The History of Geographic Information Systems   [Review]

  	
  	
  	
  


	Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship  	Winter 1999  


	DOI:10.5062/F4W66HS1


    

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Book Reviews
    The History of Geographic Information Systems:   Perspectives from the Pioneers
      Nestor Osorio
  Associate Professor
  Northern Illinois University
nosorio@niu.edu

  

The History of Geographic Information Systems: Perspectives from   the Pioneers. Timothy Foresman, editor. Prentice Hall, 1998, 416   p. ISBN 0-13-862145-4  
    The editor of this work has over twenty years of professional experience  in the field of remote sensing and geographic information systems. Dr.  Foresman with the help of other twenty-seven GIS professionals has put  together what might be the first truly comprehensive treatment of the  history of GIS.    This book is divided into seven sections and nineteen chapters covering a  broad range of interesting topics about this relatively new field.  Although the roots of GIS can be tracked back to the 1950's, it is in the  last twenty-five years when it has been recognized as such. The first  three chapters present the early years, followed by several chapters where  the historical perspective of a number of significant technical advances  in computing allowed for major contributions to the development of  geographic information systems. A recount of applications of GIS in  particular in the areas of land information systems, agriculture and  forestry is included. Another aspect of this work is the presentation of  contributions made to the field by federal agencies such as the Department  of Defense, the Department of the Interior, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,  and state and local initiatives. Also the history of GIS in European  countries, Australia and Canada are well covered. 

    The list of sources included at the end of each chapter can be considered  a good bibliographic source for readers wanting to learn in more detail  about the major developments which occurred in the last twenty five years  of GIS, a fascinating area in the history of technology with some  interesting social implications. 

    Previous efforts of detailing the history of this field are described in a  chapter written by Coppock and Rhind (1991) "The History of GIS" included  in the well known reference source "Geographical Information Systems:  Principles and Applications" by Maguire, Goodchild, and Rhind. It is a   well done scholarly summary but with significant omissions such as the  raster based GIS as well as the engineering and applications of GIS.  Another important source is "The GIS History Project" (2) of the National  Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA)" under the  direction of Dr. David Mark from SUNY-Buffalo. The purpose of this project  is to be the archival center for valuable documents related to the  development, usage, social issues, etc of GIS and to serve as a  clearinghouse for GIS historical information. 

    Therefore, Dr. Foresman's book is a comprehensive history of GIS written  for professional practitioners, developers and students. The author  believes that an understanding of the history of GIS, and the reasons they  were designed will help us to understand the power of geographical  information systems and geographical positioning systems of today. It is  an assumption to seriously consider if we take into account how GIS can be  part of our daily life.

    1.Geographical Information Systems: Principles and  Applications, edited by D. J. Maguire, M. Goodchild, and D. Rhind.  New  York: Wiley, 1991. 
2.The GIS History Project, at:  {http://www.ncgia.buffalo.edu/gishist/}          

  

  
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