The GIS History Project

The GIS History Project was launched at a workshop held in Santa Barbara, California, in September of 1996. The workshop was held because a critical examination of the history of GIS was identified as a high-priority research topic at the Specialist Meeting for the NCGIA's Initiative 19, GIS and Society: The Social Implications of How People, Space, and Environment are Represented in GIS.

The goals of The GIS History Project are:

to foster research on the history of GIS by all scholars, whether or not they are directly involved in the project
to document the history of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), especially the early days of the technology
to develop and maintain a professionally-managed archive for materials related to the history of GIS
to coordinate research on the history of GIS, and act as a clearing house whereby GIS history researchers can find out what research has been completed, what is underway, and which topics have not yet been addressed
to disseminate results and findings as broadly as possible in a variety of forms to reach educational and scholarly communites and the general public

At the workshop, several topics were identified as high priority for case studies in the early part of The GIS History Project:

Last updated on July 2, 1997