Recent posts discussed the information contained on paper maps found within the Map Room. More and more, digital data, resources, and maps that are created on demand are becoming the norm within the cartographic world. Don’t get me wrong, paper maps are still vital and important both as sources of information and as a medium of presentation. However, the flexibility and immediacy of creating a custom map with the prepackaged software is pretty appealing for many users. This is especially so now that most cartographic design issues are built-in, quite simply, in most cases the program will design the map for you.
There are several packages that are available to the map users that routinely visit the Map Room, or even from their own home if desired. If they choose to take advantage of software such as Google Earth or Google Maps, they can create a reasonable reference map from existing base map information. Similarly, services available from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) - the federal mapping authority - places map creation squarely in the hands of the user. NRCan’s Toporama (http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/index.html) allows users the ability to identify the region of interest and select the map data that they require and then create and print the map they need. This is quality stuff too since Toporama is based on data collected to create the maps of Canada’s National Topographic Series.
Map creation doesn’t need to be painful. Today, it can be relatively simple and users can create some pretty decent maps with readily accessible resources. BUT, you still have to be careful.
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