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Coastal Web Atlas (CWA) design may be based around interactive maps that provide users with access to rich information about the geography of the coastal zone. There are few firm rules about what elements should make up a CWA, or how those elements should be developed. Developers seeking to build a successful product for their audience should begin with knowledge of the needs and capabilities of their users, and design the elements of their CWA accordingly. In general, principles of good web design and usability should be adhered to at all times.

Collaborative planning to streamline as well as to provide citizens with easier access to geospatial data has a long history in Oregon. A milestone in this process was the launch of the Oregon Spatial Data Library (OSDL) in November 2009. The OSDL provides a method for sharing public domain geospatial data at no cost to the user and is part of Oregon's participation in the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI ). This article reviews the nationwide setting for development of the NSDI and subsequent development of state geospatial clearinghouses. The paper first reviews these clearinghouses with a specific focus on five user-centric characteristics: keyword search options; availability of training or documentation; ease of access to metadata; presence of locally unique data; and calls for data or metadata contributions. These characteristics address the perspective of users who are neither GIS experts nor familiar with the clearinghouses. Information literacy concepts and the literature review informed the selection of the characteristics used in the review. The OSDL is reviewed in the same manner with the intention of commenting on steps which might be taken to make it more effective in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataCoastal informatics : web atlas design and implementation / Dawn Wright, Ned Dwyer, and Valerie Cummins, editors.p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: "This book examines state-of-the-art developments in coastal informatics (e.g., data portals, data/ metadata vocabularies and ontologies, metadata creation/ extraction/ cross-walking tools, geographic and information management systems, grid computing) and coastal mapping (particularly via Internet map servers and web-based geographical information and analysis)"--Provided by publisher.

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