Constructing a digital land record system
Abstract
Land records represent the legal bindings of a person to their property and assist in the
execution of property ownership. Protecting these documents and adopting a clear system to
manage them should be a priority to every private citizen with interest in real property in the United
States. Unfortunately, existing land record systems have become dated and fail to protect land
records and offer little-to-no transparency or accessibility. Fortunately, more modern digital land
record systems are being developed to combat these issues.
When constructing a digital land record system, it is necessary to (1) identify the economic
and functional value of using digital land record systems for a government entity, (2) establish
procedures for the digitization of physical land record systems, and (3) provide digital land record
system examples that meet the base needs of a land administration system with public access that
follows both geospatial data and digital library standards.
This thesis evaluates the needs of a successful digital land record system and outlines the
development and capabilities of BandoCat, a modern digital land record system project at the
Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science (CBI) at Texas A&M University – Corpus
Christi. This thesis will assess the current state of land record systems in the United States and
highlight the current inefficiencies and issues existing in these systems, thereby necessitating the
development of BandoCat as a modern solution. The design of modern land record systems is
founded in the standards of digital libraries. These digital libraries serve as long-term data stewards
and provide well-developed standards which land record systems can leverage. This thesis details
the parameters of BandoCat, how it leverages digital library standards, its modern features (such
as georectification and adherence to metadata standards), and how modern land record systems
(such as BandoCat) address current digital land record systems’ shortcomings, facilitate easier
access for stakeholders, easier system interoperability, and visualization of land records
information.
It is the hopes of the author that this thesis will serve as a guide to improving the state of
land record systems in the United States. Through the combination of the modern digital land
record systems, such as BandoCat, with a consistent and interoperable design, the state of land
administration can be vastly improved. The procedures and methodology created by the author
provide a baseline for improving land record systems, and the BandoCat system developed by the
Spatial {Query} Lab provides a software to begin the transition from physical to digital land record
systems.
Rights
Attribution 3.0 United StatesThis material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with its source. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the author and/or publisher.
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