Metadata Enterprise Resource Management Aid
- Point of Contact
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MERMAid (Metadata Enterprise Resource Management Aid) is a secure, online Web-based application that allows users to establish unlimited metadata databases to organize their metadata records any way they see fit (i.e., by project, data type, personnel, etc.). NCDDC developed MERMAid as a mechanism for its data partners to generate, validate, manage, and publish their metadata. NCDDC's MERMAid is also an effective tool for providing hands-on training and support for coastal data providers who want to learn to create valid CSDGM metadata. Through MERMAid, NCDDC is making data more accessible, through the use of standard metadata.
Standards Supported
MERMAid natively supports the FGDC-authored standards. The XML transforms have been added to MERMAid to aid in the transition to ISO metadata. Records can be exported as ISO 19115-2 xml records; and Entity and Attribute section can be exported as a Feature Catalogue record.
- FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM)
- FGDC Biological Profile
- FGDC Shoreline Profile
- FGDC Remote Sensing Extensions
- Ecological Metadata Language (EML)
- MAchine-Readable Cataloging (MARC)
Getting Started
To request a user account on MERMAid, please use the link below to provide your information, and to select a "Resource Folder" for your account. The Resource Folder will be the starting point of the management structure for your records.
MERMAid Features
MERMAid has many features designed to make the creation of metadata as simple as possible. These features include:
- Secure Web-based environment offers platform independence
- Custom organization
- Robust "context-help" functions
- Enhanced validation
- Exports in HTML, text, and XML formats
- Exports in ISO 19115-2
- Exports Section 5 as ISO 19110 Feature Catalogue record
Valid records in MERMAid can be submitted by the data provider and made available via the Web, and in turn, harvested by National Spatial Data Infrastructure's Geospatial One-Stop, or Geodata.gov. A Program Affiliation extension in MERMAid allows the harvest of selected records to the National Biological Information (NBII) clearinghouse.
Technology
MERMAid is designed around an object model that can be configured to match an organization's security requirements, individual experience levels, and existing metadata processes. The underlying application is the open-source Z-Object Publishing Environment (Zope). Contents of records are stored as generic objects in an Object Oriented Database (OODB). MERMAid features robust "help functions" that incorporate the production rules specified in the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Standards and Workbook . MERMAid also continuously validates the record against the production rules of the standard being used. All validated records published from MERMAid are harvested by the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS).
Additional Resources
NCDDC offers several types of metadata training. Information about training options can be found on our Metadata Training page.
Information about techniques used to complement metadata creation, management, translation, and publication processes can be found on the XML Transformations page.
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