A STUDY OF THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING GENERALLY APPLICABLE METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR CONVERSION OF EXISTING STATE CULTURAL RESOURCE DATABASES TO GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

A VAST BODY OF INFORMATION ON THE NATION'S CULTURAL RESOURCES, COLLECTED LARGELY WITHIN THE LAST TWENTY YEARS BY LEGAL MANDATE, EXISTS IN STATE AND FEDERAL ARCHIVES. MUCH OF THIS INFORMATION IS IN DIGITAL FORM, BUT EVEN MORE RESIDES ON PAPER FORMS AND MAPS. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) TECHNOLOGY, WHICH HAS ONLY BECOME WIDELY AVAILABLE IN A PRACTICAL SENSE WITHIN THE LAST FEW YEARS, OFFERS AN IDEAL SOLUTION FOR ORGANIZING AND INTERCONNECTING THESE DATABASES SO THAT THEIR OPTIMAL POTENTIAL FOR ANALYSIS AND USER ACCESS CAN BE REALIZED. ONLY A FEW STATES HAVE BEGUN TO USE GIS FOR THIS PURPOSE, HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH ALMOST ALL ASPIRE TO DO SO. ONE OF THE PRIMARY REASONS FOR THIS LAG IN ADOPTING GIS IS THAT CULTURAL RESOURCE ARCHIVE MANAGERS TODAY REALIZE THAT CONVERSION TO GIS MUST BE BASED ON COMPREHENSIVE METHODOLOGICAL AND TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND CAREFUL DATABASE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT. RESEARCH IS DIRECTED TOWARD DETERMINING THE NATURE OF EXTANT STATE CULTURAL RESOURCE DATABASES AND THE PRESENT AND FUTURE NEEDS THEY MUST FULFILL; AND ASSESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING METHODS FOR CONVERTING, AUTOMATING, AND MANAGING STATE CULTURAL RESOURCE DATA WITHIN A WORKABLE, USEFUL, AND AFFORDABLE GIS FRAMEWORK WITH GENERAL APPLICABILITY TO ALL STATES AND PERHAPS NATIONWIDE.