Curation and Preservation of Complex Data: The North Carolina Geospatial Data Archiving Project

The North Carolina Geospatial Data Archiving Project (NCGDAP) is a three-year joint effort of the North Carolina State University Libraries and the North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis focused on collection and preservation of digital geospatial data resources from state and local government agencies. NCGDAP is being undertaken in partnership with the Library of Congress under the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). “Digital geospatial data” consists of digital information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on the earth. Such data resources include geographic information systems (GIS) data sets, digitized maps, remote sensing data resources such as digital aerial photography, and tabular data that are tied to specific locations. These complex data objects do not suffer well from neglect, and long-term preservation will involve some combination of format migration and retention of critical documentation. While the main focus of NCGDAP is on organizational issues related to the engagement of spatial data infrastructure in the process of data archiving--with the demonstration repository seen more as a catalyst for discussion rather than an end in itself--this paper focuses more narrowly on the technical challenges associated with developing an ingest workflow and archive development process. New preservation challenges associated with emergent content forms are also presented. North Carolina Geospatial Data Archiving Project Background The North Carolina Geospatial Data Archiving Project (NCGDAP), a partnership effort involving the North Carolina State University Libraries and the North Carolina Center for Geographic Information & Analysis, is addressing the challenge of preserving state and local government digital geospatial data. This effort, which is being undertaken in cooperation with the Library of Congress data as part of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), aims to inform development of a national digital preservation infrastructure through a “learning by doing” approach focused on identifying, acquiring, and preserving content. The project is taking place within the context of the NC OneMap initiative and its framework of partnerships with state, local, and federal agencies. As a component of the National Map, the NC OneMap framework provides an opportunity to engage content through traditional distribution channels as well as through emerging web services based modes of access. At the state and local government level geospatial data resources are created by a wide range of agencies for use in applications such as tax assessment, transportation planning, hazard analysis, health planning, political redistricting, and utilities management. These data resources are, in general, of greater detail and more current than data available from federal agencies, yet production points for these resources are diffuse—96 of 100 North Carolina counties have GIS, as do many cities—posing many challenges to the archive development