[OSGeo-UK] Re: CKAN for open geodata

[Jonathan Gray]

Joanne Cook wrote:
> I hadn't thought of linking in to CKAN but it makes a lot of sense. I think it's worth looking at various recent discussions about the type of metadata we would need for it to be usable, but it's a good place to start and saves reinventing the wheel. There are also other repositories of useful data (my knowledge is biased to the UK), but we could start with a collection of links to all of these options.
>   

If anyone's interested, I'd really like to arrange a time on IRC or in 
person to work on this! It would be great to have more geodata packages 
listed, to curate and develop the packages we already have (improve 
documentation, clarify licensing with distributors, etc.), and to think 
about how CKAN could be further developed to become as useful as 
possible to potential users in the geospatial data community!

As you suggest it would be great to review material on geospatial 
metadata and to think about how this could be adequately accommodated in 
CKAN, including existing work on the OSGeo wiki!

  http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Geodata_Repository
  http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Geodata_Metadata_Requirements

Jonathan

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jonathan Gray" <jonathan.gray at okfn.org>
> To: "Joanne Cook" <j.cook at oxfordarch.co.uk>
> Cc: "William Wilcox" <billwilcox at wilcox53.freeserve.co.uk>, "uk" <uk at lists.osgeo.org>
> Sent: 26 June 2008 16:41:19 o'clock (GMT) Europe/London
> Subject: CKAN for open geodata
>
> Bill, Jo,
>
> Regarding your comments on a portal or datastore for geodata, the 
> Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN) is a registry of open 
> knowledge 'packages' - such as large datasets or collections of content 
> - and includes geodata:
>
>    http://ckan.net/tag/read/geodata
>    http://ckan.net/tag/read/geo
>    http://ckan.net/tag/read/osgeo
>
> We've put in some effort to add geospatial datasets - and it would be 
> great if others could think of any other packages to add!
>
> At the moment it has a bare minimum of metadata - but adding support for 
> domain specific metadata is something that we've certainly spoken about 
> before. I believe Jo Walsh raised the question of adding support for 
> geospatial metadata [1]. Any suggestions about how it could be developed 
> to better meet the requirements of the (open) geodata using community 
> would be much appreciated!
>
> We've also spoken with the Internet Archive about mirroring large 
> datasets, and publishing datasets in multiple formats - and they were 
> enthusiastic.
>
> I put myself down to come to the meetup in May, but unfortunately wasn't 
> able to make it in the end. I look forward to meeting people at future 
> events though!
>
> Warm regards,
>
> Jonathan Gray
> The Open Knowledge Foundation
>
> [1] http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-discuss/2007-October/000601.html
>
> Joanne Cook wrote:
>
>   
>> 5) Finally- the data- the biggest issue is that the basic mapping
>> data just isn't there, unless you are affiliated with a university or
>> council. However, we could provide advice on how to use openstreetmap
>> data, and I certainly like your idea of a portal for other types of
>> data, or at least links to where it might be found.
>>     
>
> William Wilcox wrote:
>
>  > I started to think about your comment about lack of data. It is all
>  > very well having these great programmes but without data they are of
>  > little use. What about a wiki or data store for free datasets? People
>  > can upload them for use by other members. Obviously a moderator could
>  > verify that each set of data was actually free! This would not only
>  > promote OS Geo but offer a 'beginner' a starting place to find data.
>  > It would be a 'package' - an OS programme and OS/free data with which
>  > to work with!
>
>
>
>
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