Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP)

Simply stated, metadata are “data about data”. Metadata describe the content, quality, condition,
and other characteristics of data. Most commonly, metadata are used to enhance searching and
discovery of data sets and to facilitate understanding of the meaning and proper use of datasets.
Additionally, metadata can be used to automate workflows within organizations. This guidance
document describes what metadata are, how metadata are used, and the benefits of creating and
maintaining metadata. Four distinct metadata standards (Dublin Core, Content Standard for
Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM), North American Profile, and Ecological Metadata
Language) and the intended use of each are compared in this document. The Pacific Northwest
Aquatic Monitoring Partnership Metadata Workgroup has reviewed each standard in terms of
appropriateness for describing ecological data and recommends the CSDGM with associated
extension or Ecological Metadata Language documents for all datasets. Funding entities are
encouraged to implement contracting language requiring metadata as an integral component of
any data deliverable and to support metadata creation by providing funding for regional metadata
stewards. Organizations are encouraged to create metadata for the purpose of protecting
investments in data generation and to enhance the quality, usability, and value of data produced
by the organization. Additionally, organizations are encouraged to institute mandates requiring
metadata creation. In recognition of the long backlog of datasets with no metadata, organizations
are encouraged to phase in metadata creation by starting with newly created datasets, then
inventorying existing datasets, and then identifying priority datasets for additional stewardship.