The nature of geospatial information and security

Somewhere in the vicinity of 80 percent of all governmental information has some “geographic” element, and the vast majority is called “geospatial” because of the nature of describing spatial phenomena of the earth. Geospatial information has been increasing steadily in popularity and use since the advent of geographic information systems in the 1960s. From the early 1990s until the present, research libraries have seen an increase in the availability of geospatial information, and they have also seen a substantial change in the services provided to support the needs of clients seeking that information. However, recent events have altered the “access landscape.” September 11, 2001, and subsequent events, caused many policy shifts to take place as to how, or whether, access to governmental geospatial information should be granted. This paper explores those policy developments with the goal of prognosticating on the future of access to governmental geospatial information.