A comprehensive open package format for preservation and distribution of geospatial data and metadata

The complexities of the intricate geospatial resources and formats make preservation and distribution of GIS data difficult even among experts. The proliferation of, for instance, KML, Internet map services, etc, reflects the need for sharing geodata but a comprehensive solution when having to deal with data and metadata of a certain complexity is not currently provided. Original geospatial data is usually divided into several parts to record its different aspects (spatial and thematic features, etc), plus additional files containing, metadata, symbolization specifications and tables, etc; these parts are encoded in different formats, both standard and proprietary. To simplify data access, software providers encourage the use of an additional element that we call generically "map project", and this contains links to other parts (local or remote). Consequently, in order to distribute the data and metadata refereed by the map in a complete way, or to apply the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) standard to preserve it for the future, we need to face the multipart problem. This paper proposes a package allowing the distribution of real (comprehensive although diverse and complex) GIS data over the Internet and for data preservation. This proposal, complemented with the right tools, hides but keeps the multipart structure, so providing a simpler but professional user experience. Several packaging strategies are reviewed in the paper, and a solution based on ISO 29500-2 standard is chosen. The solution also considers the adoption of the recent Open Geospatial Consortium Web Services common standard (OGC OWS) context document as map part, and as a way for also combining data files with geospatial services. Finally, and by using adequate strategies, different GIS implementations can use several parts of the package and ignore the rest: a philosophy that has proven useful (e.g. in TIFF)

Geospatial Data Preservation Prime

This primer is one in a series of Operational Policy documents being developed by GeoConnections. It is intended to inform Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) stakeholders about the nature and scope of digital geospatial data archiving and preservation and the realities, challenges and good practices of related operational policies. Burgeoning growth of online geospatial applications and the deluge of data, combined with the growing complexity of archiving and preserving digital data, has revealed a significant gap in the operational policy coverage for the Canadian geospatial data infrastructure (CGDI). Currently there is no commonly accepted guidance for CGDI stakeholders wishing or mandated to preserve their geospatial data assets for long-term access and use. More specifically, there is little or no guidance available to inform operational policy decisions on how to manage, preserve and provide access to a digital geospatial data collection. The preservation of geospatial data over a period of time is especially important when datasets are required to inform modeling applications such as climate change impact predictions, flood forecasts and land use management. Furthermore, data custodians may have both a legal and moral responsibility to implement effective archiving and preservation programs. Based on research and analysis of the Canadian legislative framework and current international practices in digital data archiving and preservation, this primer provides guidance on the factors to be considered and the steps to be taken in planning and implementing a data archiving and preservation program. It describes an approach to establishing a geospatial data archives based on good practices from the literature and Canadian case studies. This primer will provide CGDI stakeholders with information on how to incorporate archiving and preservation considerations into an effective data management process that covers the entire life cycle (DCC, 2013) (LAC, 2006) of their geospatial data assets (i.e., creation and receipt, distribution, use, maintenance, and disposition. It is intended to inform CGDI stakeholders on the importance of long term data preservation, and provide them with the information and tools required to make policy decisions for creating an archives and preserving digital geospatial data

Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving: Best Practice Throughout the Data Life Cycle

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134032/1/dataprep.pdfDescription of dataprep.pdf : Boo

Preservation of Research Data

As anyone who has lost a file or dataset can attest, preservation is a critical part of the Research Data Lifecycle. This session will provide an overview of data selection, long-term storage options both on and off campus, format stabilization, preservation documentation, and research data preservation resources. The presentation slides are available by clicking the Download button on the right. Supporting materials for a workshop activity, as well as the video and audio files of this workshop, are listed as additional files below and are available for download

A concise taxonomy for describing data as an art material.

How can we describe data when used as an art material? As the number of artists using data in their work increases, so too must our ability to describe the material in a way that is understood by both specialist and general audiences alike. In this paper we review existing vocabularies, glossaries, and taxonomies of data, and propose our own concise taxonomy. We present a number of examples of how existing data art works are described, and demonstrate our taxonomy by applying it to these works. To conclude we propose the adoption of this concise taxonomy by artists, critics, and curators, and suggest that on-going refinement of the taxonomy takes place through crowd-sourced knowledge sharing on the web

Digital Preservation Services : State of the Art Analysis

Research report funded by the DC-NET project.An overview of the state of the art in service provision for digital preservation and curation. Its focus is on the areas where bridging the gaps is needed between e-Infrastructures and efficient and forward-looking digital preservation services. Based on a desktop study and a rapid analysis of some 190 currently available tools and services for digital preservation, the deliverable provides a high-level view on the range of instruments currently on offer to support various functions within a preservation system.European Commission, FP7peer-reviewe

Data management support pack

This pack is designed to help you produce high quality, reusable and open data from your research activities. It consists of documents, templates and videos covering the different aspects of data management and ranging from the overarching concepts and strategies through to the day-to-day activities. For each of the videos in the pack we have included a transcript of the narrative. The Data Management Support Pack was created to support the implementation of the CCAFS Data Management strategy