The CGDI has also chosen the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard for Geographic Information – Metadata (ISO 19115) for its capabilities for internationalization. ISO 19115 has more configurablity to application communities and supports internationalism in terms of languages and character sets.

ISO 19115 evolved from ISO/TC 211, a technical committee tasked with developing standards related to geomatics. ISO 19115 defines the schema required for describing geographical information and services. It provides information about the identification, extent, quality, spatial and temporal schema, spatial reference, and distribution of geographic data. The standard defines:

• Mandatory and conditional metadata sections, metadata entities and metadata elements;
  
  
• The minimum set of metadata required to serve the full range of metadata applications;
  
  
• Optional metadata elements, to allow for a more extensive standardized description of geographic data, if required; and
  
  
• A method for extending metadata to fit specialized needs.

In 2003, ISO 19115 attained international standard status (fully ratified and published), and became available. The Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure and many geospatial resource sites, including the GeoConnections Discovery Portal, have adopted core ISO 19115 metadata elements, making their metadata compliant with ISO 19115 and allowing for the immediate collection of pertinent information. At the same time, an XML implementation specification of ISO 19115, known as ISO 19139, was drafted. Organizations including the American National Standards Institute and the Canadian General Standards Board, are waiting for this specification to create a base for a common North American profile, which would integrate internationally with ISO 19115.

ISO distributes specifications on a cost-recovery basis. You can order the ISO 19115 specification online.