King
County GIS Vector Data:
Metadata Format
Spatial
Data Catalog (SDC) metadata pages
for KCGIS vector
data
are derived from a
database of descriptive metadata
maintained by KCGIS sites (see
Maintenance
of the Spatial Data Catalog). The KCGIS metadata format
has five sections,
which are described below:
Data
dictionaries
for tabular data relevant to the
spatial data can be accessed from
the Data Overview section in the
body of each metadata page. Clicking
on the hyperlink
for a listed table will open a data dictionary
for the table. |
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| Description—Basic
citation information. |
|
| File
name: The root name of the
spatial data file.
Subject category: Metadata
pages and spatial data files are
organized
by thematic subject categories, which
correspond to folders in the public
data library.
Alias: A
descriptive name for the data set.
Abstract: A brief
narrative description of the content
of the data set.
Purpose (optional): Suggested
uses for the data set; a summary
of the reasons
for
which the data set was developed.
Status (optional): The
current state of the data set
in terms of project completeness.
Updated (optional): The
frequency with which changes and
additions are made to the data
set.
Coverage date: The date
of the last revision to the coverage,
if known.
Location: Geographic locations
characterized by the data set.
Scale: Shown as a representative
fraction when relevant.
FGDC documentation: Provides
a hyperlink to FGDC-formatted metadata
documentation.
CD Availability: If the
data set is available on one of
the standard-issue KCGIS data
disks, the disk number(s) will
be noted here.
Credits (optional): Recognition
of the agencies that contributed
to the development of the data
set.
History (optional): Information
about the events, parameters, source
data, and responsible parties behind
the development of the data set.
In future releases component elements
will
be further
defined by the process steps that
are captured as part of the library
log files.
Supplemental (optional): Other
descriptive information about the
data set, its development, and
maintenance.
Additional comments (optional): Other
information not included elsewhere. |
|
| Contacts—Whom
to contact for more information
about the data set. |
|
| If
documentation is incomplete or
erroneous, please send the contact
person an e-mail notification. |
|
| Data
Overview—Lists
and descriptions of the feature
attribute tables and related
tables for the
data set, and links to data
dictionaries for the individual tables
(assuming that the individual or
agency responsible for documenting
the table has entered
the information). |
|
| The
feature attribute tables are listed in ARC/INFO format—
feature attribute tables are written
to the appropriate shapefile subdirectory
when shapefiles are generated from
coverages as follows: PAT (polygon/point
attribute table) to the poly or point
subdirectory; AAT (Arc attribute
table) to the line subdirectory.
Data
Dictionary
A data dictionary
will normally have two major sections:
- a table definition section
- an
item-attribute documentation section.
The
table definition section may have
a subsection for ARC/INFO redefined
items below the listing for ordinary
ARC/INFO items. If the itemname
is a hyperlink, there is additional
attribute documentation that has
been entered by the KCGIS site
responsible for the data set. The
attribute documentation is listed
alphabetically.
Attribute documentation may have:
- an item alias
- an abstract
- a listing
of documented code values and/or the source lookup table for the code
values.
|
|
| Spatial
Features |
|
|
There are three common locations/formats
for KCGIS spatial data:
- tiled ARC/INFO coverages
- untiled ARC/INFO coverages,
which are frequently generated from tiled coverages
- shapefiles
ArcView
shapefiles are always generated
from untiled ARC/INFO coverages. More details about
the public library update cycle are
available in the KCGIS
Knowledge Base. Shapefiles are
organized into line, point, polygon,
and table
subdirectories.
The number of features are listed
for ARC/INFO coverages. File
sizes are listed for all formats.
|
|
| Constraints |
|
| There
are two types of constraint notices:
- disclaimer
notices, which inform
users of data limitations
- use
restriction notices, which place
limits on the uses of
specific
data sets.
|
|
| Maintenance of the Spatial Data Catalog
Each
King County GIS site is responsible
for maintaining metadata documentation
for the spatial data sets under their
control. If you need information
on data that
has
not
been documented,
contact the responsible agency and
request that they complete the documentation.
King County
GIS users site members can get further
information on how to enter updates
by contacting the KCGIS Center GIS Data Coordinator.
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|
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Revised April 11, 2006 |
