9:30 a.m., Oct. 31, 2002--The Delaware Data Mapping and Integration Laboratory (DataMIL) recently won an Honorable Mention in the 2002 Best of the Web contest sponsored by the Center for Digital Government and Government Technology magazine. 
DataMIL is an interactive, online collaboration developed by computer specialists and geologists at the University of Delaware, the Delaware Geological Survey, the Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to facilitate collection, integration, maintenance, distribution and mapping of Delaware’s geographic data. It is being considered as a prototype for The National Map, a national internet-based service being developed by the USGS.
More than 350 entries were evaluated for innovation, functionality, efficiency, participation and economy. Entries were judged in four main categories: State Government, Local Government, Higher Education and K-12 Education.
“Most of the government entries, especially the winners, appeared to be portal sites that provide access to government-wide services,” according to State Planning Director Connie Holland, who chairs the Delaware Spatial Data Implementation Team (I-Team) that established the DataMIL through the Delaware Geographic Data Committee.
“Though DataMIL isn’t a portal site on the level of many of the other entries, I think the judges recognized the leading role that the DataMIL plays in bringing spatial data to the people of Delaware and in moving forward the National Map concept of the USGS—a national, seamless, digital base map of the nation.”
The UD team developing the system was led by Richard S. (Dick) Sacher, manager of resources and data management in IT User Services, who was technical lead for the discussion forums portion of the project; John Callahan, an information research consultant in IT User Services, who was technical lead for the project; Christina (Tina) Callahan, graphic designer for the project; and William S. (Sandy) Schenck, a scientist with the Delaware Geological Survey and chairperson of the Delaware State Mapping Advisory Committee.
Previously, DataMIL also received a Special Achievement in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technology award from the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI). ESRI chose DataMIL from more than 100,000 organizations that benefit society through their use of GIS technology to be honored at the 22nd annual ESRI International User Conference in San Diego this past July.
The Delaware DataMIL was created by and is maintained by the University of Delaware’s Research and Data Management Services office and is funded, in part, by a USGS grant. The DataMIL Team includes the Office of State Planning Coordination, the Delaware Geological Survey and the USGS. The DataMIL presents spatial data from state, federal and local sources and provides a feedback mechanism for data users to suggest updates and improvements.
The Delaware DataMIL can be found on the Web at [http://www.datamil.udel.edu].
Article by Jeanine McGann
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