----------------------------Original message----------------------------
 
We are pleased to announce the release of the Demographic Data Viewer, an
interactive mapping tool accessible via WWW browsers. This mapping tool
enables users to to select geographic areas, specify variables to map,
specify map outlay parameters and color assignments. A map image is
created on the fly for each query and a descriptive summary statistics
report is provided along with the image. The tool can also be used to
browse demographic data in tabular format. All products may be downloaded
via the browsers upon creation.
 
--- Access
DDViewer is available via the public URL:
 
                http://sedac.ciesin.org/plue/ddviewer
 
--- Data
The boundary data was derived from the Bureau of the Census TIGER 1992
database. Boundaries are available for states, counties, census tracts,
county subdivisions/minor civil divisions, and census blockgroups. One,
or a multitude of counties (or entire states) may be defined as the
area of interest. Demographic data available for mapping was derived
from the Bureau of the Census STF3A 1990. Roughly 225 variables are
selectable either for mapping purposes or can be printed in tabular
reports. Map layout, colors, legends and titles can be customized by
the user. A recoding option is provided enabling the creation of user
defined variables.
 
 
--- Functionality
DDViewer allows the user to:
 *     create maps at a multitude of geographic resolutions;
 *     interpret the image using the statistical summary report;
 *     customize the layout;
 *     create tabular reports;
 *     refer to online help;
 *     create simple recodes of variables.
 
 
--- Related Services
The data underneath this interactive tool are available, along with
much more data not used by DDViewer, from The Archive of Census
Related Products. You can access this anonymous FTP archive at:
        ftp ftp.ciesin.org
        cd /pub/census;
or point your browser to:
        ftp://ftp.ciesin.org/pub/census.
 
These services are provided to you by the Socioeconomic Data and
Applications Center (SEDAC) housed at the Consortium for International
Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). Please visit our web space at:
 
        CIESIN URL:     http://www.ciesin.org/
        SEDAC  URL:     http://sedac.ciesin.org/