ISO 19115-1:2014

Overview

ISO 19115-1:2014 - Geographic information - Metadata - Part 1: Fundamentals defines the standard metadata schema for describing geographic information and services. It specifies the structure and minimum content needed to document identification, extent, spatial/temporal properties, spatial reference, portrayal, distribution, and other characteristics of digital geospatial datasets and web services. The standard supports cataloguing, clearinghouse operations, dataset and service description, and can be extended to non-digital or non‑geographic resources (maps, documents, etc.).

Key technical topics and requirements

• Metadata schema and packages: Defines metadata sections, entities and elements (mandatory, conditional and optional) and their relationships to form a consistent metadata model.
• Minimum metadata set: Specifies the least metadata required for common applications such as data discovery, determining fitness for use, data access, data transfer, and reuse.
• Spatial & temporal description: Elements for expressing geographic extent and temporal coverage of resources.
• Identification, citation and responsible party information: Standardized fields to attribute and reference datasets and services.
• Spatial reference and portrayal: Metadata elements describing coordinate systems, projections and portrayal/conformance expectations.
• Distribution and access: Elements supporting resource distribution, access methods and service endpoints.
• Multilingual and localisation support: Guidance for supporting free text fields in multiple languages and character sets.
• Extensibility and profiles: Methodology to create domain-specific extensions or community profiles while remaining interoperable.
• Conformance & testing: Conformance requirements and an abstract test suite to validate metadata implementations.
• Annexes and implementation aids: Includes a data dictionary, metadata extensions/profiles, implementation examples, discovery metadata and mapping information to earlier versions for backward compatibility.

Practical applications and who uses it

ISO 19115-1 is used by:

• GIS/data managers and custodians documenting geospatial holdings
• Information system analysts and developers building metadata catalogues, discovery services, or metadata editors
• National mapping agencies, environmental agencies, utilities and research organizations publishing datasets or web services
• Clearinghouses and geoportals ensuring discoverability and interoperable metadata exchange

Practical benefits:

• Improves dataset discoverability and interoperability across systems
• Helps users assess fitness for use through consistent resource description
• Enables standardized metadata exchange for web services, data transfer and archiving
• Supports creation of community profiles and integration with other metadata standards

Related standards

• ISO 19115 (previous editions) - predecessor mapping and compatibility guidance (see Annex G)
• ISO 19115-2 - extensions for imagery and gridded data
• ISO 19115-3 (XML implementation, Technical Specification)
• ISO 19119 - service metadata (source for service-related elements)
• ISO 19157 - data quality (data quality moved to this standard)

Keywords: ISO 19115-1, geographic metadata, metadata schema, geospatial metadata, data discovery, metadata elements, metadata extensions.