Abstract

Three years of research and development have been spent on perfecting a simple geographic information systern which can be used by a variety of disciplines to record map-based heritage data. In the past year the system, based on HyperCard running on a Macintosh computer, has become the primary information management tool for several large heritage inventory programs. The comprehensive scope and large areal extent of these projects severely tested the basic assumptions used in the original design of the mapping system. Unanticipated problems with map scale, mapsheetedge matching, data storage, mappingspeed and ease of use necessitated extensive redesign. Changes in the kinds of information collected also required major redesign of the data base manager. The problems and solutions are discussed with reference to actual examples taken frorn the projects. Ultimately, it was the special requirements of heritage information and not, as is so often the case, the available software, which dictated the final GIS system design.