Judith Teller, Chief Information Officer for the state of New Jersey, announced that Somerset County has joined the New Jersey Geographic Information Network (NJGIN). As a result, Somerset's geographic data will be available on an NJGIN node, accessible over the Internet from the county website at http://www.co.somerset.nj.us.

The implementation of this node was made possible through the NJ Mapping Assistance Partnership Program (NJMapp). Each county that agrees to participate in the program receives Geographic Information Systems (GIS) training, hardware, and software. The state also develops Web applications and provides technical support for the counties. In return for the state assistance, each participating county makes its data available on NJGIN.

"As more counties join the network, New Jersey develops a consistent, more complete collection of GIS data," said Steve Dawson, state Chief Technology Officer. "We are pleased that Somerset County taken advantage of the benefits of becoming part of the state GIS network."

"The New Jersey Geographic Information Network provides the state's GIS community with a repository where members can store, maintain, and distribute spatial data," said Teller. "NJMapp is the vehicle by which counties can create their own spatial data nodes. To receive state assistance for their GIS systems, county partners must agree to share certain geographic data on NJGIN, adhere to minimum data standards, and work with willing municipalities within their jurisdictions."

Somerset County marks the third pilot county to officially come online to the network. In October 2001, Atlantic County became the first county to participate in the program, created by the state Office of Information Technology's Office of Geographic Information Systems (OGIS). Cape May County was the second to join. Mercer, the final pilot county, is expected to become part of NJGIN in September after they complete the installation of a new T-1 network line. The implementation of NJGIN nodes in these four pilot counties will complete Phase I of the NJGIN pilot project.

Phase II of the project -- developing a centralized geo-spatial catalog and explorer (NJGIN Explorer) -- is currently underway. This tool will replace the current cataloging and search functionality at the NJ Spatial Data Clearinghouse [http://njgeodata.state.nj.us/].

"The NJGIN Explorer will provide the means for data publishers (federal, state and local government, private sector) to catalog a variety of geo-spatial data and services on the network," said Hank Garie, OGIS Director. "Users of this information can use the Explorer to create a personalized catalog of these real-time geo-spatial data and services. These data and services can be viewed using tools provided at the Explorer level or integrated into desktop/custom clients for further integration and analysis."

Completion of the NJGIN Explorer is expected during the first week in November.