In February 2011 the Maryland State Geographic Information committee launched a three-week challenge to the state’s GIS community to begin inventorying their data in Ramona, the nationwide GIS inventory tool. Ramona helps data producers and consumers by enabling others to learn about the data an agency creates and maintains. Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley gave the project a boost by issuing a proclamation declaring February to be GIS Inventory month in Maryland. From framework layers to datasets crucial for situational awareness during emergencies, the Maryland GIS Inventory Initiative encourages entities that have, create, or publish the digital data used in mapping systems to inventory their data. This presentation will focus on how data producers inventory GIS data and how to use Ramona to search and find GIS datasets.

1. The Maryland GIS Inventory
Challenge
This is your state. This is your inventory.

2. What was the GIS Inventory Challenge?
• Maryland’s three-week effort to list the state’s GIS
inventory in Ramona. (February 7 – February 28)
• Created by NSGIC to help both data producers and
data consumers nationwide by providing a
consolidated search for GIS data created by multiple
jurisdictions and agencies.
• Ramona allows others to learn about the data your
agency creates and maintains.

3. Benefits
1. Listing your inventory in Ramona connects you, both
locally and nationally.
2. Listing your inventory in Ramona communicates our
statewide progress and success.
3. Ramona offers an up-to-date inventory by data layer.
4. Ramona creates starter metadata.
5. Ramona offers the ability to generate reports.

4. Benefits
6. The Maryland GIS Inventory Challenge promotes
statewide coordination.
7. Ramona offers convenient search capabilities for GIS
data throughout Maryland, all in one place.
8. Ramona provides the big picture.
9. Ramona provides what one participating state calls an
“online Rolodex of GIS data providers.”

5. GIS Inventory Month
• Governor’s Proclamation declares February as GIS
Inventory Month!
• http://www.msgic.state.md.us/events/gisinvmonth/GovProc2011.pdf

6. Who Completed the Inventory?
• Data Producers
– Local government organizations
– Regional government organizations
– State government organizations
– Commercial providers

7. Expectations
• Not a lot of effort was needed!
• The inventory can be completed in two steps.
1. Create your profile.
2. Inventory individual data layers.
• Approximately 20 minutes to create the profile.
• 30 seconds to 2 minutes per data layer.

8. Framework Layers
The goal was for agencies to list, at a minimum, the following
framework layers in Ramona
• Boundaries • Location
Cities/Towns/Municipalities; Address Points; Geographic Place
Counties; State Names; Geodetic Control Points /
• Elevation Networks
Contours; DEM • Planning/Cadastral
• Imagery/Base Maps/Earth Cover Centroids/Vector Parcels
Orthoimagery/Digital • Transportation
Orthophotography; Land Cover Roads/Street Centerlines; Mass Transit
• Inland Waters Bus/Rail; Railroads
Hydrography; Watershed Boundaries Airports & Airfields

9. GIS Inventory Challenge Results
• 1,109 data layers registered to the State of Maryland
426 state agency data layers
14 private entity data layers
2 regional group data layers
1 federal agency data layer
666 county data layers

10. GIS Inventory Challenge Results
Data
State Agency
Layers
Maryland Department of Natural Resources 130
Maryland Transportation Authority 21
Maryland Department of Housing and Community
5
Development
Maryland Historical Trust 6
Maryland Transit Authority 6
MTA Police Force 1
Maryland Ports Administration 3
Maryland Department of Planning 19
Department of Business and Economic Development 4
Maryland Department of Mental Health and Hygiene 2
Maryland Emergency Management Agency 25
Maryland State Highway Administration 10
Towson University Center for GIS 194
TOTAL 426

11. GIS Inventory Challenge Results
Counties Data Layers
Allegany County Government 38
Anne Arundel County, OIT GIS 72
Baltimore County Government 56
Caroline County 5
Carroll County Government 11
City of Baltimore 1
Dorchester County 61
Frederick County 8
Garrett County Planning & Land Development 24
Harford County 35
Howard County Government 104
Kent County 2
Montgomery County 64
Prince George's County 68
Queen Anne's County 12
Somerset County 6
St. Mary's County 16
Talbot County 7
Washington County 43
Wicomico County 30
Worcester County 3
TOTAL 666

12. GIS Inventory Challenge Results
ISO Theme Data Layers
Biota 62
Boundaries 201
climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere 10
Economy 7
Elevation 60
Environment 67
Geo-Scientific Information 11
Health 36
Imagery/Base Maps/Earth Cover 96
Inland Waters 62
Intelligence/Military 3
Location 33
Oceans and Estuaries 25
Planning/Cadastre 39
Society 36
Structures 136
Transportation 142
Utilities and Communication 83
TOTAL 1109

13. Next Steps
• Verify contacts & information entered
• Education and outreach
• Continued push for more data

14. What’s in it for you?
• Data consumers:
– The place to go to search for Maryland data
– Search for the data you want, and the website will
direct you to the download page if available
– Participation of data producers is important

15. What’s in it for you?
• Data producers:
– Gets your data out there
– Brings traffic to your website
– Allows other organizations to see what you have
and what you are working on, enabling easier
collaboration

16. Early Adopters
• Private Industry: Chris Holub, Dewberry
– Ramona helps to optimize our data mining process
in the proposal stage by allowing a one-stop portal
for the data that we are looking for.
– It helps to avoid wasted phone calls and emails to
the wrong people when looking for data, saving
time, money, and frustration for both parties.
– We will know that we are getting the most up to
date data directly from the proper source, the first
time we look for it.

17. Early Adopters
• County Government: Rob Slivinsky, Howard County
– Easy to use and create records
– A comprehensive data discovery tool for data seekers
– A tool I can use and send to users asking about my
datasets
– A great place to start documenting your data even if
you do not have metadata
– NSGIC is government based organization

18. Early Adopters
• Federal Government: William Burgess, NSGIC
– FEMA’s Map Modernization Program –staff have administrative
privileges in the system to aid them in locating base imagery and
elevation models for map production.
– The National Digital Orthophoto Programs Committee has access
to the orthoimagery information in Ramona.
– The National Digital Elevation Data Program Committee has
access to the elevation information in Ramona.
– All Federal agencies use the Geospatial One Stop Portal to locate
geospatial data.
– USGS staff have used Ramona to form orthoimagery production
partnerships with end-of-year funds that they needed to quickly
encumber.

19. Using the GIS Inventory

20. Using the GIS Inventory

21. Reports
• Data Producer Reports
• Administrator Reports

22. Contact
Ashley Buzzeo
Chair, MSGIC Data & Resources Subcommittee
abuzzeo@towson.edu
410-704-2081
Brad Spittel
GIS Coordinator
bspittel@baltometro.org
Kierran Sutherland
GIS Specialist
ksutherland@towson.edu