Online information dissemination at the Wisconsin State cartographer’s office using map services and APIs

Abstract

Since its creation in 1974, the Wisconsin State Cartographer’s Office has been responsible for disseminating information about the availability of geospatial resources for the state. Over time this activity has evolved from the production of paper catalogs to custom programming of Web-based mapping applications. From 1974 to 1993, the office published paper catalogs detailing the availability of aerial photography, maps and geospatial data, and geodetic control data for Wisconsin. With the 2011 release of the Wisconsin Historic Aerial Image Finder, and new versions of its ControlFinder and PLSSFinder applications, the State Cartographer’s Office has completed another chapter in its transition from paper maps to interactive Web-based mapping. These new “Finder” applications incorporate map services and commercial map APIs in an open source geospatial software framework for map-based information delivery over the Web. This chapter provides an overview of the SCO’s Web-based mapping applications, to demonstrate how Web-mapping technology has impacted service delivery to SCO customers, and affected data and software maintenance workflows and activities in the office.