[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 149 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41584-41586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20761]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey


Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC); Public Review of the 
Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial 
Metadata

ACTION: Notice; Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FGDC is conducting a public review of the Biological Data 
Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata. The 
purpose of this public review is to provide software vendors, data 
users and producers with an opportunity to comment on this standard in 
order to ensure that it meets their needs. Specifically, the FGDC 
requests responses in identifying issues concerning: (1) Extended 
elements and doman changes, (2) utility and functionality of the 
production rules and (3) the standard's comprehensiveness for 
documenting biological data.
    Participants in the public review are encouraged to provide 
comments that address specific issues/changes/additions that may result 
in revisions to the draft Biological Data Profile of the Content 
Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata. All participants who make

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comments during the public review period will receive an acknowledgment 
of the receipt of their comment. After comments have been considered, 
participants will receive notification of how their comments were 
addressed. After the formal adoption of the standard by the FGDC, the 
revised standard and a summary analysis of the changes will be made 
available.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 30, 1998.

CONTACT AND ADDRESSES: The draft standard is posted at Internet 
address: http://www.fgdc.gov/Standards/Documents/Standards/BioData/
 Requests for written copies of the standard should be addressed to 
``Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital 
Geospatial Metadata'', FGDC Secretariat (attn: Jennifer Fox), U.S. 
Geological Survey, 590 National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, 
Reston, Virginia, 20192; or telephone 703-648-5514; facsimile 703-648-
5755; or Internet at [email protected].
    Reviewer's comments may be sent to the FGDC via Internet mail to: 
[email protected]. Reviewer comments may also be sent to the FGDC 
Secretariat at the above address. Please send one hardcopy version of 
the comments and a soft copy version, preferably on a 3.5 x 3.5 
diskette in WordPerfect 5.0 or 6.0/6.1 format.
    For answers to general questions related to this standard, please 
contact the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Biological Data 
Working Group, U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division, Center for 
Biological Informatics, Bldg 810 Denver Federal Center, PO Box 25046, 
MS 302, Denver, CO 80225-0046; voice telephone number: Maury Nyquist 
(303) 202-4217; facsimile telephone number: (303) 202-4219, Internet 
address: [email protected].
    For answers to questions related to the content of this standard, 
please contact Susan Stitt U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division, 
Center for Biological Informatics, Bldg 810 Denver Federal Center, PO 
Box 25046, MS 302, Denver, CO 80225-0046; voice telephone number: (303) 
202-4234; facsimile telephone number: (303) 202-4219, Internet address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Following is the complete proposal for the 
``Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital 
Geospatial Metadata''
    Project Title: Metadata Content Standard for Biological Data.
    Submitting Organization: Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) 
Biological Data Working Group (BDWG).
    Objectives: The purpose of this proposed standard is to provide a 
user-defined or theme-specific profile of the FGDC metadata content 
standard for geospatial data to increase its utility for documenting 
biological resources data and information. This standard will thus 
support increased access to and use of biological data among users on a 
national (and international) basis. It will also help to broaden the 
understanding and implementation of the FGDC metadata content standard 
within the biological resources community.
    Scope: This standard will be used to specify metadata content for 
the full range of biological resources data and information. This 
includes biological data which are explicitly geospatial in nature, as 
well as data which are not explicitly geospatial (such as data 
resulting from laboratory-based research). It also includes 
``information'' categories, such as research reports, field notes or 
specimen collections.
    Justification/benefits: The USGS Biological Resources Division 
(BRD) is charged with fostering a broad cooperative effort for sharing 
of biological resources information: the National Biological 
Information Infrastructure (NBII). As a component of the National 
Information Infrastructure and a biological complement to the NSDI, 
NBII functions as a widely distributed federation of biological data 
and information sources. A key element in fostering development of a 
distributed federation of biological data and information is the 
availability of a standardized approach to metadata documentation that 
is adapted for use by the biological science community. Although the 
Federal Geographic Data Committee's (FGDC) metadata content standard 
provides excellent documentation of a data set from the geospatial 
perspective, it is limited and, in some aspects, inadequate, for 
describing data from the biological science perspective. For example, 
one consistent need in describing different biological data sets so 
that they can be compared, shared, integrated, etc. is to document the 
necessary bio-systematics aspects of the data (i.e., taxonomy and 
nomenclature for species and higher toxonomic groups). Mutual 
understanding of what species are being discussed (or at least which 
classification system is being used to classify and name the species) 
is basic. Obviously, the existing FGDC geospatial metadata standard was 
not designed to focus on this type of community-specific requirement.
    In addition, a significant portion of the available body of 
biological resources data and information was not collected or intended 
to be applied in a way that is explicitly geospatial, for example, data 
resulting from in vitro laboratory research. Rather than have these 
types of ``non-geospatial'' data and information be documented using an 
entirely different metadata content standard, BRD wanted to provide, as 
part of the NBII, an inclusive biological metadata standard that could 
be used to describe biological data and information in all its forms.
    Therefore, the BRD has identified a need for a special profile 
version of the FGDC geospatial metadata content standard that 
incorporates all elements of the base standard, while adding user-
defined elements to this ``base'' standard that will support its 
implementation within the biological sciences user community. The 
benefits to this approach include support for further development of 
the NBII biological data federation, and broader understanding, 
acceptance, and implementation of the FGDC metadata standard to an 
important community.
    In the clearinghouse arena, any metadata created with the proposed 
biological resource metadata standard should function in harmony with 
metadata created in compliance with the FGDC's geospatial metadata 
standard. Search tools developed for FGDC-compliant metadata should 
function identically on standard biological resource metadata. In 
addition, the proposed standard will allow for searching the additional 
biological information documented, such as on biological taxonomy and 
nomenclature.
    Approach: BRD has taken the following approach to developing the 
proposed biological resource metadata standard. At the end of 1994, BRD 
(then, NBS) assembled a small ad hoc work group, composed of NBS 
specialists familiar with the FGDC metadata standard, as well as 
representatives from the FGDC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 
This group started with the FGDC standard, extracting key or core 
elements from it that pertained equally to data that are explicitly 
geospatial, as well as those that are not explicitly geospatial. Then 
additional elements were added to these core elements of the FGDC 
standard to provide needed coverage for biological resource data. These 
elements were also evaluated in the context of USMARC. The result was a 
basic structure (architecture) and elements for the Biological Resource 
Metadata Standard (i.e., a strawman standard).

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    BRD then commissioned the American Institute of Biological Sciences 
(AIBS), a leading national professional society representing a cross-
section of the biological science disciplines, to conduct an expert 
peer review of the strawman standard from the point of view of its 
completeness and utility for the biological science community. In May 
1995 AIBS convened a panel of national biological science experts to 
review and analyze the draft standard. The panel released a draft 
report and recommendations in July 1995, which was then reviewed by BRD 
and its partners and cooperators. The panel's final report and 
recommendations were released in September 1995. BRD then used the 
recommendations of the AIBS review (and the results of limited test 
implementations) in revising the strawman standard. The resulting Draft 
Content Standard for NBII Metadata was originally presented to the FGDC 
Standards Working Group in January 1996 for formal consideration. 
Subsequently, the FGDC Biological Data Working Group has adopted and 
endorsed the draft biological metadata standard and has undertaken the 
responsibility for moving the draft standard through the FGDC standards 
process.
    Related Standards: As a user-defined profile, the proposed 
biological resource metadata content standard is dependent upon the 
completion of the revision of the FGDC geospatial metadata standard 
which is currently underway. Depending on the outcome of the revision 
of the FGDC geospatial metadata standard, it may be necessary to make 
subsequent revision to the proposed biological resource metadata 
standard to ensure that it is fully compatible with new aspects of the 
FGDC standard (particularly as these apply to the development of user-
defined profiles). The proposed biological resource metadata standard 
also relates to the vegetation, earth cover, soils, and wetlands 
classification standards which are adopted or currently under 
development.
    Schedule: As noted above, the proposed biological resource metadata 
standard was originally presented for consideration by the Standards 
Working Group In January 1996. At that time, the SWG indicated that 
because this proposed standard was an enhancement of the FGDC 
geospatial metadata standard, formal action on the biological metadata 
standard would most appropriately be done after the revision of the 
FGDC geospatial metadata standard was completed. The SWG also indicated 
that since the design and structure of the proposed biological resource 
metadata standard was in agreement with the existing form of the FGDC 
metadata standard, it was acceptable for the BRD and its partners and 
cooperators in the NBII effort to begin implementation of the 
biological resource metadata standard in the interim.
    Following the revision of the FGDC geospatial metadata standard, 
the BRD would make necessary revisions to the biological resource 
metadata standard to bring it into congruence and compatibility and 
would then present this revised version for formal review through the 
FGDC SWG process. It is anticipated that this revised version of the 
proposed standard could be represented to the SEG within six months of 
the end point of the current revision of the FGDC geospatial metadata 
standard.
    Resources: This proposed standard has been developed using staffing 
and funding resources of the USGS BRD. It is anticipated that any 
necessary revisions to the proposed standard, based on the results of 
the current revi8sion to the FGDC geospatial metadata content standard, 
can be completed using existing BRD resources.
    Potential Participants: To date, the BRD has consulted with a broad 
variety of government and non-government agencies and organizations in 
the development and refinement of this proposed standard (e.g. American 
institute of Biological Sciences, Ecological Society of America, The 
Nature Conservancy, Fish and Wildlife Information Exchange, Association 
of Systematics Collections, and several Federal agencies). Information 
on the standard was presented at the First IEEE International Metadata 
Conference in 1996 and at Eco-Informa 96. Subsequently, the FGDC 
Biological Data Working Group has adopted and endorsed the draft 
biological metadata standard and has undertaken the responsibility for 
moving the draft standard through the FGDC standards process.
    We expect to continue to solicit involvement and input of all 
interested parties as the standard moves through the formal FGDC 
approval process.
    Target Authorization Body: This proposed standard is not currently 
targeted for consideration by any other authorizing bodies. As a user-
defined profile of the FGDC geospatial metadata standard, it is 
expected that this proposed standard (once approved by the FGDC) could 
be ``linked'' with the FGDC geospatial metadata standard in any 
subsequent authorization of that standard by ANSI, ISO, or other group.

    Dated: July 27, 1998.
Richard E. Witmer,
Chief, National Mapping Division, U.S. Geological Survey.
[FR Doc. 98-20761 Filed 8-3-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-Y7-M