Require publishing metadata

Providing a common and fully described core metadata scheme (as well as other documentation) can be useful for the public and government alike. A strong metadata scheme takes its lead from common international meta attributes (such as DCAT), and allows data publishers to classify contextual fields or elements within their datasets. Commonly defined fields for such notations not only provide helpful context about the data’s creation, quality and uses, but also help automate discovery mechanisms at the granular level, serving both government interoperability and the public discovery process.

Further reading:

• DataSF's "Metadata: Existing Practices and Survey"
• United States: Common Core Metadata Schema
• Canada: Metadata Element Set
• Australia: AGLS Metadata Standard
• New York: Open Data Handbook Metadata Elements
• New York City: Technical Standards Manual.
• Seattle: Metadata Template Document.
• Albuquerque: Core Metadata Requirements

Examples of language for this guideline:

Here are examples of the language for this guideline as included in policies on this site. Please note that the selections of text below are imperfect, and you should check out their source policies to read them in context.