Methods of Portraying Spatial Data Used in Official Geoinformation Services in Poland – A Comparative Study

The appropriate selection of means of cartographic portrayal of geodata is one of the factors vital for proper understanding of the essence of presented geographic features, especially when dealing with public data, which are available via official public geoinformation services. The last 19 years have brought rapid growth in official Web-based geoinformation services in Poland. The authors analysed the thematic scope of the geodata published by Polish official Web-based geoinformation services, the functionality of these services, the methods of portrayal used, and their correctness. This paper then goes on to propose a typology of official geoinformation services in Poland. The analysis has allowed the authors to formulate certain generalizations concerning combination of methods, by which the effectiveness of information transfer might be increased.