, Minnesota 2016: Colorado Springs, Colorado 2017: Montréal, Quebec 2018: Norfolk, Virginia 2019: Tacoma, Washington 2020: Virtual Conference 2021: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and hybrid virtual 2022: Minneapolis, Minnesota Publications. NACIS publishes a triannual journal, "Cartographic Perspectives" (available online as open-access) and the "Atlas of Design", a biennial publication showcasing innovative maps designed by cartographers from around the world. Initiatives . The organization is a sponsor of Natural Earth, a public domain cartographic dataset available at 1:10 million, 1:50 million, and 1:110 million scales. The NACIS YouTube Channel posts videos of conference presentations. Awards. At the annual conference, NACIS hosts the Student Map and Poster Competition and the Student Dynamic Map Competition, both offering cash prizes. The Corlis Benefideo Award recognizes imaginative cartography. NACIS also awards an Undergraduate Student Scholarship each year. Travel grants to attend the annual conference are available to students and others in need of financial assistance.