2.1.4 Where can you find metadata?

From Geostandards

Metadata can be revealed by using a register or catalogue; this is possible within an organisation but also at national or international levels. This way you can make searching through the data possible and perhaps also show it via a portal. An example of a register can be found at nationaal georegister (NGR). In this register, the metadata of various Dutch organisations is listed. A number of levels have been acknowledged;

Search (discovery) The first step in the discovery of resources is done by searching through geographic data and services. Searching is done based on a search term, in catalogues in which resources are described with the support of metadata.

Consult (exploration, evaluation) As soon as a user has found a resource, the next step is to examine the resource a little bit closer (evaluation) and determine whether it meets the needs of the user. This is done by examining the additional metadata.

Obtaining (exploitation, access, use) As soon as the users have found and evaluated the correct resource, there are various ways of approaching and making use of it: consider downloading, ordering by email, ordering by phone, etc. When this resource is approached using a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) the exploitation phase must use the standards for data exchange, through information models and services.

Each level of the register has its own searching mechanism and uses a different meta information level. Discovery metadata represents the minimum amount of information that the user has to provide for the result of the search command to be evaluated based on the nature and content of the data resource. In a SDI a discovery mechanism is an online service that brings providers and users together. Discovery mechanisms offer users the possibility of finding geographic information in datasets, dataset series and services (discovery), evaluating it (exploration) and obtaining it (exploitation).

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