----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Bill Thoen writes:
 
>
>I have a lot of different digital data sets and pointers to data sets that
>I would like to put into an organized database of some sort.  Since I'm not
>a librarian, I don't know the "rules" or conventions too well.  I was
>hoping that someone here could give me a pointer or two about how I would
>go about learning how to do this?
 
       --- and so on...
 
Various federal and provincial government departments across Canada (and
the U.S. and Australia, among others) have examples of such "meta-data"
systems in place or under development.  I know that one of the Working
Groups of the Canadian General Standards Board Committee on Geomatics has
been working on a standard set of descriptors for digital data sets being
held by different organizations across Canada. I'm not sure of the Working
Group Chairperson's name, but you could contact the CGSB Geomatics
Committee Chairman, Mark Doherty, for more information.  He works at
Intergraph Canada in Ottawa-Hull, and his number is (613) 772-2040, Fax
(613) 722-0320.
 
You might also check with Steve Frank at the University of Maine in Orono,
who is examining this topic right now as part of his PhD research.  Steve
can be reached by e-mail at <[log in to unmask]>.
 
Good luck!
 
-----
David Coleman    <[log in to unmask]>
 
Department of Surveying Engineering              Tel.1-506-453-4698
University of New Brunswick,                     Fax 1-506-453-4943
P.O. Box 4400
Fredericton, New Brunswick, CANADA  E3B 5A3