The North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) is a US-based cartographic society founded in 1980. It was founded by specialists in cartography, which included government mapmakers, map librarians, cartography professors and cartography lab directors. It now represents a broad mixture of academic, government and commercial interests, with a sizeable proportion of working cartographers. Many NACIS members come from related vocations (e.g. art, design, information visualization, GIS, historical research, and software development.) NACIS offers both volunteer opportunities and travel grants for students and members of the community.[1]
Objectives
To improve communication, coordination and cooperation among the producers, disseminators, curators, and users of cartographic information.
To support and coordinate activities with other professional organizations and institutions involved with cartographic information.
To improve the use of cartographic materials through education and to promote graphicacy.
To promote and coordinate the acquisition, preservation, and automated retrieval of all types of cartographic material.
To influence government policy on cartographic information.
Membership
The membership is largely from the United States and Canada, with a small but steady number from other countries. In recent years, NACIS has focused on increasing membership in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Conference
NACIS hosts an annual conference in the fall at a variety of locations around North America.[2]
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NACIS publishes a triannual journal, Cartographic Perspectives (available online as open-access)[3] and the Atlas of Design, a biennial publication showcasing innovative maps designed by cartographers from around the world.[4]
Initiatives
The organization is a sponsor of Natural Earth, a public domain cartographic dataset available at 1:10 million, 1:50 million, and 1:110 million scales.
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