Welcome to Module 4, Describing Geospatial Resources.

Metadata, or information about data, is what GIS practitioners, scientists and others use to describe their geospatial data. Many of us are so busy collecting, processing and analyzing our data, that we overlook the importance of using metadata to describe it. Yet without metadata, data and services have much less value to others. Indeed, without accurate and comprehensive labels, most collections have little, if any, value.

Consider those televised traveling antique shows, in which people flock to antiquarians to determine the worth of their old possessions. How do the antiquarians decide what is worth a fortune and what is merely a curiosity? By providing detailed information about the “who, what, where, when, why and how” of the object, along with any other information they may have. Given that information, the antiquarian can assess the value of the antique for other antique collectors, who will then be interested in looking at, evaluating and possibly purchasing what was moments before a simple household object.

Using metadata has the same consequences for your data and services: it increases their value.

In this module, you will learn about:

• The different types of metadata;
• The benefits of using metadata;
• Metadata standards endorsed by the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure;
• How to create metadata; and
• How to use metadata.

This module comprises 16 pages, and should take about 25 minutes to complete.