PUBLIC INFORMATION — The State of California today launched a new online data repository that
makes state data files, databases, geographic data and other sources
easier to find, state Chief Information Officers Teri Takai announced.
According to a press release quoted in Government Technology, the data site provides access to numerous data sets, such as:
- vital statistics such as population, birth, death, and marriage data;
- more than 50 million data records on education;
- imports and exports coming through California ports,
- traffic counts on state highways;
- driving statistics, fatalities, accidents, and injuries;
- travel and tourism;
- water data; and the
- Cal-Atlas Web site, which provides geospatial data and allows others to contribute their geospatial data.
The data are provided in different formats: CSV, XLS, KML, TXT and XML.
"Governor Schwarzenegger has made open government and accountability
a top priority," said Takai in a prepared statement. "This new
centralized data repository allows the public to find, use and
repackage the volumes of data generated by the state, which were
previously hard to find in various places throughout government. By
publishing in different formats, we are empowering the public to use
government data in creative ways to help improve our great state."
California becomes the third state-level government to launch a data portal, following the District of Columbia and Utah.MJ
