Geodata.gov - Migration of Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) into Data.gov Phase I is in Progress
Written by Geodata.gov
20 September 2011
Notice to Publishers and Registered Users
We are happy to report that plans for migrating Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), geodata.gov, into Data.gov are now moving along and that Phase I of this integration will be completed by September 30, 2011. At that time all users will be redirected to Data.gov to search for geospatial data. The purpose of this notice is to inform you about what is happening and to let you know what this transition will mean for you as a publisher or account owner on geodata.gov.
This starts another exciting new chapter in Open Government, and the evolution to make government data more accessible and usable than before.
This move is just the initial step in a series of efforts over the upcoming year that will bring more geospatial capabilities to Data.gov.
This is an initial notification for the content migration phase of this effort. Additional notices and requests for comments will be released as we move into the next phases of the system design, and the overall integration of geospatial data and capabilities with the larger world of Data.gov has a whole. We look forward to your ideas and comments on how to improve the discovery and use of geospatial data created across government.
Metadata Migration
Phase I entails migrating the database and other components that make up the GOS geospatial metadata catalog (such as the directory that manages users) to Data.gov. During this initial migration phase, which is expected to last through September 30, 2011, the GOS Website (www.geodata.gov) will continue to be available for you to search for geospatial data.
After September 30, 2011, The GOS Website will redirect you to Data.gov. At first, Data.gov will not have all of the functions that were available in www.geodata.gov, however the core functions and some new exciting capabilities will be available.
Temporary Harvesting Suspension
Starting on Monday, September 12, 2011, no new content will be accepted into geodata.gov for a period of approximately one month to allow backup and transfer of the content to Data.gov. The GOS database will be frozen and no new records or revisions to existing records can be made during this period. Keep your eye on the Data.gov Website for notification of when submittal of geospatial records will resume.
In the meantime, you can continue to submit your metadata records to your usual Web Accessible Folder (WAF) or other harvesting endpoint and they will be picked up after harvesting resumes from Data.gov.
In order to freeze the database, some functions have been disabled or are otherwise prohibited during this period:
· Sign up as a new User
· Sign up as a Publisher
· Edit your User or Publisher profile
· Add metadata through the on-line forms
· Add metadata through XML Upload
· Harvest data or set up a harvesting site
· Manage your metadata – edit or delete records in GOS
· Flag metadata for sharing with Data.gov
· Save a search
· Save a bookmark (map extent) in the search interface
We will be migrating user account information to Data.gov and will contact you when this is complete. At that time there will likely be some actions we will need from you to re-activate your account. Note that previous saved searches and saved bookmarks will not carry over to the new interface.
How Does the Migration of the Catalog Affect You?
The following section provides some more information about the migration from geodata.gov to Data.gov in a FAQ format.
What data will be available through Data.gov?
Data.gov will show only approved Federal, downloadable, geospatial datasets. These data sets have previously been flagged within the GOS metadata as approved for Data.gov and these flags will migrate with the entire GOS collection. All State, local and Tribal data sets from GOS are also moving in this migration. Capabilities to search the entire GOS national collection will still be available through other avenues such as www.geoplatform.gov. Additionally, Data.gov will accept a wider variety of content type than just downloadable data, to include web map services.
What about features and data that will not be migrated to Data.gov?
Some features, such as the Partnership Marketplace and the former Communities on geodata.gov, will not be available through Data.gov. We will retain information about the former geodata.gov Communities to use if need for the development of new Data.gov communities in the future. The full GOS database will be maintained, but plans for interfaces to the entire intergovernmental collection are still evolving.
What will be different about publishing your geospatial datasets to Data.gov?
Up until now, Data.gov has been receiving Federal, downloadable, geospatial datasets through flagging of these selected datasets within the GOS metadata management interface. These existing flags for sharing datasets with Data.gov will be maintained through the transition process. Additionally, Data.gov will accept a wider variety of content type than just downloadable data, to include live data and map services. After the migration is completed, it will be a good time to do some cleanup and maintenance of old records.
What can you do now to prepare for the transition of GOS to Data.gov?
First of all and most importantly, review your current records in GOS and think about if you have any obsolete records that need to be removed or updated. These might include records with obsolete or broken links, map services that do not work (per the Service Status Checker in GOS), and older ArcIMS map services that are no longer functional. You could also remove datasets that are not uniquely yours, or for which you are not the primary steward, such as clips of national datasets. This is an effort to remove duplicate data sets and only publish the original source whenever possible.
What records should be published to Data.gov?
A key objective during this migration is to improve the quality of data that gets migrated to Data.gov. To achieve this there are several core concepts for next phases:
o Publish metadata only for datasets for which your Agency is the steward.
o Publish only metadata for data that meets your Agency’s Quality Standards
o Data.gov will eventually support distributed search of other collections - Can your whole collection receive your Agency approval as meeting its Quality Standards?
o For large homogenous collections, such as imagery collections, we should discuss the possibility of publishing just one record about the collection that will enable distributed search, instead of publishing each individual record.
Questions, Comments and Suggestions
We are interested in your opinions and ideas on these and other topics as we progress further. Over the next year, you can expect to see improvements in the Data.gov interface to improve access to, and the visualization of, geospatial data content and enhance its use with other geo-enabled data published to Data.gov. These migration efforts will also include providing a single Agency data approval path through the Data Management System (DMS) for all data.
If you have any questions or comments during this transition period, you may write to us through the geodata.gov e-mail at
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Comments and suggestions on development of Data.gov and integration of geospatial data into Data.gov can also be provided through the Website http://datagov.ideascale.com/a/panel.do.
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