IU staff streamline use of Indiana geographic data
As useful as high resolution geographic image data is of the state of Indiana , large file sizes created a barrier for their use. The Indiana Geographic Information Council recently recognized three Indiana University staff members for developing a user-friendly mechanism for downloading multiple files from the Indiana Spatial Data Portal (ISDP), a large repository of Indiana geospatial data.
David Heald, database analyst and Stephanie Snider, GIS specialist, both of University Information Technology Services, and Nathan Eaton, information services manager of IU's Indiana Geological Survey, received the Indiana GIS Award during the Council's annual conference.
"This team recognized the tedious nature of personally tending to single file downloads of ever larger image files as image resolution improves," said Michael Halla, manager, Data Management Support, University Information Technology Services. "The result was development of the multi-file download tool to automate downloads for geographic areas of interest as determined by the customer."
With the support of a grant from IndianaView, members of the UITS Data Management Support Group developed a .NET application and a Microsoft SQL Server database that automates the download of multiple image files from the portal.
The downloading tool enables users to select a portion of the state—be it a township, city, or custom area—and view a listing of available files. From there, they may choose specific files and where to save the files on their system. Once the user selects the files, the application automatically transfers all the files to the user's system—until the transfer is complete.
Eaton, Heald and Snider also developed supporting content that can be found under the help menu of the portal application and at IU's Knowledge Base. They also provide technical assistance to users from the government, private sector, and the general public.
The Indiana Spatial Data Portal provides access to more than 7.5 Terabytes of Indiana geospatial data. Most data sets are available to the public for download and have no use restrictions. It may be accessed 24/7 at: http://gis.iu.edu/
