Energy & Environmental Information Resources Center
e-Newsletter #3, June 1999
Adam Chandler and Dan Foley attended the first meeting of participants in the OCLC Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) Project, held at the Online Computer Library Center in Dublin, Ohio, on April 26th and 27th. As mentioned in the Issue #2 of this newsletter, CORC is a project sponsored by OCLC to develop software for the shared cataloging of Internet resources with Dublin Core (DC) and USMARC metadata. The project will use the Resource Description Framework (RDF) written in Extensible Markup Language (XML), although HTML format will also be available.
There were 86 meeting attendees representing some 55 libraries (including the EE-IR Center) that are testing CORC software. The first day's meetings consisted of a general overview session, breakout sessions with each participant selecting three out of ten possible interest group meetings to attend, and another general session to present findings of interest groups to the entire group. Topics included DC, USMARC, digital library management, the CORC system/interface, authority control of names and subjects, and cartography and images. Chandler, Foley, and others attending the cartographic and images session expressed interest in CORC support for an RDF for Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata.
The second day's meetings were in the morning only and of a more general nature. Participants met in small assigned groups to discuss CORC priorities and directions. The findings of these meetings were presented to a final general session. Throughout, there were frequent opportunities to speak and network with library colleagues and OCLC personnel. Chandler and Foley felt that this first meeting was very productive. There will be further CORC participant meetings at OCLC in the future, as well as a CORC update presentation at the annual meeting of the American Library Association in New Orleans on June 28th.
The official notes from the meeting are available at: http://www.oclc.org/oclc/research/projects/corc/about/corcmeeting.htm
Also, Dan Foley and Adam Chandler have posted for comment a draft research report related to the CORC project, titled "Mapping Federal Geographic Data Committee Compliant Metadata In and Out of CORC." It is available on the web at: http://eeirc.nwrc.gov/pubs/crosswalk/fgdc-marc-dc.htm
Aerial Photography Links by Suzanne Harrison
I. What Aerial Photography is out there?
Microsoft TerraServer
http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com
EROS Data Center
http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/
The major U.S. agency source for aerial photography.
National Aerial Photography Program
http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/Webglis/glisbin/search.pl?NAPP
NASA/USL Regional Application Center
http://rac.usl.edu/Aerial_Photos/index.html
Gulf of Mexico Region CIR Photography available.
USGS PhotoFinder
http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/Webglis/glisbin/finder_main.pl?dataset_name=NAPP
USGS Global Land Information System
http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/Webglis/glisbin/glismain.pl
NOAA MapFinder
http://mapfinder.nos.noaa.gov/MapFinderHTML/surround/Photos/Photos.htm
MetaMaker 2.22
http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/metamaker/download.html
The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) program MetaMaker is free for
downloading. The NBII MetaMaker Fact sheet is at http://www.nbii.gov/factsheet/factsheet5.html
. NBII MetaMaker Version 2.22 is compliant with the FGDC Draft Content Standard for NBII
Metadata (December 1995) and the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (June
1995), http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/contstan.html.
MetaMaker was developed using Microsoft Access Version 2.0, but does not require Access to
run.
NOAA Metadata Collector v2.0 Extension
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/metadata/text/download.html
The NOAA Metadata Collector Extension is free for downloading. The extension provides
dialogs for creating FGDC compliant metadata for most data types supported by ArcView GIS
including ARC/INFO coverages, shapefiles, and image formats. The extension automatically
extracts bounding coordinates, spatial data organization information, and attribute
information. The information is stored in .dbf and text (.txt) files that can be edited.
The application generates output in both text and HTML formats.
Spatial Metadata Management System (SMMS) 2.0
http://www.enabletech.com/html/smms/SMMS.htm.
Enabling Technology, Inc. (ETI), offers a fully functional, FGDC compliant metadata
management tool called Spatial Metadata Management System (SMMS). Features include
metadata templates, search and query capabilities, and management reports. SMMS maintains
metadata as your central reference for spatial data. The full version of this tool costs
over $500 dollars.
Corpsmet95
http://corpsgeo1.usace.army.mil/
Corpsmet95 is a metadata creation tool developed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It
is public domain software.
Text Editor
It is also possible to use a plain text editor to create FGDC compliant metadata.
The Hypoxia scientific assessment reports are now available on the web at http://www.nos.noaa.gov/products/pubs_hypox.html
The EPA, in coordination with NOS and NOAA, invite public comments on the six topical scientific assessment reports on the causes and consequences of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The six topic papers will be used by the CENR Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Working Group to prepare an Integrated Assessment which will provide ecological and economic analysis of various options for reducing nutrient loads carried by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. This Integrated Assessment will be delivered to the President, Congress and the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force.
DATES: Comments must be received by AUGUST 2, 1999. All comments received after the formal comment period will be reviewed by the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Working Group and delivered to the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force for their consideration along with the final Integrated Assessment.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Working Group National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, WS 13446 SSMC4, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Field, National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, WS 13446 SSMC4, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, telephone 301-713-3060 x135, Internet John.Field@noaa.gov; or Dr. Mary Belefski, U.S. EPA, Assessment and Watershed Protection Division (AWPD), 401 M Street, S.W.(4503F), Washington, D.C. 20460, telephone (202) 260-7061; Internet: belefski.mary@epa.gov.