Cataloging digital geographic data in the information infrastructure: A literature and technology review

摘要

Advances in computer and telecommunications technology have brought on a new era in the Information Age resulting both in the proliferation of digital geographic data and the emergence of an information infrastructure to facilitate the transfer of electronic information. We need to plan for the integration of digital geographic data into the information infrastructure. Those using the information infrastructure will require guides to access the information contained therein efficiently and effectively. Cataloging has long been recognized as an efficient method for condensing knowledge of large collections of items. Special approaches have proven successful for many applications, including digital geographic data. The advent of interconnecting catalogs to create vast virtual libraries of information leads to a need to overcome differences in special systems yet still allow users to access many of the special features found in individual systems. This article looks at the background of various cataloging approaches, at the needs of digital geographic data users, at trends in automated cataloging, and at trends in organizing resources in an electronic network environment.