Newsline from EDINA
July 2005: Volume 10, Issue 2
Go-Geo! is the JISC-funded UK academic spatial data portal that is now operated and maintained at EDINA. The portal is a key component of the UK academic Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI).
Metadata creation
Work is currently under way to provide a full complement of resources to support metadata creation for Go-Geo!
During previous project phases (collaborative efforts between EDINA and the UK Data Archive, University of Essex), metadata creation was identified as a key action required to sustain the portal. In response to this, resources are being generated to facilitate and support metadata creation and record updates, including the development of an online metadata editor tool.
In addition, comprehensive guidelines and online teaching and learning resources are being generated and updated to support metadata creation and usage of the metadata tool and the Go-Geo! portal.
This complete package of Go-Geo! resources will be launched at the annual Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and Institute of British Geographers (IBG) International Conference in London, 31 August to 2 September 2005.
A news series of workshops, which will provide an overview of metadata and its importance to data sharing and data management, will be organised and run at universities over the course of 2005-2006 academic year. The workshops will also provide hands-on training for the online metadata editor, the Go-Geo! portal, and promote new Go-Geo! resources.
A series of very successful workshops was run during the previous project phase, drawing almost 140 participants from 14 universities.
In addition to the workshops, a metadata co-ordinator is now available to assist in the support of metadata creation and quality assurance reviews of records submitted for publication on the Go-Geo! portal. The coordinator has been working on updating the HE/FE Geospatial Metadata Application Profile, and making it compliant with UK GEMINI, the ISO 19115-compliant geospatial metadata standard for the UK. We are currently seeking ratification of the profile so that its use becomes mandatory within HE and FE.
JISC funding has also been allocated to address the spatial data management and sharing issues that plague data creators. Pilot studies will be conducted at four universities - Edinburgh, Durham, Nottingham and Strathclyde - to investigate and trial local data management schemes using the Go-Geo! resources.
Use of Go-Geo! portal has been steadily increasing with March 2005 recording the highest number of visits since the portal's inception. This is a result, in part, of the large number of web sites in the UK and abroad now pointing at the Go-Geo! site. It even captured the eye of the senior designer for BBC News Interactive, who stated he was "really pleased to have found this really interesting site!"