Managing and Using Digital Spatial Archives
Managing Digital Spatial Archives, Libraries, and Databases
Researchers in the digital spatial humanities have access to extensive collections of geographical datasets and other spatial media, and thus the potential for spatial storytelling may seem limitless. One of the major challenges for developers, archivists, and researchers, however, is the management of the sheer volumes, sizes, and complexities of geographical data (Flewelling, 1999). Another is the difficulty of browsing and synthesizing information from large geodatabases. In a time of greater digital connectivity, an overarching challenge still lies in the interoperability of geospatial data sets and databases. Just as volume and complexity are a challenge for archivists, the vast scope of such databases can affect researchers’ abilities to tap into the locative, generative, and connective potential of geographical information.
These challenges are addressed at least in part through the use of metadata schema which document the characteristics of data (including who collected the data, where, when, why, and how, to the extent that such information is available). Digital geographic metadata, specifically, refers to data used to document the characteristics of geographic digital data resources, including geographic information systems (GIS), geospatial databases, and geospatial or earth imagery, among other other location-based resources. Geospatial metadata might include core library catalog elements (e.g. title, abstract, publication data), geographic extent and project information, and database elements such as attribute label definitions and attribute domain values (Natural Resources Canada, 2021). In Canada, geospatial metadata policies and standards related to “the use, integration, and preservation of spatial data” are primarily set through the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI). For more information on definitions and (inter)national standards for metadata documentation and terminology, see also Natural Resources Canada and the Federal Geographic Data Committee.
Using Digital Spatial Archives and Geodata for Storytelling: Resources and Examples
In the previous module, we shared some examples of spatial archives and encouraged students to examine them further. We recommend revisiting those examples for this module and the related lab. Below, we share some examples of more complex, interdisciplinary spatial archives.
Empire, Trees, and Climate: Toward Critical Dendroprovenancing using HGIS (Nipissing University’s Centre for Understanding Semi-Peripheries (CUSP))
Scholars collaborating through the interdisciplinary Centre for Understanding Semi-Peripheries (CUSP) at Nipissing University use materials from various iterations of “archives” (traditional, digital, national, local/community, more-than-human, and spatial archives) to understand the historical geographies of the timber trade, slavery, and climate change in Bermuda an