CSC Michael Moeller Metadata Specialist

First things first The What Metadata is documentation that describes a data set It is written in accordance with the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) The Why Mandated through Executive Order It’s just good data management

First things first User http FGDC Gateway Z39.50 Clearinghouse Servers Industry & NGO’s Universities State agencies Federal agencies Web user interface Gateway using standard protocols Multiple organizations providing metadata The How Metadata is used for data discovery, assessment, access, and use. The data discovery component is accomplished via the FGDC Clearinghouse system. We maintain one of the six gateways into the clearinghouse system, and the CSC and NOS nodes are housed here at the Center.

Writing CSC The When Prior to beginning project, project lead meets with metadata specialist to discuss metadata needs and requirements for project. Schedule training as needed for internal and external staff. During the life of the project Project members meet with metadata specialist as needed to discuss metadata creation. Ideally, metadata should be written throughout the life of the project, not just at the end of the project. As metadata is completed, it should be submitted to metadata specialist in text format for compliance review. Any errors present will be returned to project member for correction. Metadata specialist will assist with corrections where required. New projects Existing projects Project leads should assess status of metadata requirements for all current projects. Is metadata currently being created? If not, why? What issues need to be addressed to get metadata creation started?

Outside data Data brought in from outside sources should have metadata with it. If no metadata exists, work with data provider to create appropriate metadata. In some situations, Center staff may have to create metadata for outside data. If this occurs, state clearly that the data did not have metadata associated with it, and that metadata is being written by someone other than the data creator/originator. When to write If your project incorporates other data that has metadata, you do not have to write metadata again for that data. You only document what you do with the data as it relates your project. Data used in your project is referenced in the “Lineage” elements of Section 2 – Data Quality of the CSDGM. Any possible problems with this concept?

Now Serving Metadata How metadata is served up Once all metadata is complete and approved and the project data is ready to be served, a copy of all the metadata for the project will be posted to the clearinghouse node. All project metadata should accompany each copy of the project data that leaves the Center. This means that 2 copies of metadata may exist; one copy on the node, and one copy with the data. This requires more diligence on the part of project staff to make sure that any updates to the metadata are sent for approval and posting on node. Hosting of metadata for project partners should only be done with appropriate management approval. Metadata will remain on the node as long as the data isavailable. If a data set is no longer being distributed, metadata specialist should be notified so related metadata can be removed from the node and archived with the data.

Events at large Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) One of the E-gov initiatives Purpose of GOS is to make it easier, faster, and less expensive for all levels of government and the public to access geospatial information. GOS portal allows access to data “communities.” CSC is the steward for the Ocean and Estuaries community, and the Atmosphere and Climate community. Communities will offer opportunity to promote CSC and partner products and projects within the Ocean and Estuaries community.

Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) Next generation clearinghouse?

Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) GOS 2 – A work in progress

Events at large GOS harvests our metadata for inclusion into their system. Part of the requirement for harvesting is the addition of ISO topic keywords. Theme keywords in existing CSC metadata have been mappedto ISO topic keywords, and each record on our node now has these ISO keywords as part of the record. Future metadata records written at CSC will need to incorporate ISO topic keywords. Participating in GOS

Events at large Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO Topic Category Theme_Keyword: ISO Topic Category 1 Theme_Keyword: ISO Topic Category Code 1 This repeats as necessary Incorporating ISO theme keywords Farming, 001 Biota, 002 Boundaries, 003 ClimatologyMetereologyAtmosphere, 004 Economy, 005 Elevation, 006 Environment, 007 GeoscientificInformation, 008 Health, 009 ImageryBaseMapsEarthCover, 010 IntelligenceMilitary, 011 InlandWaters, 012 Location, 013 Oceans, 014 PlanningCadastre, 015 Society, 016 Structure, 017 Transportation, 018 UtilitiesCommunication, 019 ISO Keywords and codes

Events at large Incorporating ISO theme keywords ArcGIS metadata editor

Metadata training available: Introduction to Metadata Metadata for Managers Metadata Train the Trainer Metadata Training – Finding the Need  Project leads should assess the need for training within their respective projects, considering both internal staff and any staff from project partners, and work with Center metadata specialist to secure appropriate training.  Training can be provided at the Center, or at partner locations.  Focus is on building capacity within our partner organizations, working toward their self-sufficiency with respect to metadata.

Future plans The CSC metadata node will be undergoing a reorganization in the near future. This will require an inventory of existing metadata to ensure all metadata currently being served accurately reflects data and products available through CSC and partners. Node inventory and reorganization

Metadata assistance If you are currently working on a project that requires metadata creation, call or me for assistance