diglib: LCOG and Eugene GIS data.

[Jon R Jablonski <jonjab@uoregon.edu>]

In recent weeks both LCOG and the City of Eugene have approached the 
university to work out an arrangement to deposit on a regular schedule 
snapshots of their GIS data.

We have purchased data from LCOG twice:  in 2002 and 2004.  It was 
expensive (~$1200 each time, if memory serves), and delivered on CD-ROM 
both times.  I have expressed in the past my distaste for CD-ROMs and the 
desire to distribute data via the web.

Representatives of the campus GIS committee (myself included) met with two 
LCOG employees to discuss the potential parameters of such an agreement. 
(My impression is that this meeting was at the behest of 2 pushy economics 
professors who immediately lost interest when we started talking about 
regular updates and metadata--still, I have to give them credit for 
push-starting the discussion.)  I explained the various ways we could 
limit access to the data, using the various levels of security we put on 
databases and journals as examples.  They seemed satisfied that we would 
be able to prevent access by the general public.  Their biggest concern 
(and I have received the same message from the city) is the amount of time 
they spend fielding requests from UO students and faculty.  It is my 
impression that LCOG might even be willing to give us this data for free 
if we agree to participate in regular aerial photography updates (see 
below).

Creating a campus-wide GIS distrubution system is on my list of long-term 
goals, but it's nowhere near ready to receive this data.  What we 
currently serve up via libweb is nearly impossible to maintain in its 
current form:  the problems with doing so are too myriad to explain here. 
To makes matters worse, the metadata LCOG provided with past releases left 
much to be desired.  At my current pace, I cannot estimate when such a 
system might be ready, but we really need it.

Ideally such a system would provide metadata for each layer of gis data. 
The data we currently have consists of approximately 150 layers, which are 
described with 2 bib records in the OPAC and 2 static web pages 
(http://libweb.uoregon.edu/map/map_section/lcog_2002.htm).  The OPAC 
entry and web pages are not linked to each other.

Aerial Photography.
LCOG commissions regular (perhaps annual?) airphoto flights.  These are 
paid for in advance by member agencies (county and municipal governments) 
'buying in' to the flights.  The data is later sold photo-by-photo.  LCOG 
is soliciting the University to become a regular partner for these 
flights.  In 2002, the University paid to have campus and surrounding 
areas flown.  We received this imagery as a gift from Facilities Services.

It would be a tremendous asset for us to receive regular complete coverage 
of Lane County IF we could resell it and IF we received the imagery 
digitally.  I suspect the cost for campus might be in the $2000 / year 
range, with SSIL and academic departments sharing some of this cost. 
HOWEVER:  the cost to organize, store, and maintain the imagery could very 
well exceed the purchase cost.  This is a path we will have to go 
down eventually, so we may as well figure out how to do it now.

This was a rather long message, but I suspect there will be many more on 
this topic.  Please advise if I am going down the wrong road or if I 
need to bring others into the conversation.

Jon Jablonski
jonjab@uoregon.edu
___________________________________Dave & Nancy Petrone MAP/GIS Librarian
Knight Library Document Center
University of Oregon.
541-346-3051