Distributing and Synchronizing Heterogeneous Metadata for the Management of Geospatial Information Repositories

Abstract

Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository, CUGIR, is a Web-based repository providing free access to geospatial data and metadata for New York State. Access is enhanced by transforming and re-purposing geospatial (FGDC) metadata into DC-RDF, Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) and MARC 21 that is rendered in XML, HTML, SGML, and ASCII text on-thefly. Although libraries today are increasingly in the position to create and maintain non-MARC metadata, non-MARC resource sharing is largely unchartered territory. This paper will demonstrate how CUGIR exemplifies efficient heterogeneous metadata management while introducing a new model for metadata creation and maintenance typically based in geospatial information system applications. This new model introduces an abridged SODA model as a viable digital library system.