Center for International Earth Science Information Network
Record Generation and Maintenance Procedure
The following provides a general outline used by CIESIN for producing/maintaining metadata records.
1. Identify data/information resource
- Determine relevance and appropriateness to collection
- Does metadata already exist for this resource?
2. Review data/information resource
- What is it about?
- Who is the audience/user community?
- How will it be used?
- What kinds of descriptive information/metadata are essential to include in the record?
- What information is missing?
- Contact the data owners/data source for additional information
- How will users access or acquire the data resource?
- Online (need instructions; email, URL, FTP address, etc.)
- Contact another organization/institution (need full contact information)
3. Create metadata record
- Establish title
- Write abstract
- Determine appropriate indexing terms and keywords
- Complete remaining content and access fields
- Record sources utilized in creating the metadata record (references)
4. Review completed metadata record
- Internal review -- accuracy, consistency and completeness of metadata content (see #2 above)
- External review -- by data source/data owners
5. Edit metadata content (if needed) and perform final review
6. Export record to catalog(s)
7. Assure record's retrieval via search engine (i.e. SEDAC Gateway)
8. Metadata maintenance procedures
- Establish time frame for "periodic review" of metadata records. This is listed in the record as "Future Review Date" (e.g. one year from record creation date; should be independently determined per organizational or institutional needs).
- Review and update content
- Is contact information still current?
- Has the data resource changed (e.g. has the content changed, has the data been updated, added to, etc.?)
- Is this resource still available?
- Has the mode of access changed?
- Conduct internal review; consider accuracy, consistency and completeness.
- External review by data owner/data producer; consider accuracy, consistency, and completeness.
Part of any metadata maintenance process requires that a periodic assessment be made as to the continued appropriateness of particular data resources to the catalog, (i.e. do certain resources continue to fit the institutional/organizational purpose of the catalog?). If a data resource continues to be appropriate for inclusion, a complete review and update of the metadata record should be performed on a regular basis. If it is determined that the data resource no longer fits within the goals or objectives of the catalog, the metadata record should be removed.
Update or withdrawal of metadata records from a catalog can occur at any time. However, an established time frame for such maintenance tasks ensures a level of consistency and makes best use of staff resources. A few metadata records may always be somewhere in the update process; and this is part of the rationale for establishing a reasonable routine for metadata maintenance procedures. Ultimately, any metadata maintenance must be defined by the catalogers and/or metadata producers.
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