[tdwg-content] GBIF Darwin Core data publishing documents and tools

[David Remsen (GBIF)]

Dear TDWG Content

GBIF has produced a series of documents and supporting tools that  
focus primarily on Darwin Core publishing.   They are divided into  
three profiles each of which presents a series of documents based on  
the different content types in which GBIF focuses:

1. primary biodiversity data, http://www.gbif.org/informatics/primary-data/publishing/
2. checklists, http://www.gbif.org/informatics/name-services/publishing/
3. resource metadata http://www.gbif.org/informatics/discoverymetadata/publishing/

While you may have seen the announcement of the GBIF Integrated  
Publishing Toolkit earlier in the year,  we also have developed two  
additional tools for producing Darwin Core Archives, which are  
featured on these sites.

First,  we have produced a suite of MS Excel templates, currently  
under evaluation, which are coupled with a web service that processes  
completed files and returns a validated Darwin Core Archive.   
Templates exist for primary biodiversity data, simple checklists, and  
EML metadata.  See http://tools.gbif.org/spreadsheet-processor/

Second,  the Darwin Core Archive Assistant is a tool that composes a  
XML metafile,  the only XML component of a Darwin Core Archive, for  
you.  It presents a pick list of Darwin Core and extension terms,   
accessed dynamically from the GBIF registry, and presents these to the  
user who describe their data files.   This allows Darwin Core Archives  
to be created for sharing with no installed software at all.   See http://tools.gbif.org/dwca-assistant/

We would appreciate any feedback on any or all of this as we roll  
these tools and documents out to the GBIF community.

Best,
David Remsen


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David Remsen, Senior Programme Officer
Electronic Catalog of Names of Known Organisms
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat
Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: +45-35321472   Fax: +45-35321480
Mobile +45 28751472
Skype: dremsen
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