The Joys of Metadata Management

As a geospatial professional, have you been exposed to the term Metadata a little more than you would like? Do you really know what it is and do you personally believe that it really makes a difference? In a world where a Google search seems to find anything you want, why go to all the effort of cataloguing your data?

Today, it is often difficult to search and find the information we need. This problem will be compounded over the next decade when thousands of employees have retired and very little has been done in terms of classifying, categorizing and tagging information. Metadata makes it easier to find and manage information whether it’s on a website, in a database, electronic documents, or hardcopy files.

Land Information Ontario (LIO) has long been an advocate of the proper use of metadata. LIO offers assistance to anyone who has geospatial data, to advise them on how to catalogue their data. I was a member of the Canada-US team that developed the North American Profile (NAP) of ISO-19115, the current international standard for geospatial metadata. So, you would have every right to expect this post to be another unabashed cheer for metadata. It is true that I believe that a consistent approach to metadata helps staff across the public sector, as well as members of the public, to effectively search, find, and use information holdings. However, metadata is not a cure for all problems. If I have learned anything over my many years of working with data, it is that a good description of data can only go so far. Poorly managed data can still be worse than no data at all. Knowing your data can help save embarrassment, or even reduce the potential for bad decisions.

I have found that one of the most useful aspects of completing a metadata record is the systematic examination of your information holdings and the discovery that you may not be practicing good information management. It can be the start of planning for the ongoing life of a data collection beyond the one-time effort in putting it together. Stop thinking of metadata as that last, painful, must-do, thing on the check list before your data can be available and start thinking about it as your road map to useful information management.

The Ontario Government’s Geospatial Data Standard is GO-ITS 72, and is part of a series of both metadata and geographic standards available to the public. However, there are several international standards, Canadian government standards, and others available.  Remember, the most important part of metadata is to:

Catalogue your Data!

For more information on metadata, please us a call or drop us an email message at lio@ontario.ca.  

Please let me know your thoughts. Take care and stay well…

Raphael Sussman

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