Data Maintenance

ESRI's ArcEditor and ArcInfo applications, part of their ArcGIS 9 suite of applications, are the primary tools being utilized in the daily maintenance of REGIS digital spatial data. Many of the hundreds of datasets maintained through the REGIS Consortium are edited on a daily basis, while others are only updated as changes are made known.

Within REGIS, maintenance is divided into two essential roles—Stewards and Editors. A Steward is a subject matter expert who ensures that all necessary changes are made to the data. An Editor manipulates the actual GIS data. For most REGIS participants, the local staff will act as the Steward. They will prepare and "scrub" the data in order for REGIS staff act on their behalf as the Editor. Some of the larger participants may act as both the Steward and the Editor.

Also worth noting is that within the Editor role, responsibility need not solely rest either with REGIS Agency staff or with the local participant. In many cases, a REGIS Participant may choose to edit only the attribute (database) information with REGIS Agency staff maintaining the spatial ("map") portion. Since each REGIS Participant and each data layer is unique, the Editor relationship may often differ from unit to unit and layer to layer, in order to find the best manner in which to keep the data up-to-the-minute.

If you have any questions about data maintenance, please contact Shane Pavlak, REGIS Technican II, at (616) 776-7702 or shane.pavlak@gvmc.org, or contact the REGIS Help Desk at (616) 776-7744 or regis@gvmc.org.

REGIS is an agency of the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council