It now represents a broad mixture of academic, government and commercial interests, with a sizeable proportion of working cartographers.

Many NACIS members come from related vocations (e.g. art, design, information visualization, GIS, historical research, and software development.)

[1] To improve communication, coordination and cooperation among the producers, disseminators, curators, and users of cartographic information.

To promote and coordinate the acquisition, preservation, and automated retrieval of all types of cartographic material.

[2] 1980: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1981: Gatlinburg, Tennessee 1982: Arlington, Virginia 1983: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1984: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1985: Chicago, Illinois 1986: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1987: Atlanta, Georgia 1988: Denver, Colorado 1989: Ann Arbor, Michigan 1990: Orlando, Florida 1991: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1992: St. Paul, Minnesota 1993: Silver Spring, Maryland 1994: Ottawa, Ontario 1995: Wilmington, North Carolina 1996: San Antonio, Texas 1997: Lexington, Kentucky 1998: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1999: Williamsburg, Virginia 2000: Knoxville, Tennessee 2001: Portland, Oregon 2002: Columbus, Ohio 2003: Jacksonville, Florida 2004: Portland, Maine 2005: Salt Lake City, Utah 2006: Madison, Wisconsin 2007: St Louis, Missouri 2008: Missoula, Montana 2009: Sacramento, California 2010: Madison, Wisconsin 2011: St. Petersburg, Florida 2012: Portland, Oregon 2013: Greenville, South Carolina 2014: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2015: Minneapolis, Minnesota 2016: Colorado Springs, Colorado 2017: Montréal, Quebec 2018: Norfolk, Virginia 2019: Tacoma, Washington 2020: Null Island (Virtual Conference) 2021: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and hybrid virtual 2022: Minneapolis, Minnesota 2023: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2024: Tacoma, Washington NACIS publishes a triannual journal, Cartographic Perspectives (available online as open-access)[3] and the Atlas of Design, a biennial publication showcasing innovative maps designed by cartographers from around the world.