Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM)
The Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) Version 2 (FGDC-STD-
001-1998) is the metadata standard for all U.S. Federal agencies, as per Executive Order
12906. The standard is frequently referred to as the FGDC Metadata Standard. The objective
of the standard is to provide a common set of terminology and definitions for the
documentation of digital geospatial data. The standard was developed from the perspective of
defining the information required to determine the availability, fitness for an intended use,
means of accessing, and the means to transfer geospatial data sets. The standard does not
specify how the data are organized or presented in a computer system or how the data were
collected.
A key feature of the CSDGM is the ability to customize or extend the standard through the
development of profiles or extensions. Profiles are custom adaptations that may specify
specific domain values for existing CSDGM elements and/or increase conditionality of a
specific element. Extensions are a set of added elements that extend the standard to better
serve the community or data type. Profiles may also include extensions and undergo an
extensive review process. Profiles and extensions to the CSDGM standard currently exist for
biological, remote sensing, shorelines, and wetland datasets. The Biological Data Profile,
developed by the U.S. Geological Survey National Biological Information Infrastructure
program (USGS-NBII), provides a common set of terminology and definitions for
documentation of biological data. It allows biological information such as taxonomy,
sampling methodology, and analytical tools to be added to a metadata record.