UpFront with NGS: USGS

Showing posts with label USGS. Show all posts

25 August 2016

The National Map and Its New Mapping Editor for USGS Volunteer Map Editors

The National Map and Its New Mapping Editor for USGS Volunteer Map Editors

Maps are so important to our research – they help establish a context we often cannot get from any other resource. I particularly love historical topographic maps, civil war maps and soil survey maps. They have proven value when I’m doing research.

One source of invaluable maps is The National Map (USGS).

From our friends at the USGS in an email sent to those who have served as volunteer map editors, we learn …

Thanks for being part of our citizen science project. Your hard work and quality edits have led to TNMCorps having an excellent reputation both inside and out of the US Geological Survey.

Also, thank you for your patience as we transition to the new web mapping editor. You’ll find much of the same functionality, some improvements, and you will notice a few things you’d like to see changed or improved. We look forward to your feedback and want to let you know that we also have a list of update requests that we hope will be addressed early in FY17, which begins October 1, 2016.

Perhaps the biggest change is the way the login/registration works. In order to provide a more secure process for logging in we have to moved to OAuth 2.0. In doing so, we are limited to the number of third party applications that you can log in with, although we hope to add more in the future.

Basically it comes down to this….in order to edit you’ll need to register again on the new site. In doing so, it will help a lot if you use your same username so we can tie information from your old account to your new account. If your username changes for whatever reason, please let us know by emailing us at nationalmapcorps@usgs.gov.

You will need a Google (gmail) or Microsoft based email account. If you don’t know if your email will work or not, just try it using either the Google button or the Microsoft button on the login page of the editor. If your email won’t work using Google or Microsoft and you want to KEEP your email address the same, then open a free account on ArcGIS Online, then login with that information.

For you more experienced editors, one of the biggest concerns you might have is that we have not (yet) included your total edits from the previous editor. However, we are still tracking your totals to use for recognition and awards. Also, your roles (Peer Reviewer and/or Advanced Editor) have not been automatically assigned. We are working to update your roles/points as soon as possible. If you use the same username it will help us a lot in tying the old and new accounts together.

Many of you also use the history of a point to help you when editing. In combining databases which will ultimately streamline the time it takes for an edit to become available for integration into The National Map and US Topo Maps, we were unable to keep the history. As part of FY17 enhancements, we will be implementing the ability to see the history of any point. Currently you will only be able to see the history of your own points.

We have started a list of FAQs relating to the new editor, and look forward to your feedback. If you need further help, we are an email or phone call away.

Want to learn more about becoming a USGS Volunteer Map Editor? Check out this article USGS Needs YOU! Help Our National Mapping Efforts ByAdding Your Community’s Landmarks and Buildings. Note: The links have not been verified as all still working.

What are your favorite resources for historic maps?

What single map made “a difference” to your family history research?

Editor’s Note. Enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these related posts National Atlas Being Combined With National Map (2014) & USGS -- The National Map: Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project (2011)

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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14 November 2014

Upfront Mini Bytes -- Limerick Ireland Directories, Court Cases, Arabic, Civil War Graves, UK Red Cross (WWI), USGS, Philadelphia, Minnesota

Welcome to our newest edition of our periodic feature Upfront Mini Bytes. In Upfront Mini Bytes we provide eight tasty bits of genealogy news that will help give you a deeper byte into your family history research. Each item is short and sweet. We encourage you to check out the links to articles, blog posts, resources, and anything genealogical!

We hope you found the past editions helpful. Use your favorite search engine with “Upfront with NGS” “Mini Bytes” or use this Google search link.

Do you have questions, suggestions for future posts, or comments? Please post a comment or send an e-mail to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org.

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Limerick (Ireland) Trade directories, 1769-1976 now available. You can search by trade, directory, time period, surname, address etc. I have one known collateral ancestor, John Walker Nelson, who lived in Limerick working as a Watch Maker for a few years before marrying and moving. He is listed in the 1877-1884 directories on Westland Street.

Searching for someone who might have been involved in a court case, 1881-1980 in Seattle, King County, Washington? If so, consider submitting a query to the Seattle Genealogical Society (SGS – free for members and a fee for nonmembers) for a search in the King County Court Cases Index, 1881-1980. Cases pertaining to Divorces, probate, name changes, guardianship, bankruptcies, commitments and more.

New York University has introduced Arabic Collections Online. This mass digitization project aims to expose up to 15,000 volumes from NYU and partner institutions over a period of five years. The landing page is in English on the left and Arabic on the right. I suspect that many of the titles won’t be helpful to genealogists directly and possibly indirectly?!?!

Looking for the final resting place for a Civil War Veteran? Check out the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Grave Database. The database includes both Union and Confederate soldiers and tells from what state they served in, what branch of service, and where the cemetery is located. When you click on an individuals name, a detailed information card comes up which will give death date, possibly birth date, may have information on cause and location of death and information on the cemetery.

Over 90,000 people volunteered for the British Red Cross during WWI. Did one of your family members volunteer? Names are being added in alphabetical order so if you don’t see a surname of interest, it may mean that the project hasn’t yet gotten to that letter of the alphabet.

Christ Church in Philadelphia has Vestry minutes (1717-1815), baptisms, marriages and burials (1709-1900+) and pew rent registers (1778-1785) now searchable via an on-line database.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) launched a Historical Topographic Map Explorer, allowing one to easily pore through the agency's expansive collection of more than 178,000 of the USGS's maps dating back to 1884. When you enter a city, you then click on the map and a timeline of available historical maps is revealed. Select a map and you can then see if overlaid on the original map (you can adjust the transparency) and even download the map. Very cool!

Official Minnesota documents, from the Office of the Secretary of State, covering 1900-1990 are now digitized and online. “Older, print-only official documents from the early 1900s to 1990, along with index cards used to retrieve them, have been secure in cabinets and boxes at the Office, but now they are available to anyone online.”

Editor's Note: 15 Nov 2014, Corrected date range for King County Court Cases Index item.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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26 June 2014

National Atlas Being Combined With National Map

Don’t you hate it when you learn that something is disappearing when you didn’t even know it existed?

Though I love maps and know of many map resources, I really didn’t have the National Atlas on my radar. Now, come 30 September 2014 it will be no more when it is combined with The National Map.

The announcement states ...

We recognize that not having the same access to information about the population, economy, infrastructure, natural resources, environment, government, and history of the Nation, organized for display on national and regional maps, may place a burden on USGS customers. Please take advantage of the remaining months to browse and download anything you need from the National Atlas.

So, I went and played around with the map layers available which include a History layer called Territorial Acquisitions, a Boundaries layer called Indian Lands, a Geology layer called Earthquakes (1568-2009), and many more layers. Granted, most of the information encompasses from say the mid 1980s to the present and as mentioned, there are are layers relevant to our historical research needs.

There is also a section on articles and I found the History of Railroads and Maps (Parts 1, 2, and 3) very interesting.

So, don’t almost be like me and find that this resource has disappeared before you even knew it existed !

Do you know of a soon to disappear resource that might interest family history enthusiasts ?

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow NGS via Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Twitter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

04 August 2011

USGS -- The National Map: Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project

For more than 125 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps have accurately portrayed the complex geography of the Nation. The USGS is the largest producer of printed topographic maps, and, prior to 2009, USGS topographic maps were created using traditional cartographic methods and printed using the lithographic printing process.

Because historical maps are stored in a limited number of collections and are not readily available, the USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP) has begun a project to convert these historical printed topographic quadrangles to an electronic format (GeoTIFF and GeoPDF). This scanning and processing effort serves the dual purpose of creating a master catalog and digital archive copies of the irreplaceable collection of topographic maps in the USGS Reston Map Library as well as making the maps available for viewing and download from the USGS Store and The National Map Viewer.