UNESCO Conference The Memory of the World in the Digital age: Digitization and Preservation 26-28 September 2012, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Tracey P. Lauriault, D. R. Fraser Taylor Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre Carleton University, Canada http://gcrc.carleton.ca ABSTRACT The central argument of the paper is that maps and spatial information have been fundamental facet of the memory of societies from all over the world for millennia and their preservation should be an integral part of government digital data strategies. The digital era in map making is a relatively recent phenomenon and the first digital maps date from the 1960s. Digital mapping has accelerated very rapidly over the last decade. Such mapping is now ubiquitous with an increasing amount of spatially referenced information being created by non-governmental organizations, academia, the private sector and government as well by social networks and citizen scientists. Unfortunately despite this explosion of digital mapping little or no attention is being paid to their preservation and, as a result, what has been a fundamental source of scientific and cultural information, maps, are very much at risk. Already we are losing map information faster than it is being created and the loss of this central part of the cultural heritage of societies all over the world is a serious concern. There has already been a serious loss of maps such as the Canada Land Inventory and the 1986 BBC Domesday Project of 1986 and mapping agencies all over the world are struggling to preserve maps in the new digital era. It is somewhat paradoxical that it is easier to get maps that are hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of years old than maps of the late 20th and early 21 centuries. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities of preserving and accessing Canadian digital maps, atlases and geospatial information, which are cultural and scientific knowledge assets.

1. The Map as a Fundamental Source in the
Memory of the World
UNESCO Conference
The Memory of the World in the Digital age: Digitization and
Preservation
26-28 September 2012, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tracey P. Lauriault, D. R. Fraser Taylor
Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre
Carleton University, Canada
http://gcrc.carleton.ca

2. Introduction
Geospatial data, maps and atlases, have been produced for
millennia , and are cultural, historical and scientific records of
knowledge and advancement, which makes them a fundamental
source in memory of the world.
Image from the British Library, http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html

3. Born Digital Maps
1. The Canadian Geographic Information System (CGIS) was
created in the 1960’s & was the world’s 1st GIS
2. All levels of government produce maps & NRCan has the
largest collection (air photos, satellite imagery, geospatial
data) and is home to the Canadian Geospatial Data
Infrastructure (CGDI)
3. The Canadian geomatics private sector is a multi-billion
dollar industry
4. Academic institutions produce maps
5. NGOs, communities, the public and citizens

4. Maps are ubiquitous in the
21 st century
Community
based NGO
WebMapping
Infrastructure
http://www.cims-scic.ca/
VGI & Mashup
Citizen Science, Academia
Montréal Accessible, Centre de recherche et
d’expérimentation sur l’inclusion numérique&
& Private Sector
Regroupement activistes pour l’inclusion Québec
http://montrealaccessible.ca/about.html
Explorus Data Solutions Inc. (Water Environmental Hub)
http://www.waterenvironmentalhub.ca

5. 7 Related Topics
1. Rescue & salvage of the Canada Land Inventory (CLI) &
1986 BBC Domesday
2. Cybercatographic atlases as collective memory systems and
community archives
3. The Preservation of Canadian Geospatial Data &Geospatial
Data Management Models
4. Canadian digital data and information consultations, studies,
reports and initiatives
5. Legislation, directives and policies
6. LAC Guidelines pertaining to Geospatial Data and Maps
7. Research on the preservation of geospatial data in Canada

6. 1. Rescue and Salvage

7. Canada Land Inventory (CLI)
Conceived in 1960
Created with CGIS
Mapped 2.6 million square kilometers of Canada
Lost in the 80s
Salvaged from boxes of tapes & paper in mid 1990s
1998 Agriculture portion worked on PC from a CD
2011-2012 there were 45,373 CLI map downloads
from GeoGratis

8. 1986 BBC Domesday Project
Started in 1984
Released in 1986 in celebration of 900 years of Domesday
Obsolete by 1990s w/ few operating systems
Emulated in 2002-2003,
Reverse engineered and online in 2004,
New discs made in 2003 @ UK Archive
BBC publishes it online for 25th anniversary

9. 2. Cybercatographic atlases as collective
memory systems and community archives

10. Inuit SIKU (sea ice) Atlas

11. Place Name Atlases
Photos © 2012 Gwich in Social and Cultural Institute

12. Lake Huron Treaty
Relationship Process

13. 3. The Preservation of Geospatial Data
Geospatial Data Management Models

14. Government of Canada geospatial
data preservation initiatives
IOS/OSD Data Lithoprobe Data National WaveForm Geomagnetism
Archive, Department of Archive, NRCan, Archive (NWFA), Summary Plots:
Fisheries and Oceans Geological Survey of NRCan, Earthquakes Archives, NRCan, GSC
(DFO)
Canada (GSC)
Canada
National Climate The Canadian Ice National Water Data System of Agents for
Data and Information Service Archive Archive, EC, Water Forest Observation
Archive, Environment (CISA), EC, Canadian Ice Survey of Canada (WSC) Research with
Canada (EC)
Service
w/Archived Sediment Data
Advanced
Hierarchies
Integrated Science Earth Observation The National Soil (SAFORAH), Canadian
Data Management Data Services DataBase (NSDB), Forest Service (CFS),
(ISDM) Wave Data (EODS), Natural Agriculture and Agri-Food University of Victoria and
Archive, DFO
Resources Canada Canada (AAFC); Canadian other academic and
(NRCan), Canada Centre Soil Information Service government partners.
for Remote Sensing (CANSis)
(CCRS)

15. Geospatial Data Management Models

16. 4. Canadian digital data and information
consultations, studies, reports and initiatives

17. Consultations, Studies,
Reports Initiatives
Open Government Consultations
Toward a National Digital Information Strategy: (TBS)
Mapping the Current Situation in Canada (LAC)
Stewardship of
Research Data in Mapping the Data Landscape:
National Data Archive Consultation Canada: A Gap Report of the 2011 Canadian
(SSHRC) Analysis Research Data Summit
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
GeoConnections study on Archiving, Canadian Digital Information
Management and Preservation of Geospatial Strategy (CDIS) (LAC)
Data
National Consultation on Access to Scientific Digital Economy Consultation,
Data Final Report (NCASRD) Industry Canada (IC)

18. 5. Legislation, regulation, directives
policies

19. Overarching Legislation and
Regulation
The Library and Privacy Act (R.S., Legal Deposit of Canada Evidence Act
Archives of Canada 1985, c. P-21)
Publications (R.S., 1985, c. C-5)
Act (2004, c. 11)
Regulations (SOR/
2006-337)
Copyright Act (R.S., Personal Information Privacy Regulations Access to
1985, c. C-42)
Protection and (SOR/83-508).
Information Act
Electronic (R.S., 1985, c. A-1)
Documents Act
(2000, c. 5)

20. Overarching Policy, Directives,
Standards
TBS Standard for
Electronic TBS Policy TBS Multi-
TBS Directive on Documents and Framework for Institutional
Recordkeeping
Records Information and Disposition
Management Technology
Authority (MIDA)
Solutions (EDRMS)
TBS Directive on Policy on
TBS Policy on LAC Guidelines:
Information Management of
Information Local Digital Format
Management Roles Information
Management
Registry (LDFR)
and Responsibilities
Technology
Forthcoming Methodology associated with
TBS Standard on TBS Standard on TBS Directive on Recordkeeping, which
Geospatial Data
Metadata
NRCan Records Management Group
contributed

21. Acts regulation governing
geospatial data
Department of Resources and Energy Monitoring Energy Efficiency
Canada Lands
Natural Resources Technical Surveys Act Act
Surveys Act
Act Act (R.S., 1985, c. E-8)
(1992, c. 36)
(R.S., 1985, c. L-6)
(1994, c. 41)
(R.S., 1985, c. R-7)
Canada Oil and Gas
Forestry Act Remote Sensing National Energy
Operations Act Canada-Nova
(R.S., 1985, c. F-30) and Space Systems Act Board Act
(R.S., 1985, c. O-7) and Scotia Offshore
Regulations (2005, c. 45) and (R.S., 1985, c. N-7) and
Canada Oil and Gas Petroleum
Respecting the Remote Sensing National Energy
Geophysical Resources Accord
Report on the Space Systems Board Electricity
Operations Implementation
State of Canada’s Regulations Regulations
Regulations Act (1988, c. 28)
Forests (SOR/95-479)
(SOR/2007-66)
(SOR/97-130)
(SOR/96-117)
Charts and Canada-
Nuclear Fuel Nautical Canada Petroleum Newfoundland
Nuclear Energy
Waste Act Publications Resources Act Atlantic Accord
Act (R.S., 1985, c. A-16)
(2002, c. 23)
Regulations (1985, c. 36 (2nd Supp.))
Implementation
(SOR/95-149)
Act (1987, c. 3)
Uranium Mines
Nuclear Safety and Northern Pipeline
and Mills
Control Act Act
Regulations (SOR/
(1997, c. 9)
(R.S., 1985, c. N-26)
2000-206)

22. 6. LAC Guidelines pertaining to Geospatial
Data and Maps

23. LAC Guidelines
1. Managing Cartographic, Architectural and Engineering
Records in the Government of Canada
2. Canadian Committee on Archival Description (CCAD)
Rules for Archival Description Chapter 5
3. CCAD Chapter 9: Records in Electronic Form
4. LAC Local Digital Format Registry (LDFR) File Format
Guidelines for Preservation and Long-term Access Version 1.0

24. 7. Research on the preservation of
geospatial data in Canada

25. IP2 Geospatial Case Studies
CS08 CS18
CS19 CS24
CS26
MOST
Authenti- City of
CS06
Cybercarto-
Mars Global
Surveyor Data
CS14
Coalescent
Computeri-
zation of
cating Vancouver
Satellite
Mission:
Engineering Geographic
graphic Atlas Records in the Communities Alsace- Preservation
Objects for Information
of Antarctica
Planetary in Arizona
Moselle’s of Space
Digital System
Data System
Land Registry
Telescope
Preservation
(VanMap)
Data
Online Surveyor Archaeological Electronic Examines An enterprise Repository of
interactive and mission data Records of the registry through an web-based map the
dynamic, open records at the American including digital engineering system Microvariability
standards, Planetary Data Southwest transcription of experiment the maintained by Oscillations of
interoperable System (PDS) rendered in a 40 000 existing authentication of the City of Stars satellite
multimedia, Space Science GIS.
paper registries digital model Vancouver’s mission data of
multisensory, Data Archive.
and new (CAD) records Information Canada’s first
multimodal atlas database entries using a content/ Technology space telescope.
that renders individually message/ Department.
distributed data signed by a judge semantic-based
from myriad using a PKI methodology
scientific infrastructure rather than
organizations.
combining media, bit-count,
biometric access or static
and digital provenancial
signatures.
attribute-based
authentication.

26. IP2 Geospatial Case Studies
Canadian International
National
Geospatial Long Term Southern Comprehensi Antarctic
Geophysical
Data Statistics Ecological California ve Ocean Digital
Data Center
Infrastructure Canada
Research Earthquake Atmosphere Database
(NGDC -
(CGDI) Access (LTER)
Center (SCEC)
Data Set (ADD)
NOAA)
Portal
(ICOADS)
National Snow U.S. British Global Community Earth USGS Data
and Ice Data Antarctic Antarctic Change Data Portal Systems Grid Portals -
Center (NSIDC), Resource Survey (BAS) - Master at NCAR
(ESG) portal
GEO-DATA
NASA
Center Antarctic Directory Explorer
(USARC)
Environment (GCMD) – (GEODE)
al Data Global
Centre
Change Data
Center

27. Conclusion

28. Conclusions
1. Preservation as an afterthought may not result in a full recovery
2. Open source, interoperable, open specifications
3. Data and systems need to be preserved
4. Proactive archiving is an interim strategy
5. Atlases as community archives conditions for secondary provenance
6. Some GoC geospatial data archives some policies upon which to
build
7. Many studies consultations but few results while experts remain
committed to the issues of data preservation
8. Much law, regulation policy but little implementation no dedicated
resources
9. IP2 research demonstrated that in science and geospatial fields, there
are many good practices
10. Data in portals are appraised – build archiving into these
11. CGDI could add preservation as a key component

29. Conclusion
Geospatial data, maps and atlases as shown in this paper, are a
fundamental source in our memory of the world. They form
part of our collective memory system, they help us
understand our geo-narratives, they counter colonial
mappings, are the result of scientific endeavours, represent
multiple worldviews, and they inform decisions.
We simply need to overcome the many challenges preventing
their preservation and build upon existing preservation
examples and implement our laws, regulations, directives and
policies.