Donation of GIS Software Enables
CLUI to Expand Internet Resources and Develop In-House Mapping
Environmental Systems Research Institute
Incorporated (ESRI) has generously donated sophisticated geographic
information system (GIS) software that will enable The Center
to expand internet resources, and develop an in-house mapping
capability.
With this software we will be able
to construct a cartographic interface for the Land Use Database,
so that users can search for sites on detailed maps, as well as
by keyword, category, and state, as is currently possible. These
maps will be able to render on the screen, or be printed out,
at different scales, with the database sites represented as symbols
on the maps. Users will be able to zoom in and out, from national
to street level, as they so desire, as was envisioned when the
on-line database was conceived.
Additionally, the GIS software will
help The Center in organizing all of its site data in a spatial,
cartographic manner, and allow for the production of useful, detailed
maps for specific purposes. "These ESRI programs are the industry
standard, the ones that universities and governments use," said
the newly appointed CLUI Cartography Department head, Chris Kahle,
who helped develop the proposal to ESRI. "Now we just need to
figure out how it works..."
