Metadata management in the Planning Authority

Abstract

Metadata is data about data. In an organisation that is amassing a growing store of spatially referenced information a need, if not a demand, for information about this geographic data should be considered. The scope of a metadata base is the cataloguing and description of spatial data sets and making this information available to users in a data directory of geographic information. The aim of this dissertation is to construct a basis from which a working Geographic Information Data Directory can be adapted for the Planning Authority. This was achieved by examining current international trends and standards for metadata and identifying the core functions and information needs of the Planning Authority. The organisation's geographic data sets where examined and a data model of the core spatial information resources was constructed using classic data modelling techniques. Identifying and compiling metadata for each data set extended the data model to create sufficient data documentation as the basis from which a Geographic Information Data Directory can be constructed.