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Step 1: Select and Research a Point

By The National Map Corps

This section will walk you through the process of researching a structure point to determine if it needs to be deleted.

The process of researching a point which needs to be deleted is the same as researching a point that needs to be updated.  

 

You might decide to delete a point based on: 

 

  • Information posted on an official website (e.g., a local news article discussing the closure of the local high school) 
  • A phone call (e.g., you call a fire department to confirm that one of their stations has permanently closed) 
  • Local knowledge (e.g., you know that a small family cemetery in your community was flooded, and the graves were reinterred to another larger cemetery) 
  • Visual confirmation (similar to local knowledge - e.g., an EMS station down the street went out of business and the building was converted to a bank).  

  • Lack of authoritative information (e.g., the complete absence of an official school website / social media page, or no mention of a specific school on a district website). This method should be used with caution and can be more reliable with some structures than with others. Cemeteries rarely have their own official sources, so not immediately finding a website for a cemetery does not mean the cemetery should be deleted. Amish schools are also not likely to have an online presence. However, if you cannot find an authoritative online resource for a public school or a hospital, for example, then it’s likely those businesses are no longer operational. 

     

To check an existing structure's information, click on the point to select it. The structure's information will appear on the left side of the imagery. We will be verifying the existing We Care Medical Transportation point in Denver as an example. Read through the image captions to learn about our process for deciding that this point should be deleted.  

Edit history for the point representing We Care Med Transportation
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
After clicking on this point representing We Care Medical Transportation, we can see that it was created in 2013. Since EMS and ambulance companies tend to open and close fairly often, it’s possible this business is no longer in operation. It’s also possible that this is a business that doesn’t meet our collection criteria for ambulance services.   

 

Google Street View™ building sign at the former location for We Care Med Transportation
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
While researching We Care Medical Transportation, we first used Google Street View™ to examine the building located at the address / coordinates of the point in the editor. The sign in front of the building can be seen in very recent imagery, however it does not list We Care Medical Transportation. The business could be closed; however, we need to do more research.  

 

Website footer information for We Care Med Transportation
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
We then did an internet search for “We Care Medical Transportation Denver” to see if we could find a website. We did find a website, however, the content contained typos and lots of generic place-holder text suggesting that this site has not been maintained. The date listed at the bottom of the home page says 2016.  

 

Primary navigation menu for We Care Med Transportation website
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Even though the We Care website does not appear to be maintained, the content implies that this facility only specializes in non-emergency medical transportation, which makes it a structure that we do not collect. Although this facility appears to no longer be in business, the fact that it was a transportation only service without medical care means that it does not meet our collection criteria and therefore, qualifies it for deletion.