Metdata is the formal description of any data. It contains such things as a description of the content, quality, condition, and other relevant characteristics of data that consumers of data need to be aware. The main purpose of LBCS Metadata Standards is to provide a uniform approach to documenting land-use data that is classified using LBCS.

Documenting land-use data has several purposes, not the least of which is an ability to automate searching and using of land-use data sets from a wide variety of sources. For managing land-use data, metadata can help reduce redundancies, improve the efficiency of local data collection, and establish expectations for data quality and data currency. It is not just land-use data, but all kinds of data can benefit from such standardization. Standardizing metadata for spatial data has been a major focus of efforts by the U.S. federal government since it is the largest source of spatial data in the country. Federal agencies not only use such data but also share with a vast number of users in other government agencies, including planners working at local, state, regional, and federal levels. The Federal Geographic Data Committee approved the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata in June 1998. It has now become a widely referenced standard and many GIS and software applications automatically generate metadata according to the FGDC standard. Planners should be aware of these tools when it comes to storing, sharing, archiving, and updating local land uses. Metadata has many purposes, and better the documentation, less the chance of such data being misused. The FGDC Clearinghouse shows how metadata is used in Internet-based clearinghouses to search for specific data sets.

The National Spatial Data Infrastructure Competitive Cooperative Agreements Program, administered by FGDC, partly funded the LBCS project to develop land-use standards. In accordance with FGDC's Standards Reference Model, the LBCS project developed the profile and a guide to implementing consistent metadata for datasets that planners typically rely on. The metadata standard for LBCS comprises of a metadata profile, whose design is for compatibility with the overall framework set forth by the FGDC and the standards developed under the FGDC framework. Note that LBCS is not part of any adopted FGDC standard. LBCS only uses the FGDC's metadata profile so local planners can prepare consistent metadata for land-use data.

LBCS METADATA PROFILE

The metadata profile for LBCS is in a single document, in the following formats:

• PDF version
• WordPerfect version
• Postscript version

USER MANUAL

We have also prepared a user manual which can be incorporated with other metadata training materials. The first drafts of the manual, prepared by David Hart with Hugh Phillips and Sanjay Jeer, can be obtained from the link below. Note that this manual will be updated constantly and many not include all the materials that metadata trainers use in a training program.

OTHER LINKS

The complete details of the metadata standards part of the program and its inter-related products will be updated as the standards evolve. For more details about FGDC standards, its activities, and various other related standards, follow this link:

LBCS FAQs and Quick Answers covers other related issues about data and documenting data. It also covers questions about sharing data associated with metadata.

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