Mapping Metadata

What is Metadata?

Metadata is the descriptive text explaining spatial and aspatial data summarizing basic information to make it easier for data consumers to access and appropriately use the data. Up-to-date metadata is critical for data sharing.

Enterprise Metadata
The City of Philadelphia maintains a standardized metadata template to disclose a detailed synopsis of the data including how it was derived and who is responsible for maintaining it. I got to support this effort and conceptually map how spatial and aspatial data would be documented citywide. See Coggle maps below:

  

Creating a Metadata Catalog:

Providing data as an authoritative online resource to the public and internally to enterprise users presented a need for centralized data and metadata gathering. To achieve this, we would need to collaborate across departments and other data management teams. As a part of the central GIS team (CityGeo) we would carryout departmental training, populate online repositories, provide stable resources, itemize data streams and maintain singular master datasets.

Managing Master Datasets:
After a citywide data inventory and the collaborative effort of data owners, departments were given independent accounts to maintain their metadata in an online database, now known as metadata.phila.gov. Enterprise log-ins provided secure access and a way to back-up inputs.

The Dataset Page:
This is the master page for the data that you seek. It includes general details, representations, fields (including all of those listed in every representation) , use constraints and a feedback form for visitors. 

Managing Representations/Versions

Representations are the different views/versions of the master dataset. Representations may have a unique source path to represents different cuts of the data (ie:years). Information populated into the Master Dataset will automatically populate the common metadata into the representation.   

Editing Representations/Versions

Managing Fields

The Master Database view should list all of fields associated with the dataset including all of the representations however, in the Representation view, the fields are unique to that representation.