In Fiscal Year 2001, the National Atlas of the United States® continued its adherence to practices that promote the precepts of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Here are some of its activities.
Metadata:
- Provided direct technical assistance to numerous individuals who were preparing Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant metadata for the first time.
- Prepared a metadata template and provided this online.
- Documented all data offered through nationalatlas.gov in compliance with the FGDC Content Standard for Geospatial Metadata.
- Bundled metadata files with all data distributed by nationalatlas.gov (more than 270,000 documented data files to date).
Discovery:
- Built and maintained a National Atlas node of the NSDI Clearinghouse.
- Improved the utility of metadata records in the National Atlas node by allowing the user to select appropriate report format.
- Built a National Atlas node on the Geography Network, a partnership with business to make government information more accessible.
Utility:
- Used industry and government standard formats for all data files, including appropriate profiles of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard.
- Developed, tested, and launched a Web mapping service that complies with the existing standards of the Open GIS consortium.
- Continued to offer the single best source of integrated, documented map products and services on the World Wide Web.