-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: zip code data
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2012 00:58:47 +0000
From: Roger Knouff <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]>
Hi Chris,
Your grad student is correct in the sense that the U.S. Postal Service
thinks of zip codes in terms of postal routes and not areas. Until a
year or so ago, if one wanted to acquire current zip code areas - which
were constantly changing in Arizona during the boom years before 2009 -
one would have to spend about a thousand dollars to get this information
from a private vendor as the post office was not interested in providing
updated zip code areas each time new zip code areas were created. I
have no idea if the USPS is required to designate the zip code areas for
the Census Bureau every ten years, or if the Census Bureau figured it
out on their own.
About two years ago, zip code polygons became available via ArcGIS
Online. I am thinking maybe since ArcGIS 10.0. I know the University
of Arizona has ArcGIS Desktop 10.1 available, so your grad student
patron can gain access to the zip code polygons via the pull-down menu
connected to the Add Data button in either ArcMap 10.0 or 10.1. They
might also have access with ArcMap 9.x if the service packs are up to
date.
The following are instructions for getting zip code polygons via ArcMap
10.1 (and probably ArcMap 10.0):
1. Open ArcMap
2. Click on the little menu down-arrow that is on the right-hand side of
the add data button.
3. Select the "Add Data From ArcGIS Online..." option.
4. Type "Zip Codes" in the search box.
5. Several options will come up. Click on the "Details" to decide which
one you want to add to ArcMap. Click on Add.
6. Go get some coffee, it is going to take a couple of minutes for all
the zip codes of the U.S. to be added to the map.
7. The zip codes will be in .sdc format. If she wants .shp format saved
locally, she can right-click on one of the .sdc file folders, select
data, and select the "Save Data As. . . " option.
8. Click on the folder icon to select a file pathway, name the file, and
to select the preferred data file type. She can choose either personal
geodatabase, shapefile, or database feature classes.
8. Go refill the coffee cup as a the 630 MB shapefile is being generated.
These are polygons of the zip code areas. I downloaded a December 2011
dataset today while preparing these instructions.
I do not know how to acquire the actual postal routes, but hopefully she
does not need the actual routes.
With the highest regard,
Roger Knouff, MAS-GIS, MLS
Map/GIS Librarian
Arizona State University
-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angie Cope, American
Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 10:24 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: zip code data
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: zip code data
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 08:47:19 -0800
From: Edward Sullivan <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]>
When I needed to do something similar about 20 years ago, there was NO
master map of the routes - only a master set of correspondence tables
associating all postal addresses with the courier routes and ZIP+4
equivalents. These were updated continuously by the Postal Service and
available on 8-track tape. The typical users were direct/bulk-mailers
who processed the database to enable pre-bundling of bulk mail so as to
qualify for reduced postage rates.
The Postal Service's Business Mail Entry Unit for your area could
probably provide details on what data resources are now available:
https://ribbs.usps.gov/locators/find-bme.cfm
ZIP 'areas' is really a misnomer - when I mapped the routes and ZIP and
ZIP+4 addresses, it was obvious that the system more resembled an
anastomosing network in 3D than a set of mutually exclusive 2D polygons....
Edward A. Sullivan, III
Senior Technical Associate
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
2501 9th Street, Suite 200, Berkeley, CA, 94710-2257
Voice: 510-841-9190 FAX: 510-841-9208
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web site: www.epsys.com
Due to the potential that information exchanged by electronic media can
deteriorate, be damaged, lost or modified, intentionally or otherwise,
use of this electronic data by anyone other than Economic & Planning
Systems, Inc. shall be at the sole risk of such user and without
liability or legal exposure to Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
The recipient is responsible for verifying the accuracy of data against
governing hard copy documentation. If there is a discrepancy between
the hard copy and the electronic copy, the hard copy will govern.
Recipient assumes all risks in the changing or modification of data and
revisions or updating of hard copy documents.
-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angie Cope, American
Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 6:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: zip code data
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: zip code data
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:44:07 +0000
From: Kollen, Chris <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Hi:
I need some help finding zip code data. A UA student who is working on
a GIS project is looking for a shapefile of zip code data, . She is
looking for is the actual zip code data and not the zip code tabulation
areas (that's easy to find through the census bureau). She wants the
actual postal routes. I couldn't see anything obvious on the Post Office
website, but they would be the original source. I'm not sure how easy
it is to get data from them.
Thanks for any advice or leads!
Chris Kollen
*From:*Leigh B Perry [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
*Sent:* Wednesday, November 14, 2012 2:40 PM
*To:* Kollen, Chris
*Subject:* data question
Hi!
I'm a current UA student, working on a GIS project that will require a
shapefile of zip code data. So far, I've had no luck finding a source,
and I wondered whether there might be a zip code shapefile in the
University library's data holdings.
While there are lots of things on the Internet which purport to be zip
code data, most of them are polygon data of questionable origin and
processing. The actual zip code data would be linear, because it
consists of postal routes.
Thanks,
Leigh Perry
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