Welcome message to the OZMETA list

[Tony Boston <tony@erin.gov.au>]

For those who have trouble with Word attachments here is a decoded version of
the last message:

Welcome Message to the 
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OZMETA listserver from the ANZLIC Working Group on Metadata
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At last the ANZLIC Working Group on Metadata has completed Version 
1 of the ANZLIC Guidelines: Core Metadata Elements.

The Guidelines are shortly to be published in hardcopy form, but you 
may download a digital copy of them from the ANZLIC Home Page at:

                  http//www.auslig.gov.au/pipc/anzlic/anzlicma.htm

If you would like a hardcopy version, please contact the ANZLIC Secre-
tariat at:

                  anzlic@auslig.gov.au

We are also finishing a Data Entry tool based on the ANZLIC Core Ele-
ments.   This should be available shortly via the Working Group member 
in your jurisdiction (Australia immediately, NZ a bit later).  This is a Mi-
crosoft Access database that can be used to manage organisational 
metadata and export the core elements to theme or jurisdictional direc-
tories.  More about this later.

You may be wondering just what ANZLIC is.  The Australia New Zealand 
Land Information Council is the peak council for land and geographic 
data management in Australia and New Zealand.  The members of the 
Council are senior government officials, generally at Departmental Sec-
retary level, with responsibilities for coordinating geographic information 
management within their own jurisdiction.  The Council meets once or 
twice a year is assisted by a committee called the ANZLIC Advisory 
Committee.  Members of the Advisory Committee are senior officers with 
management responsibilities for geographic information.  Occasionally, 
working groups are formed to do particular projects or strategies and the 
Working Group on Metadata is an example.

The Working Group on Metadata is concentrating on the issues relating 
to the exchange of high level (or core metadata).  Since 1994 we have 
been working on this and have issued several discussion papers, to 
which there has been much very useful feedback.  We recognise of 
course that metadata issues are very broad.  However, our task has 
been to make sure that ANZLIC's policy on metadata can be implement-
ed.  That policy is that it should be free and freely available.  To do this 
we need to do two things:

        1.  Develop guidelines for the consistent description of the metadata 
most likely to be frequently used and exchanged by the widest variety of 
users, and

        2.  Examine how Australia and New Zealand could develop an Na-
tional Metadata Directory.

We have now completed the first step (The Guidelines for Core Ele-
ments and the Data Entry Tool), and are moving on to the second.

We hope that our work is useful and we will be looking for feedback and 
input from the discussion group.  

ANZLIC Working Group on Metadata members (soon to be expanded to 
include others) are currently:

Beverley Forner (NSW - Convenor) bforner@ozemail.com.au
John Martin (Vic) john.martin@ogdc.vic.gov.au
Lindsay Hegarty (Qld) qlis@citec.qld.gov.au
Kevin Rainsford (SA) krainsford@lands.sa.gov.au
Mark Taylor (WA) markt@ilipis01.dola.wa.gov.au
Peter Golding (Commonwealth) pgolding@henric.nric.gov.au
Stephen Crane (Tas) scrane@phantom.lib.delm.tas.gov.au
Ian Johnstone (NT) ian.johnstone@nt.gov.au
Mack Thompson (NZ) Mthompson@pt.dosli.govt.nz
Graham Baker (ANZLIC Secretariat) anzlic@auslig.gov.au