Washington, D.C., November 20, 1998: Recognizing that the annual GIS/LIS conference series has fulfilled the purpose for which it was created, the Directors of GIS/LIS, Inc. have taken steps to terminate the current conference series. The move came at the conclusion of GIS/LIS '98, held November 10-12, 1998, in Fort Worth, Texas.
The GIS/LIS series pioneered education and networking in geographic information systems (GIS) and land information systems (LIS), beginning with the first conference in 1986. Since 1990, the conference and exposition has been conducted under the auspices of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Geospatial Information Technology Association (GITA, formerly AM/FM International), and the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA). It was designed to provide a common forum for all sectors of GIS and related specialties, and throughout its history has consistently brought individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds together.
ASPRS Executive Director Jim Plasker, noting that in the early years the GIS/LIS conference was the "only national venue for information exchange among a broad range of geospatial professionals," observed that the conference evolved to serve primarily as a source of general information and education for GIS professionals. In the meantime, many other conferences, both local and national, have developed to address focused topics, including vendor-specific tools, specific application areas, or local geography issues. While there are many practitioners who have yet to embrace GIS as a tool, they are generally in disciplines that do not participate in the activities of the sponsoring associations. Plasker said, "The GIS/LIS conference has provided an excellent forum for the profession since its inception, but the overall context has changed."
AAG Executive Director Ron Abler said, "Over the years, GIS/LIS has educated tens of thousands of professionals, for whom GIS technology has now become ingrained in their daily work." He said that the conference's focus on technology has become less of an attraction for the constituencies that have historically supported GIS/LIS.
"In the '80s, we focused on exploring GIS technology," Abler said, "and in the '90s we transitioned to hardware and software issues. It's time for another shift; I believe the trend in the next decade will be on improving techniques to obtain and manage geographic data to more effectively solve real-world problems."
According to GITA Executive Director Bob Samborski, some members of the former GIS/LIS consortium felt that a more issue-oriented, highly focused multi-disciplinary conference would be a good successor to GIS/LIS.
Samborski said, "One of the primary benefits of GIS/LIS was that it provided a venue where representatives of academia, government, utilities and other professionals like surveyors could interact. These professionals would have had more difficulty crossing paths had it not been for the GIS/LIS conferences, and that will be an important element in our future discussions." He went on to say that planning meetings have been scheduled to further explore interest in these ideas.
For additional information on the discontinuance of the GIS/LIS conference series,
contact any of the five sponsoring organizations.
Copyright © 1999 American
Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing
5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 210, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-2160
http://www.asprs.org, please send
for assistance select here.
(19 January 1999)