Creating a new map library

This example procedure describes how to create a new map library using the ESRI ARC/INFO Librarian database management module. For the purposes of this example the new map library will be named WRLIB (Water Resources Library). This specific process was developed in direct reference to the ARC/INFO online documentation (ARCDOC) for Librarian management. This process is designed for use in a computing environment in which the machinery are SunSparc 20s and Sun Ultras, the operating system is Sun Solaris 2.5 (Unix), the user interfaces are Common Desktop Environment (CDE) and OpenWindows operating on an FDDI token ring network using NFS mounting protocol. Users with PCs can access the environment through Hummingbird X-Windows software.

Actions for which ARC/INFO commands are available are capitalized,

Unix commands are prefaced by a typical Unix prompt naming convention of '<machine name>.<user name>%' <command> {arguments},

  1. Choose a Tile Structure
    2. Most Department of Water Resources project work is performed in large scale areas of interest. The GIS datasets created for, and resulting from these projects are best stored in a large scale tiling scheme. Index12 is based upon the USGS Quarter Quad, or 3.75' quadrangle, and is the best available tiling scheme for the new map library.
  2. Add an environment variable to the user interface environment files
    3. The tile index coverage (see next step) stores a system pathname to each tile workspace directory. The value stored in the index coverage can be the name of an environment variable. Using an environment variable resolves the problems related to actual storage device location of the data. If the data location changes, just reset the system variable. Using this technique can allow structural alterations to be effected without interrupting user access to the data. A well-managed system will utilize standard master files which set a basic environment for all users. The environment variable should be set in these master files. You may need to consult with your system administrator to use this technique. In the directory where the master environment files reside, add the variable setting to the '.login' (Unix OpenWindows) & '.profile' (Unix Common Desktop Environment) files
  3. Create the tile index coverage
    4. Since data layers will continue to be added to this library for the foreseeable future, and since the spatial extent of the future data layers is as yet undetermined, the spatial extent of the tile coverage will cover all of UTM Zone 17 from east to west (this zone includes the entire peninsula of Florida) and from south to north will include the area from the Florida Keys to the area covered by the Floridan Aquifer (Georgia and South Carolina). Creating the tile index coverage to cover an area large enough to include features which will only possibly be mapped can eliminate difficulties associated with re-tiling the library in the future at a minor cost in development time and disk space. The name of this coverage will be INDEX, and it will reside in the Library Reference Workspace.
  4. Identify tiles in INDEX for which Library Tile Workspaces will be created:
    5. The boundaries within which SJRWMD has responsibility are drawn politically utilizing existing state, county, and public land survey system boundaries. These politically drawn boundaries were based as closely as possible to physical surface water basin system boundaries. Most Dept. of Water Resources projects are based upon and bounded by surface water basins. ARC/INFO coverages for the SJRWMD boundary and the associated surface water boundaries exist. The surface water basins boundaries coverage will be used to create the initial Library Tile Workspaces.
  5. Create the Library Tile Workspace directory
    6. Library Tile Workspaces can reside on any disk which is shared on the network. In this case, the Dept. of Water Resources GIS Database Administrator has determined that the most appropriate disk drive for this library is a 9gb drive on a machine named Luna.
  6. Create the Library Tile Workspaces
  7. Create the new map library
  8. Create the Master Tic Coverage
    9. The Master Tic coverage will allow future data entry from a digitizing tablet if necessary. In this case, the document from which data is converted will need to possess quadrangle corners or other features which are coincident with 3.75', 7.5', 15', or 30' quadrangle corners. The coverage must be named MASTERTIC, and it will reside in the Library Reference Workspace.
  9. Use GRANT in librarian to give users access (Manager, Operator, Browse, Look, None):
  10. Add data to the library