Libraries as distributors of geospatial data: data management policies as tools for managing partnerships.

ABSTRACT

Libraries can bring substantial expertise to bear on the collection, curation, and distribution of digital geospatial information, making them trusted and competent partners for organizations that wish to distribute geospatial data. By developing a well-thought-out data management and distribution policy, libraries can define the parameters of a data distribution partnership and reinforce a data provider's confidence in the library's role as a data custodian and distributor. In developing a policy, data distributors are advised to consider such issues as intellectual property rights, liability issues, distribution methods and services, data and metadata management practices, security risks posed by geospatial data, and user limitations. This article describes the most common elements of data sharing and distribution agreements and describes the development of a data management policy for the Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository (CUGIR).

INTRODUCTION

Although libraries are generally not producers of geospatial data, they are effective institutions to serve as distributors of geospatial data within larger spatial data infrastructures (SDIs). The process of managing distribution partnerships with data providers touches on virtually every aspect of managing and distributing digital data. This article will present a brief overview of some of the issues influencing organizations' decisions to share data and distribute data, the strengths libraries bring to data distribution, and an overview of issues that a library, acting as a data distributor, should consider when formulating data management policies or agreements. The article concludes with a description of the process of developing a data management policy for the Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository (CUGIR).

EVOLUTION OF ATTITUDES TOWARD DATA SHARING AND DISTRIBUTION

Born digital, geospatial data lends itself to distribution via the Internet. It is easily reused, well-developed standards for metadata exist, and while there are multiple proprietary formats for geospatial data, some are cross-platform and many applications are capable of reading or importing multiple formats. Initiatives at local, state, and national levels and beyond encourage, or at times require, producers of geospatial data to share or distribute data publicly. Systems such as the National Spatial Data Infrastructure gateways and Geospatial One-Stop (in the United States) exist to facilitate discovery of and access to geospatial data from multiple providers.

The benefits of sharing for providers and users of geospatial data are generally well recognized. Specific benefits to a data provider depend on its mission and mandates, data needs, and the type of sharing or distribution arrangements the organization enters into. Some of the benefits of sharing or distributing data may include

* enhancing interorganization activities by sharing information

* enabling the reuse of geospatial data by other organizations and resulting cost savings

* improving and correcting errors in data in response to feedback from users

* fulfilling public data distribution requirements

* developing competencies in and promoting data and metadata standards.

When a data provider enters into a partnership with a data distributor, additional benefits may accrue: the data provider may receive support or consulting services for metadata development; the distributor's services may make the data discoverable by new or additional means; and the distributor may take responsibility for being the first point of contact for data users.

Early development of data-sharing arrangements and SDIs was sometimes characterized by reluctance on the part of data producers to share data. Where the direction and management of the relationship was perceived as top-down and remote, there may have been resistance to participation. Issues related to the potential loss of local control were the main reason for resistance to data sharing; and some of these issues included meeting local requirements for data management and access, standards requirements (particularly for metadata), time requirements, management of data updates, and cost (Meredith, 1995).

There has been substantial progress in sharing data and developing SDIs over the last several years, but in some cases these concerns persist. Harvey (2003) asserts that trust is fundamental in establishing partnerships and sharing data. A survey of local government agency contacts in Kentucky showed that while local governments share data in a variety of ways, these relationships are based on trust rather than formal agreements. Nearly half of Harvey's survey respondents had no data-sharing agreements. What formal agreements Harvey did encounter were largely post-hoc agreements, formalizations of informal and preexisting arrangements. In a survey of agencies whose activities affect transportation systems, where most of the responding agencies recognized that sharing data can enhance interagency coordination, Zimmerman (2002) also found that about half the agencies she surveyed had a formal data-sharing policy. These agencies report sharing data with other agencies as well as distributing information on travel conditions to the public. Respondents reported protecting their interests in the data they shared by a variety of means, although most of these were relatively unrestrictive and the most common practice was a requirement to acknowledge the source agency.

On a national level, in the United States federal laws and regulations have influenced the data-sharing and distribution policies of federal agencies. One of the most important of these is OMB Circular A-130 (Office of Management and Budget, 1996), which governs the management of federal information resources, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Its most salient provisions are that federal agencies should actively disseminate public information without restrictions or conditions and that data should be provided at not more than the cost of dissemination. States also often have policies in place mandating or encouraging the sharing of information among agencies or with the public; Cho (2005) reports that every state has a statute or policy related to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data distribution. In New York State, Technology Policy 96-7 establishes the New York State GIS Data Sharing Cooperative and encourages data sharing among state and local agencies (Governor's Task Force on Information Resources Management Technology, 1997).

In spite of some apparent lingering concerns regarding loss of local control over data, there has been an evolution of thought with respect to data sharing with SDI participation. Masser (2005) describes several such trends in SDI development. One is the movement from a product-focused model--that is, the development of datasets and databases--to a process-focused model--the ongoing management, updating, creation, and distribution of data. Architectures have evolved as well, from centralized, top-down structures to more distributed models. Finally, management functions are maturing from formulation to implementation and are becoming sufficiently flexible to accommodate multiple levels of participation and new organizational structures. If these trends hold true, it would seem many of the early objections to data sharing and SDI participation are less important than they once were, that the nature of SDIs has evolved in such a way that some of these concerns have been effectively addressed, or that various mandates have simply removed these concerns as significant barriers to data sharing and distribution.

WHY PARTNER WITH LIBRARIES FOR DATA DISTRIBUTION

Libraries can be effective participants in SDI development and data distribution and have a proven track record as partners in data distribution, evidenced by their role in the Federal Depository Library Program (McGlamery, 1995). Libraries also possess well-developed expertise in several related areas, including collection development, archival practices, cataloging and indexing, development of platforms for discovery and distribution, and education and user support. In a paper on the creation of the New York State GIS Clearinghouse, Dawes and Oskam (1999) described an important additional characteristic that made the New York State Library, the original operator of the clearinghouse, an effective partner in a statewide effort to distribute GIS data: the library was perceived as a neutral party. Making a New York State agency the primary distributor may have given the appearance that a particular agency was the leader with respect to GIS operations, but the library was not perceived as a rival by other New York State agencies. This characteristic neutrality of libraries can be important for establishing trust with prospective data providers. Finally, many libraries, either by virtue of their participation in the Association of Research Libraries' (ARL) GIS literacy project, or through their own deliberate development of expertise in GIS technology and services, have acquired the more specialized knowledge of GIS and geospatial data that is required to support a distribution system (Herold, 1997; McGlamery, 1995).

MANAGING PARTNERSHIPS

Libraries are generally recognized as trusted custodians of information, and one of a library's core responsibilities is to manage information in such a way that both safeguards the integrity of the information and facilitates access. Libraries acting as partners in the distribution of geospatial information…