A Data Repository for Named Places and Their Standardised Names Integrated With the Production of National Map Series
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Leskinen, T.
1NATIONAL LAND SURVEY OF FINLAND Email: teemu.leskinen@nls.fi
Abstract
The Geographic Names Register (GNR) of the National Land Survey of Finland (NLS) is the authoritative geographic names data repository of Finland and one of the elements included in the national and international spatial data infrastructure. The GNR comprises the primary Place Name Register (PNR), containing information on over 800 000 named places and their standardised names, and the Map Name Register (MNR), an operational dataset holding the cartographic attributes (placement, typography) related to the PNR names (and spellings) selected to be presented in the NLS cartographic product in question. The GNR was entirely renewed in a development project during 2010–2014. The reform covered the data model and database, the data management, the production applications as well as the production lines and organisation of work. The PNR feature classification was also renewed, as were the GNR information services and data products. The basic structure of the GNR data model was retained in the reform. The model is feature oriented and includes the objects Place, Place name and Map name. Places and Place names build up the PNR, and Map names, together with the PNR data, the MNR. All objects are interconnected and provided with external persistent unique identifiers. A named feature (Place) has at least one name (Place name) — in Finland commonly several names in different languages — that may have zero, one or multiple occurrences (Map names) in different cartographic products. In the reform a complete version management for Places, Place names and Map names was implemented, based on separate database tables for modified object versions and timestamps for the creation, modification and retirement of the versions. The GNR is an Oracle Spatial database enabling efficient spatial operations. The management of absolutely necessary transactions of long duration (isolation of data changes during the production and automatic and semi-automatic resolution of possible conflicts during the merge) is based on Oracle Workspace technology. The hierarchical workspace structure may have one to three temporary working levels for different kinds of national, regional, local and object-wise production tasks. The GNR production functionality is integrated into the NLS Topographic Database production application and includes specialised tools and user interface for maintaining the PNR and MNR data. In addition, exclusive tools for the linguistic treatment of PNR names were programmed. To ensure the consistency between the PNR and MNR and between the MNR map name layers of different cartographic products there are 13 pre-programmed parameterised SQL tools for making sure, for example, that recent changes in the PNR (additions, deletions, certain modifications) are taken into consideration in map compilation, that all parallel names of a PNR feature are presented as map names according to the rules and that names of all PNR features of a given feature type are presented as map names. PNR production is carried out by an NLS team devoted to the task. The linguistic treatment and standardisation of the names is carried out by the Institute for the Languages of Finland (Finnish and Swedish names) and University of Oulu experts (Saami names). These experts can access the PNR directly online by using the NLS GNR production application. The MNR is maintained as a part of normal map data production of the Basic Map 1:25 000, Topographic Map 1:50 000 and small scale maps 1:100 000–1:8 million. In total there are over 200 daily users performing GNR transactions. The NLS names datasets are available — globally free of charge — through WFS interfaces, as GML data products, and soon as linked data. In addition to the national XML schemas for PNR and MNR WFS and GML products, the geographic names XML schema profile sanctioned by the EU INSPIRE directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) has been implemented for international use
Keywords
Names data management; Names data integration; National map production