THE NATIONAL DIGITAL CATALOG OF GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL DATA

Implementation planning for the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) in 2007 identified the need for a National Digital Catalog as a critical step in both recording and providing access to collections of geoscience data and in helping to inform ongoing priorities of the program. The NGGDPP is a joint venture of the Association of American State Geologists, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and other Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus. The goal of the program is the protection and preservation of the vast quantities of geoscientific data at risk of loss or corruption due to lack of resources for proper maintenance by many collection owners. The National Digital Catalog (“NatCat”) has been developing over the last three years, showing progress for the overall program as State Geological Surveys and DOI collection holders have begun working through the diverse set of collections.

NatCat brings together documentation of data collections and enough information about the underlying items to facilitate discovery based on geographic context and topic along with instructions on accessing the samples or other media. A committee within the NGGDPP created a modest documentation profile with the essential elements for collections and collection items without creating barriers for participation from collection holders with limited data management expertise. The simple standard has been implemented effectively during the first two years of metadata collection to bring well over 1 million records into the NatCat.

The technological architecture has been evolving steadily and is now combining forces with the other similar cataloging activities to implement more robust specifications and standards. The presentation will provide background on the NatCat project, demonstration of the online search application, and discussion of future.

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