ABSTRACT
This chapter draws upon the operation and experiences of the West Virginia State Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) Technical Center at West Virginia University to track several significant and continually evolving trends in statewide spatial data infrastructure (SDI) initiatives over the past quarter century. One of the most remarkable transformations in the work of the Technical Center revolves around the changing nature of spatial data. The early focus of the Technical Center was on providing spatial data to those state agencies who were early adopters of GIS. As GIS has evolved into a recognized and established mainstream technology, there has been considerable focus by government, industry, government, and academe on data standards, interoperability, and SDI. Data dissemination has undergone a revolution from the early inception of SDI, when physical transfer methods on transferrable disk, the so-called sneaker net, dominated data sharing.
