Congress 2014: Special panel on a proposal for a Canadian Historical Geographic Information Network
Wednesday May 28, 13:30 – 15:00, Brock University, Plaza 600F
Sponsoring Associations: Canadian Association of Geographers, Canadian Cartographic Association
Moderator: James Boxall, Dalhousie University
Panelists:
Léon Robichaud, Université de Sherbrooke
Donald Lafreniere, University of Western Ontario
Byron Moldofsky, University of Toronto
This panel will review some ideas about a Canadian HGIS Network in short 10-minute presentations, and then throw the floor open to discuss ways and means to build such a network.
Abstract: Historical GIS Projects are becoming more and more common in Canadian research. This year at Congress the book launch will take place for “Historical GIS Research in Canada” published by the University of Calgary Press featuring fourteen such projects spanning the country. With this increase in the use of historical geospatial data, comes the impetus to avoid duplication of effort, and to share resources and best practices.
The idea of a Canadian Historical GIS Network has been circulating for several years among CAG, CHA, CCA and ACMLA members. Last year at the CCA/ACMLA conference a presentation on this initiative met with substantial popular support.
http://www.hgis-sigh.ca/Carto2013_presentation.html
In February of this year a 2-day Canadian Historical GIS conference/workshop (Atelier-conférence canadien sur le SIG historique) was held in Montreal, attracting 40 participants, meeting at the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, and sponsored by “Montreal-Plaque tournante des échanges”, a partnership project financed by SSHRC and based at UQAM.
http://plaque-tournante.uqam.ca/sigh2014/
Examples of spatial history projects were presented and goals, prospects and ways of developing a network to facilitate historical GIS on a national basis were discussed.
This panel session will review some of these previous ideas about a Canadian HGIS Network in short 10-minute presentations, and then throw the floor open to discuss ways and means to build such a network in the future.
Byron Moldofsky