NRIS Advisory Committee Meeting July 26, 2012

Infrastructure Maintenance Upgrades to the MSL storage environment and machine room connectivity Server Virtualization Restructuring of the MSL web/application server architecture ESRI GeoPortal Toolkit, PostgreSQL Basecamp for project management and collaboration Wordpress (Web Content Management and Blog software), mySQL New file server/backup strategy Subversion/GIT Code Management.NET Application upgrades to 4.0 NRIS Annual Report

GIS Data Inventory and Archive Completion of the Geospatial Multistate Archives and Preservation Partnership (GeoMAPP) project. Archive storage space has been created and several datasets have been moved into a staging area where they are safe while pending processing. Ongoing tasks include an update to the MSL Collection Development Policy, refining the draft data transfer workflow, and developing a tool to assist with the data inventory process NRIS Annual Report

NRIS Clearinghouse Maintenance/Updates Better integration of the full set of MSDI Framework datasets into the clearinghouse is an improvement to the collection Staff will have dedicated time for seeking data to add to the collection as part of their performance objectives moving forward Metadata has been a challenge over the last year with the release of ArcGIS 10. NRIS Annual Report

Theme Stewardship MSL has worked with MLIAC to restructure the MSDI granting process to allow for the management of the collection of Framework datasets instead of individual theme grants. This approach was approved by MLIAC in December 2011 and an MSDI Work Plan was developed and presented to MLIAC in April Stu Kirkpatrick and theme stewards have worked with representatives of MAGIP to develop a set of data distribution best practices. A core component of the NRIS/BMSC web redesign process is the full integration of the MSDI framework data into the Montana GIS Clearinghouse and providing quick and easy access to that data. NRIS Annual Report

Products and services for governmental agencies, universities, private business, organizations, and the public: Gerry Daumiller is leading a team that is evaluating the NRIS Request Tracking workflow. When complete they will present a proposal for updating this process to the management team. As part of the new position descriptions for MSL Geographic Information staff an emphasis will be placed on seeking relevant natural resource and spatial data for inclusion in the MSL Collection We have had some difficulty sustaining contributions to the Montana GIS portal as a result of the changes ESRI has made to their metadata editing tools. We will be exploring the ISO metadata standard as well as other alternatives for making the metadata publishing process easier. NRIS Annual Report

Education, Training, and Outreach: We are updating position descriptions and performance objectives and as part of that process we will develop individual and group training plans. As part of an ongoing effort to seek our opportunities to perform outreach, Diane Papineau has been assigned to the role of outreach and marketing planner to help management stay ahead of these types of opportunities. MSL continues to have a large presence at MAGIP conferences. Diane Papineau and Erin Fashoway took the lead on the well attended GIS Day event held in the capitol rotunda in November MSL staff are active on the MAGIP board and Gerry Daumiller was recently appointed to the educational committee chair. Other areas of emphasis for outreach in the last year have been the GeoMAPP, GIS Data Archiving activity and work to better integrate the National Hydrography Dataset and the Montana Water Rights Database NRIS Annual Report