A solution to metadata: Using XML transformations to automate metadata

There are many obstacles to creating and maintaining quality metadata. Producing and validating records against a particular standard can be both challenging and time consuming. More often than not, manually created records contain omissions and errors caused by poor record management tools and inadequate quality control measures. Some metadata standards are quite complex. In addition, it is clear that any manually executed generation, quality control, and management of metadata can be a resource drain on any organization. Therefore, metadata automation, which is the programmatic process of creating and updating metadata, is clearly the key to providing accurate metadata while also addressing the various challenges that any organization faces in balancing data stewardship needs with fiscal realities. Effectively using XML techniques and methods can achieve accurate, cost-efficient metadata. Overall, automation of metadata, using XML technologies, proved successful and provided many benefits as demonstrated through NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center´s (NCDDC) partnership with the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (OCPR). OCPR records resulted in the automated generation of 13,565 Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) compliant metadata records that were produced relatively quickly with few resources. Conventional methods of creating this metadata, using current metadata editing tools and template techniques, would have taken much longer and would have required significant additional resources. Thus, the automation has succeeded in producing far better results in terms of resources and time while increasing) productivity.