DLESE-IMS cataloging best practices

The DLESE-IMS cataloging best practices are used to catalog educational, web-based resources in the DLESE Catalog System (DCS). Use this document only in combination with the DCS, If cataloging educational, web-based resources without a DCS, please see the ADN cataloging best practices.

This document explains how to catalog to DLESE-IMS required metadata and some DLESE-IMS optional metadata. The document is organized alphabetically by field name. For each field, a definition, cataloging best practices and, if applicable, vocabulary explanations are provided. Fields marked with a ** are required metadata fields in the DLESE-IMS metadata framework.

Questions: Please email support@dlese.org

Note: In free text fields, please avoid using the characters & < > " ' because these are special characters in XML (the format metadata records are saved in).

1. Additional Information
2. Audience **
3. Copyright **
4. Cost **
5. Coverage
6. Description **
7. Enter URL **
8. Geography Standards
9. Keywords
10. Mirror URLs
11. Relation
12. Resource Cataloger **
13. Resource Creator **
14. Resource Type **
15. Science Standards (science content)
16. Subject **
17. Technical **
18. Title **

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Best Practices:

Things to do:

• Use this field when you want to add resource information that is not covered by the other metadata fields.

Examples:

• What prerequisite knowledge is required or beneficial in order to use this resource effectively?
• What texts or references are used for the prerequisite knowledge?
• Indicate who uses the resource and who benefits from its use. For example, the resource may be a tool for teachers to benefit teachers and it may be a tool for teachers to benefit students.
• If a resource indicates a math or technology standard, use this field; but contact the DLESE metadata specialists for the appropriate words (controlled vocabularies) to actually write into this field for such information.

Things to avoid:

• Do not include messages about this cataloging tool. Please send questions and messages directly to the DLESE metadata specialists .

AUDIENCE Best Practices:

Audience Definition:

The appropriate grade range or context for users of the resource.

Things to do:

• Enter at least 1 audience. As each audience is entered, it appears in the table alphabetically. If you make a mistake you can delete the entry.
• Indicate all grade-level specific audience levels (this does not include Informal education or General public ) that are relevant to the resource. This means you will need to select each grade-level specific audience level individually.
• If your resource is general in nature like a fact sheet and does not indicate grade-level specificity then the resource is probably appropriate for all learner audiences. In this case, select General public only. Do not add the other grade-level specific audience levels.
• Use Informal education for resources specifically designed for learning environments outside of a formal classroom. These environments might include museum settings, Earth Science Week activities, community projects, park naturalists or interpreters settings, nature centers and home schooling.

Examples:

• A General public example is Living on Active Volcanoes-The Island of Hawaii .
• A Informal education example is EE-Link: Endangered Species .
• A grade-level specific audience example for Primary elementary is Earth Science Explorer .

Things to avoid:

• Do not use Informal education to indicate the resource could be used as reference material.
• Do not use Informal education to indicate the resource can be used by the general public.
• Do not exceed 8 different audiences. Generally, most resources have 2-4 appropriate audiences.
• Do not enter the same audience twice. The cataloger will not create a duplicate entry.

Audience Vocabulary Explanations:

• Primary elementary: Generally learners in grades K-2.
• Intermediate elementary: Generally learners in grades 3-5.
• Middle school: Generally learners in grades 6-8.
• High school: Generally learners in grades 9-12.
• Undergraduate lower division: Generally learners in the first two years of a baccalaureate degree or completing an introductory course.
• Undergraduate upper division: Generally learners in the last two years of a baccalaureate degree or completing an advanced course.
• Graduate or professional: Learners who have completed an undergraduate degree.
• Informal education: Learners in museum settings, community continuing education programs, community technology centers, park naturalists settings, nature centers and home schooling.
• General public: Learners in the general population; use for resources in which no grade-level specificity is indicated.

COPYRIGHT Best Practices:

Copyright Definition:

Comments on conditions of use for the resource in a learning or educational setting.

Things to do:

• Search the resource for an explicit copyright statement to enter into this field. It may be as simple as "Copyright, 2000", or it may be a more lengthy text statement.
• If the copyright statement is extremely long, edit it to fit the 1024 character limit.
• You may edit the content to make it more readable.
• The content should indicate the copyright restriction or lack thereof and/or whether the resource is free and clear for general use.

Examples:

• "May be used in an educational setting as long as credit to NASA is given."

No Copyright? Do this:

• If this field cannot be readily determined, enter "Copyright and Other Restrictions Information is Unknown" as the content for this field.

Things to avoid:

• Do not include the URL that links to the copyright information because this URL may change and invalidate the data.
• Do not put quotes around the copyright information.
• Do not exceed the maximum character count of 1024 (this includes white space). The input box does not indicate when the 1024 character limit is reached. If your input goes beyond the limit, only the first 1024 characters are saved in the catalog record. Since we don't have an effective method for counting characters at the moment, we suggest using a word processing program to count characters.

COST Best Practices:

Cost Definition:

Whether use or access of the resource requires payment.

• If there is a substantial cost to access or use the resource, the resource may not become part of the library.
• Use of the controlled vocabulary is required for this field.
• If there is a nominal cost to access part of the resource but most of the resource is freely available, then select No .

Cost Vocabulary Explanations:

• Yes: Means there is a cost associated with using or accessing the resource.
• No: Means there is no cost associated with using or accessing the resource.
• Unknown: Means there may or may not be a cost associated with using or accessing the resource. The cost could not be determined.

COVERAGE Best Practices:

Coverage Definition:

An area, in the form of a bounding box or point, on the surface of the Earth that a resource is about. The area is described with latitude and longitude coordinates and optionally with vertical dimensions and/or place or event names associated with the coordinate locations.

Bounding Box:

A bounding box is a regular polygon that is parallel to the equator that encloses the areal extent of the location. It is used to represent, in a general way, the location of a geographic area. A bounding box is represented by two latitude and two longitude values for the edges of the box. A point is represented by repeating the latitude and longitude values. A north-south line is represented by repeating the longitude values while an east-west line is represented by repeating the latitude values.

• If only a single bounding box (1 coverage set) is being entered, also enter 'BB:' in one of the Place or Event Names entry boxes. Use all caps and do not put a space after the colon. Example: BB: See the graphical example further down.
• If more than one bounding box (more than 1 coverage set) is being entered, then enter an additional bounding box set that encompasses all the other bounding boxes and then enter 'BB:' in one of the Place or Event Name entry boxes for this additional bounding box. Use all caps and do not put a space after the colon. Example
  • Box 1: 20 N -30S -120W -110W
  • Box 2 60 N, 10 N 100E 135E
  • Then enter a Box 3 with 60N -30S -120W 135E and BB: entered in a Place or Event Name entry box. See the graphical example further down.
• If any bounding box refers to a point rather than box , then enter 'PT:' in one of the Place or Event Names entry boxes. Use all caps and do not put a space after the colon. Example: PT: Some boxes may need both a 'PT:' and 'BB:' label as separate entries in the Place and Event Name boxes. See the graphical example further down.
• If any bounding box refers to a line that goes north-south (same longitudes but different latitudes) rather than box, then also enter 'LNNS:' in one of the Place or Event Names entry boxes. Use all caps and do not put a space after the colon. Example: LNNS: Some boxes may need both a 'LNNS:' and 'BB:' label as separate entries in the Place and Event Name boxes. See the graphical example further down.
• If any bounding box refers to a line that goes east-west (same latitudes but different longitudes) rather than box, then also enter 'LNEW:' in one of the Place or Event Names entry boxes. Use all caps and do not put a space after the colon. Example: LNEW: Some boxes may need both a 'LNEW:' and 'BB:' label as separate entries in the Place and Event Name boxes. See the graphical example futher down.
• Latitudes run parallel to the equator and range from -90° to 90°
• Longitudes run from pole to pole and range in value from -180° to 180°; the prime meridian (0°) runs through Greenwich, England.
• Enter longitude and latitude values in decimal degrees.
• Enter values in the following format ###.##, that is, to a maximum of two decimal places.
• For those values less than 1 degree, use a leading zero, e.g. 0.93.
• Use positive values for longitudes east of the prime meridian (Eastern hemisphere).
• Use negative values for longitudes west of the prime meridian (Western hemisphere).
• Use positive values for latitudes north of the equator. (Northern hemisphere).
• Use negative values for latitudes south of the equator (Southern hemisphere).
• To represent a point, repeat the latitude for both the northern and southern latitudes and repeat the longitude values for both western and eastern longitudes.
• A bounding box, should cover all the sub-geographic areas within the resource. If you are cataloging a resource that encompasses the climates of Southern California, the Mediterranean, and Northern Australia, then your bounding box is approximately -30.00 (south latitude) to 35.00 (north latitude) and from -180.00 (west longitude) to 180.00 (east longitude).
• If a bounding box crosses the international date line (180 longitude), please contact the DLESE metadata specialists because the tool will not let you put in the box correctly.
• For determining bounding boxes and points, the following resources may be useful (caution: these tend to return points rather than boxes so be careful because we all know that the Grand Canyon for example is more than a point):

  http://webclient.alexandria.ucsb.edu/
  http://fat-albert.alexandria.ucsb.edu:8827/gazetteer
  http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/
  http://www.topozone.com/

Begin and End Time:

Represents the beginning and ending time that pertain to the entire resource.

• Dates are indicated using a YYYY-MM-DD format.
• Time must be entered as Universal Coordinated Time in the following format: hh:mm:ss where seconds must be completed.
• Do not add UTC or Z. This will be done by the cataloging tool.
• If you enter a begin date you must enter an end date and vice versa.
• If you enter a begin time you must enter an end time and vice versa.
• If you enter a begin date/time description you must enter an end date/time description and vice versa.
• The date/time description box can be used to indicate less specific time periods such as 5000 BC or 150 million years ago, the Jurassic Period. However, a number must be referenced. That is, do not specify 'Spring' as a date/time description because which 'Spring' is being referenced, Spring 2000 or Spring 1950 or some other, is unclear.
• If you enter a day, you must enter a year and month.
• If you enter a month, you must enter a year.
• If you enter seconds, you must enter hour and minutes.
• If you enter minutes, you must enter hour.
• To convert from local time to Universal Coordinated Time , determine the local time in military format (that is 1pm is 1300), the time of year and the location. Then use the table below and add the appropriate number of hours as indicated by a "+" or "-" sign in the table. For example, 1pm in Denver on June 30th is 19 UTC (1300 + 6 hours = 1900).

Time Zone	April-Oct (Daylight)	Nov-Mar (Standard)	Explanations
Eastern	+4	+5	IN (except Northwest IN) does not do Daylight Savings so +5 all year
Central	+5	+6
Mountain	+6	+7
Pacific	+7	+8	AZ does not do Daylight Savings so +7 all year
Hawaii	+10	+10	No Daylight Savings
Alaska	+8	+9

Altitude:

The height above or below sea-level in meters.

• Values must be in meters.
• Do not enter commas. For example, 20,000 meters should be written as 20000.
• Use leading zeros for absolute values of less than 1. That is write 0.63 not .63.
• Positive values represent values above sea-level.
• Negative values represent values below sea-level.
• If the resource uses above or below ground measurements rather than sea-level measurements, please contact the DLESE metadata specialists for help on completing altitude.

Place or Event Name:

The name of the place, feature or event associated with the bounding box.

• Place or event names can only be entered if a bounding box has also been provided.
• Begin all place names with the following label, 'PLACE:' Use all caps and do not put a space after the colon. Example: PLACE:Cleveland, Ohio, United States. See example below.
• Begin all event name with the following label, 'EVENT:'. Use all caps and do not put a space after the colon. Example: EVENT:Hurricane Andrew. See the example below.
• Place or event names can be single names (e.g., Toledo or Gold Dust Peak) modified by a larger political administrative entity after a comma (e.g., Toledo, Ohio or Gold Dust Peak, Eagle County, Colorado, United States)
• Spell out all states and countries.
• If entering a location in the United States, include United States as part of the location name and spell it out.
• If single names are used, the geographic footprint serves to disambiguate the place from other places with the same name.
• Names should contain words or phrases indicating the type of place, feature, or event except for cities and states and such where the type of place is assumed. For example use Hurricane Camille - not just Camille; use Mississippi River, United States - not just Mississippi; use New York City, New York, United States - not just New York.
• Do not put multiples entries on a single line. That is, don't enter "Virginia, Mid-Atlantic" because Mid-Atlantic is not a larger recognized political administrative entry.

Example:

How to do multiple bounding boxes in order to illustrate the large bounding box and the labels BB:, PLACE:, PT:.

N= 46.68°, S= 41.58° E= -116.06°, W= -124.96° PLACE:Oregon, United States N= 41°, S= 37° E= -102°, W= -109° PLACE:Colorado, United States N=42.92, S= 42.92 E=-124.08, W= -124.08 PLACE:Mt. Hood PT: N = 46.68°, S= 37° E= -102°, W= -124.96° BB:

DESCRIPTION Best Practices:

Description Definition:

A textual narrative describing the content, purpose, organization, or goal of a resource.

Things to do:

• Since Description is a primary search field, include information that would be useful in discovering the resource such as concepts, topics and events included in the content of the resource.
• As a starting point, use resource provided tables of content, abstracts, outlines, indexes and descriptions to grasp the scope of the resource.
• In order to maintain balance and non-political messages in metadata descriptions, please use caution when copying text directly from the resource, especially if a topic is one of much scientific debate (e.g. global warming, creationism, or age of the earth) or if you are unfamiliar with the topic.
• Use complete sentences in a voice that does not imply the user is at the resource's website but rather is reading a library description. For example, edit "The figure below shows the relationship between x, y and z." to read "A figure is provided that depicts the relationship between x, y and z."
• If you are describing a model or simulation, try to include information about the input and output variables of the model or simulation.
• Spell out first instances of all acronyms.
• Craft lists of keywords and concepts into sentences by summarizing related ideas to avoid repetitive text.
• If a resource requires a subscription or a membership for use, please indicate that information in this field.

Examples:

• The Briny Deep: This expedition explores the chemical and physical properties of the ocean and their role in governing oceanic processes. Topics include: Is There Salt in Seawater?, Ions of Salt, What is Source of the Salt?, Salinity Variability, Salinity and Precipitation, Calculating Salinity, Ocean Temperature, Solar Radiation, Variations in the Properties of Sea Water, Light Penetration, Temperature, Thermocline, Density, Layering, and the Velocity of Sound in Water. This expedition is one of nine expeditions and two field studies which are part of a course entitled Geology 105 - Mysteries of the Deep.
• The Climate System: The Climate System is a part of The Earth System course series (TESY) developed by Columbia University and Barnard College. It provides an integrated view of the climate component of the Earth system. Topics covered include origin and development of the atmosphere and oceans, formation of winds, storms and ocean currents, reasons for changes through geologic time, recent influence of human activity, i.e. the ozone hole, global warming, acid rain, water pollution, and laboratory exploration of topics through demonstrations, experimentation, computer data analysis and modeling.

Things to avoid:

• Avoid using the characters & < > " ' because these are special characters in XML (the format metadata records are saved in)
• Do not include evaluative information or testimonials about the resource. That is don't say:

  This site offers outstanding curricular materials for teaching and learning about the Earth system. Named "Educational Site of the Week" by XYZ , we have been recommended by teachers across the nation as the place to go to find materials that will significantly improve your students' learning. Our experts provide comprehensive reviews of each resource for accuracy and pedagogical effectiveness.

Change this type of information to be like:

This site offers curricular materials for teaching and learning about the Earth system. The focus is on student learning, and a review of each resource for scientific accuracy and pedagogical effectiveness is provided.

• Generally, do not make the description just a list of keywords. Craft lists of keywords and concepts into sentences by summarizing related ideas to avoid repetitive text.
• Generally, do not include information that is handled elsewhere in the metadata (e.g. resource creators or resource types). Some redundancy of terms is acceptable, but a description that relies solely upon this does not serve as an enhancement to search.
• Do not put quotes around the description.
• Do not include resource version numbers; this is included in the technical field.
• Do not describe techniques, materials, or media used in the creation of the resource. It is generally not necessary since most resources will be digital and it is more appropriate to describe this information in the technical field.
• Do not create relationships between two distinctly different resources. For example, do not say this is one of four modules that describes polar processes, ozone, oceanography and global warming when the one you are cataloging deals only with ozone. This would cause your ozone related resource to be returned when someone is searching on polar. (Not good).
• Do not exceed the maximum character count of 2048 (this includes white space).The input box does not indicate when the 2048 character limit is reached. If your input goes beyond the limit, only the first 2048 characters are saved in the catalog record. Since we don't have an effective method for counting characters at the moment, we suggest using a word processing program to count characters.
• If you are going to catalog subpages of this resource, do not describe the subpages in this description.

ENTER URL Best Practices:

Enter URL Definition:

The URL that resolves to the resource or resolves to information about ordering, receiving, or purchasing the resource.

Things to do:

• Catalog URLs at an appropriate level of granularity for the type of resource being cataloged. For example, catalog lesson plans separately rather than cataloging an overarching page that lists all the lessons plans.
• Begin URLs with http://.
• URLs with the following symbols: &, =, ?, spaces, %20's, numbers or underscores are okay.

Things to avoid:

• Do not use other URL specifiers (ftp or https) other than http because they are not supported and will cause this tool to crash.

GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS Best Practices:

Geography Standards Definition:

The goal of the National Geography Standards (National Council for Geographic Education, 1999-2002) is to produce a geographically informed person who sees meaning in the arrangement of things in space and applies a spatial perspective to life situations.

Things to do:

• Choosing an educational standard and associating it with a resource signifies that the content of the resource supports student learning and attainment of the specific ability noted. This can be through many different mechanisms and resource types, including access to background, text-based material. Some standards available for cataloging are general in nature, hence the resource need not address the entire scope of the standard to be eligible for these data.
• Use standards only with materials where student learning occurs
• Catalogers are expected to have experience and familiarity with the standards they choose to include in a record. If you do not, then please refrain from using this field or consult a colleague before entering such data.
• When standards are identified by the resource creator and presented in the resource, all catalogers should include these data in the record, or select those that are in keeping with the abovementioned criteria.

Examples:

• Exploring Earthquakes in Space and Time Through the Internet and a Geographic Information System references the Geography Standard of The World in Spatial Terms:How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.

Things to avoid:

• If you are not familiar with the use of educational standards and if the resource does not explicitly contain this information, please refrain from using this field.
• Do not create a compiled list of standards addressed by a collection of diverse resources. For example, if the URL being cataloged is an overarching site that provides access to a collection of lesson plans, you must create a record for each lesson plan and associate the standards directly with the individual lesson plan, rather than combining them all into one long list.

Other standards? Do this:

• Use the separate field of Science Standards to add National Science Education Standards.
• If the resource indicates other standards such as the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) or the National Educational Technology Standards by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) etc., enter this information in the Additional Information field, citing the authorizing body and source for the standard. Please contact the DLESE metadata specialists for the appropriate words (controlled vocabularies) to actually write into the Additional Information field for such information.

Geography Standards Vocabulary Explanations:

• The World in Spatial Terms:How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information
• The World in Spatial Terms:How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments
• The World in Spatial Terms:How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface
• Places and Regions:The physical and human characteristics of places
• Places and Regions:That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity
• Places and Regions:How culture and experience influence people's perception of places and regions
• Physical Systems:The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface
• Physical Systems:The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface
• Human Systems:The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface
• Human Systems:The characteristics, distributions, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaic
• Human Systems:The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface
• Human Systems:The process, patterns, and functions of human settlement
• Human Systems:How forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface
• Environment and Society:How human actions modify the physical environment
• Environment and Society:How physical systems affect human systems
• Environment and Society:The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources
• The Uses of Geography:How to apply geography to interpret the past
• The Uses of Geography:How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

KEYWORDS Best Practices:

Keywords Definition:

Concepts or ideas in the form of a list that express detailed content about the resource. These are keywords from the resource and not from a controlled vocabulary.

Things to do:

• Use keywords from the resource. This keyword field is not from a controlled vocabulary list.
• Use keywords to express ideas and concepts not expressed in the metadata fields of description or subject .
• Each keyword set should focus on one topic, e.g. "plate tectonics".

Things to avoid:

• Do not put multiples entries on a single line. That is, don't enter "plate tectonics, continental drift" or "glaciers, snow".
• Do not exceed 8 sets of keyword.
• Do not repeat words from the description.

MIRROR URLs Best Practices:

Mirror URLs Definition:

Additional URLs that resolve to the same resource as the main or primary URL for the metadata record.

Things to do:

• Begin URLs with http://.
• Mirror sites are urls with a different domain name. For example, http://www.ametsoc.org/dstreme and http://www.comet.ucar.edu/dstreme have different domains (comet.ucar vs. ametsoc.org) that resolve to the same site, DataStreme Atmosphere.
• URLs with the following symbols: &, =, ?, spaces, %20's, numbers or underscores are okay.

Things to avoid:

• Do not use mirror sites when the domain name does not change. That is, http://www.asite.org/index.html and http://www.asite.org/home.html are not mirror sites because they have the same domain of www.asite.org.
• Do not use other URL specifiers (ftp or https) other than http because they are not supported and will cause this tool to crash.

RELATION Best Practices:

Relation Definition:

The relationship between the resource being cataloged and a related resource within the library.

Things to do:

• Use this field to create meaningful relationships. Will creating a relationship between the resource being cataloged and another resource enhance the use or discovery of both resources?
• Create a relation by completing the kind field (required) and then by providing either:
  • a DLESE catalog record ID number or
  • a title and URL.
• If an over-arching record exists for your resource, you may create a relationship between the URL you are cataloging and the overarching record
  if the website content of your URL is not predominantly text and/or the website content differs substantially in it's description, educational components or technical requirements from the overarching URL website content. The non-text requirement is used here because DLESE will eventually employ search engines that can dig down through text-based webpages based on the hyperlinks; thus creating relationships would be unnecessary.

Examples:

• For example, the Mauna Loa, Hawaii: Carbon Dioxide Concentration Graph is a diagram of a dataset. The dataset is also cataloged. So the Mauna Loa record uses relation to say the diagram (graph) "IsBasedOn" the following dataset by using the DLESE ID of the dataset catalog record.
• The four NASA modules that comprise the Studying Earth's Environment from Space (SEES) are good examples of "References". Within each of the four modules, the other SEES modules are hyperlinked. For example, Global Land Vegetation references Oceanography.
• Another example is The Nine Planets: Saturn which "IsPartOf " The Nine Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System .

Things to avoid:

• Don't create relationiships just for the sake of making a relationship.
• Do not make a relationship just because two URLs have the same domain name (e.g. http://www.nasa.gov)
• Do not make a relationship between two URLs that have the same domain name and directory structure in common (e.g. http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/volcanoes_lesson1.htm and http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/volcanoes_lesson2.htm ).
• Do not make relationships between anchor URLs on the same or different pages.

Relation Vocabulary Explanations:

KIND:

The relationship between the resource being described and a related resource.

• IsPartOf: The described resource is a physical or logical part of the referenced resource (needs to be more than just a hyperlink with more information).
• HasPart: The described resource includes the referenced resource either physically or logically.
• IsVersionOf: The described resource is a version, edition, or adaptation of the referenced resource. Changes in version imply substantive changes in content rather than differences in format.
• HasVersion: The described resource has a version, edition, or adaptation, namely, the referenced resource.
• IsFormatOf: The described resource is the same intellectual content of the referenced resource, but presented in another format.
• HasFormat: The described resource pre-existed the referenced resource, which is essentially the same intellectual content presented in another format.
• HasThumbnail: The described resource has a thumbnail image that illustrates it.
• References: The described resource references, cites, or otherwise points to the referenced resource. (e.g. within the resource being cataloged there is a hyperlink to another resource). The described resource is not an absolutely necessary component of the related resource.
• IsReferencedBy: The described resource is referenced, cited, or otherwise pointed to by the referenced resource. (E.g. the resource being cataloged is hyperlinked in another resource)
• IsBasedOn: Means that a significant amount of intellectual thought, creative ideas, questions or images in the resource being cataloged was based on another resource that has some of the same intellectual thought, creative ideas, questions or images.
• IsBasisFor: Means that the resource being cataloged provided a significant amount of intellectual thought, creative ideas, questions or images for another resource.
• Requires: The described resource requires the referenced resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence of content.
• IsRequiredBy: The described resource is required by the referenced resource, either physically or logically.
• IsReplacedBy: The described resource is supplanted, displaced, or superseded by the referenced resource.
• Replaces: The described resource supplants, displaces, or supersedes the referenced resource.

RESOURCE CATALOGER Best Practices:

Resource Cataloger Definition:

Persons or organizations contributing to the metadata about a resource.

Things to do:

• Enter at least 1 cataloger set that includes the following fields:
  • Role (required)
  • First and last name OR organization (required)
  • Email (required)
• If you make a mistake edit or delete the cataloger set entry
• In initial cataloging, the metadata field of role is defaulted to Creator.
• When editing this field after initial cataloging, the metadata field of role must be selected from the vocabulary list .
• Include a period in the middle initial/name field.
• Enter phone and fax numbers in the following format ###-###-#### (e.g. 303-497-1234).

Who will know you are the cataloger?

• Nobody, except the DLESE metadata specialists. No cataloger information is displayed to library users.

When entering organizational information do this:

• List parent organizations before departments (e.g. Purdue University, Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Science).
• Use commas to separate parent organizations and departments as shown above parenthetically.
• Organization should be the formal name of an entity like an organization or business and not a person.
• Spell out organizational and departmental acronyms.

More than one cataloger?

• Each different cataloger should have their own entry row in the table.

Things to avoid:

• Do not exceed 8 different cataloger sets. Generally, there will be only one role of creator, that is the initial cataloger.

Resource Cataloger Vocabulary Explanations:

ROLE:

The function of a person or organization in creating, annotating or cataloging a resource.

• Creator: The person or entity responsible for creating the original metadata (catalog) record.
• Editor: The person or entity responsible for editting the original metadata (catalog) record to ensure best practices have been followed and the required metadata is present.
• Validator: The person or entity responsible for validating the original metadata (catalog) record for final accession into the library collection.

NAME TITLE:

The form of address for an individual.

• Dr , Miss , Mr , Mrs , Ms: Self-explanatory.
• Prof: Professor.

RESOURCE CREATOR Best Practices:

Resource Creator Definition:

Persons or organizations contributing to content of a resource (includes author, contact and publisher information).

Things to do:

• Enter at least 1 creator set that includes the following fields:
  • Role (required)
  • First and last name OR organization (required)
• If you make a mistake edit or delete the creator set entry.
• Include people or organizations you think most relevant.
• Select the role that fits best (i.e. information for an author, publisher, or contact person, etc.).
• In addition to the required fields listed above, complete as many fields as you can.
• Each different creator should have its own entry row in the table.
• Date should be entered in the following format YYYY-MM-DD.
• Enter phone and fax numbers in the following format ###-###-#### (e.g. 303-497-1234).

No creator information? Do this:

• If you can not determine any creator information, complete the Additional Information field (see menu at left) and say "No creator information could be determined."

Multiple roles for a creator:

• If a creator fits multiple roles, complete a creator set for each role. (Sorry, at this time we do not have a way to repeat a creator's contact information for the multiple roles.).

Publisher (or organizational type) creators:

• Select the role that fits best.
• Complete, at least, the organization and email fields.
• Do not complete first name or last name.
• List parent organizations before departments (e.g. Purdue University, Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Science.
• Use commas to separate parent organizations and departments as shown parenthetically in previous bullet.
• Organization should be the formal name of an entity like an organization or business and not a person.
• Spell out organizational and departmental acronyms.

Author/PIs/ contributor (or individual type ) creators:

• Select the role that fits best.
• Complete, at least, the first name, last name and email fields.
• Complete the organization field if possible.
• Include a period in the middle initial field.

Things to avoid:

• Do not enter webmasters as creators unless they are truly the creators.
• Do not exceed 8 different creator sets.

Resource Creator Vocabulary Explanations:

ROLE:

The function of a person or organization in creating, annotating or cataloging a resource.

• Author: The person(s) or entity responsible for creating intellectual content of resources.
• Contact: The person(s) or entity to contact regarding use, copyright, or availability of a resource.
• Contributor: Any person(s) or entity who helps in creating the intellectual content or design of a resource.
• Editor: The person(s) or entity who edit the content of a resource (particularly for electronic or paper-based books).
• Principal Investigator: The person(s) listed on a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant under which a resource is created.
• Publisher: The person(s) or entity responsible for making a resource available.

NAME TITLE:

The form of address for an individual.

• Dr, Miss , Mr , Mrs , Ms: Self-explanatory.
• Prof.: Professor.

RESOURCE TYPE Best Practices:

Resource Type Definition:

The educational type of the resource with regards to how the resource may be used in the classroom, professional development or in an informal educational setting.

Things to do:

• Enter at least 1 resource type first by choosing a category then a name. As each resource type is entered, it appears in the table alphabetically. If you make a mistake you can delete the entry.
• Apply the idea that some resource types have relationships such that one can comprise another. For example: Curriculum -> Course ->Module/unit -> Lesson plan -> Activity is the hierarchy we envision.
• Apply the idea "does this item have a use outside of the current context of this resource?". If so you may choose to select additional resource types (see examples below).
• Use resource type Service:Search Engine when the site provides a mechanism to search the web at large. If the site has only a "search this site " link, do not use this resource type.
• For each different resource type, create an entry in the table.

Examples:

• If a resource is an entire course on-line, it is assumed to include the common elements of a course, such as a syllabus. So select a resource type of Learning Materials:Course .
• If the only thing available on-line is the syllabus, then use resource types of Learning Materials:Course and Learning Materials:Syllabus .
• A virtual field trip is almost certainly going to contain photographs.. hence do not include a resource type of Visual:Photograph. However if the virtual field trip has an animation to enhance the "visit" that illustrates a concept or process of more general interest, then add a resource type of Visual:Scientific visualization/illustration and be sure the concept illustrated is described in the metadata field of description .
• A Learning Materials:Tutorial example is The Hydrologic Cycle .
• A Text:Reference example is Crystallography .
• A Text:Report example is Lava covers Kalapana, April - January 1991 and Ice Core Contributions To Global Change Research: Past Successes and Future Directions.
• An example of a combination of resource types ( Learning Materials:Classroom activity , Text:Report , Text:Reference and Learning Materials:Instructor guide ) is The Kids and Teachers Corner of the Year of the Ocean .

Things to avoid:

• For the choice of Portal (e.g. www.nasa.gov), generally do not enter other resource types like Learning Materials or Visual etc. because a portal by definition implies a diverse group of resources. Enter a second resource type if there is something especially unique about the resource or if adding another resource type describes the bulk of the material on the portal site (e.g. if the portal consists entirely of images or datasets).
• Do not exceed 8 different resource types. Generally, most resources have 2-4 appropriate resource types.
• Do not enter the same resource types twice. The cataloger will not create a duplicate entry.
• Do not let URL extensions like .com, .org, etc. be a primary influence on your choice of resource type.

Resource Type Vocabulary Explanations:

AUDIO:

A resource whose content is primarily audio or intended to be realized in audio (use for recorded items that have no visual component).

• Audio book: An audio recording of a book in print.
• Audio webcast: The audio component (only) of a broadcast that was captured digitally from the web (e.g. newscast, speech, interviews).
• Lecture: An audio recording of a speech or classroom instruction.
• Music: A recording of vocal, instrumental or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody or harmony.
• Oral history: Tape-recorded historical information obtained in interviews concerning personal experiences and recollections.
• Radio broadcast: A recording of a newscast, talk show or other oral presentation originally generated via the radio.
• Sound: Recorded auditory material (e.g. natural world, mechanical, noise, tones).

DATA:

Structured information encoded in lists, tables, databases etc., which will normally be in a format available for direct machine processing.

• In situ dataset: Data measurements generated when the measuring instrument and the medium to be measured are in direct contact.
• Modeled dataset: Data generated by equations, computer models and numerical simulations.
• Remotely sensed dataset: Data measurements generated when the measuring instrument and the medium to be measured are not in direct contact.

LEARNING MATERIALS:

Materials prepared for use by students or teachers in the classroom, field or other learning environment. Some of the following fit in a hierarchy with implied scope, specificity and length (e.g. from curriculum, to course, to module/unit, to lesson plan, to activity).

• Assessment: Materials that are designed to measure student learning (exams, questionnaires, quizzes) or to support teacher design or development of such materials (rubrics). Materials that support existing assessments (answer keys). Materials that relate to the philosophy of assessment (articles about performance and authentic assessment, for example).
• Case study: An intensive analysis of an individual unit (as a person or community) stressing developmental factors in relation to environment or a scientific study of a specific location or region..
• Classroom activity: Defined as a classroom-based task or exercise that students are asked to do, often as part of a lesson plan or other larger unit of instruction-to help them develop particular skills, knowledge, or habits of mind. Usually, the goals and outcomes are broad.
• Computer activity: Defined as a computer-based task or exercise that students are asked to do, often as part of a lesson plan or other larger unit of instruction-to help them develop particular skills, knowledge, or habits of mind. Usually, the goals and outcomes are broad. (E.g. Mountain Simulation: Assignment )
• Course: Defined as a sequence of instructional units, often a semester long, designed by a teacher (or a faculty or other group of teachers) to significantly advance student skills, knowledge, and habits of mind in a particular discipline and to help students meet specified requirements (as set forth in a curricula or district or state policy). (e.g. Air Quality Meteorology )
• Curriculum: Defined as a program of study. Examples include academic standards, (the knowledge, skills and habits of mind students are expected to acquire in particular grade levels or clusters of grade levels) and the units of instruction, often with sample lesson plans, illustrative student activities, and essential and supplementary resources that can help students reach standards. Curriculums are often designed at the state or school district level, but can also apply to a program of study required for a particular university or college-issued degree.
• Field activity: Defined as a field-based task or exercise that students are asked to do, often as part of a lesson plan or other larger unit of instruction-to help them develop particular or habits of mind. Usually, the goals and outcomes are broad.
• Field trip guide: Directions or suggestions for learning experiences outside of the classroom, usually off-site, either in general or specific to a particular location.
• Instructor guide: Supporting material for teachers regarding the use of learning materials with respect to learning objectives, classroom management, materials, assessment, and additional reference material.
• Lab activity: Defined as a laboratory-based task or exercise that students are asked to do, often as part of a lesson plan or other larger unit of instruction-to help them develop particular skills, knowledge, or habits of mind. Usually, the goals and outcomes are broad.
• Lesson plan: Defined as a plan for helping students learn a particular set of skills, knowledge or habits of mind. Often includes student activities as well as teaching ideas, instructional materials, and other resources. Is shorter in duration than and often a part of a unit or module.
• Module or unit: Defined as a sequence of lesson plans designed to teach a set of skills, knowledge and habits of mind. (E.g. Oceanography )
• Presentation or demonstration: A formal representation of ideas to others. Includes, but is not limited to, links to Powerpoint slides.
• Problem set: A series of tasks or questions posed to the student, as in a homework or other assignment.
• Project: Activities organized around a particular academic topic. Goals and outcomes may be broad, and interaction with other classrooms via the Internet may be a component.
• Syllabus: Outlines of courses and modules and their contents. General material describing a course or unit of study.
• Tutorial: A resource that provides guided, practical information about a specific subject.
• Virtual field trip : A series of on-line visual and text-based resources that mimic the field trip experience in an electronic setting.

PORTAL:

The homepage that is the entrance to a large complex website holding a variety related resources, hosted by a single or group of related organizations. For example, www.nasa.gov. A portal also encompasses other resource types.

• Commercial portal: (.com, .biz).
• Educational portal: (e.g. .edu, .museum). University of California, Berkeley: Museum of Paleontology
• Government portal: (e.g. .gov). National Climatic Data Center
• Nonprofit portal: (e.g. .org, Museum).

SERVICE:

A system that provides one or more functions of value to the end-user.

• Ask an expert: A site where one can submit questions for personal response to either an individual or group of people who have specific expertise in the area of interest.
• Clearinghouse: A site that offers links to other sites organized around a topic or topics. The linked sites are hosted by unrelated organizations. (E.g. teachearth.com
• Forum or discussion: An interface where a group of individuals can engage in text-based talk about a particular subject. May or may not be synchronous.
• Listserv: Email based communications that are distributed to a member-based group of individuals via a single email address. Usually topic-focused.
• Message board: Interface whereby individuals can post information, requests or ideas for view by others.
• Search engine: Mechanism by which the WWW or some sub-component is searched based on a specific query entered by the user. Use when the search function offered is more extensive than simply "Search this site".

TEXT:

A resource whose content is primarily words for reading.

• Abstract or summary: A condensed version of a larger piece of work, outlining the major points and conclusions.
• Book: A long written composition (includes literature, technical documentation and guides, excluding field and instructor's guides).
• Glossary: A collection of specialized terms and their meanings.
• Index or bibliography: A list (as of bibliographical information or citations to a body of literature) arranged usually in alphabetical order of some specified datum (as author, subject, or keyword); a list often with descriptive or critical notes of writings relating to a particular subject, period, or author; a list of works written by an author or printed by a publishing house; the works or a list of the works referred to in a text or consulted by the author in its production.
• Journal article: Writings that appear in a periodical publication, often peer-reviewed and of an academic nature, sharing ideas or research results.
• Periodical: A publication that is produced on some predictable schedule, such as weekly, monthly or annually.
• Policy or procedure: A document containing statements or series of steps for particular way of accomplishing things.
• Proceedings: A collection or papers or abstracts presented at a specific meeting or event.
• Proposal: A formal document that outlines a specific project, recommendation, plan or idea.
• Reference: A work containing useful facts or information (e.g. user's guides, technical manuals). A student might consult this during independent research. It does not have a guided component. It may comprise hyperlinked pages but a specific path through it is not designated.
• Report: Detailed account or statement, often outlining the results or events of a meeting, endeavor, activity or study (e.g. review, evaluation).
• Thesis: Scholarly work as for an academic degree.

TOOL:

Aids in accomplishing a task.

• Calculation or conversion tool: (e.g. metric to English, satellite tracker)
• Code: Allows for the enhancement of the resource; it generally does not stand alone (e.g. numerical models, applets, computer code).
• Software: Allows access, interactions with or the ability to execute resources; it does not enhance another piece of software rather it stands alone, (e.g. tools to look at and analyze data or create learning materials).

VISUAL:

Actual and symbolic visual representations other than text.

• Artistic illustration: Visuals not generated from data and not meant to illustrate a scientific concept or process (e.g. artistic drawing, animations, clip art, virtual tours).
• Map: 2-D representations of a single point in time or space that illustrate fairly static physical features (e.g. topos, soil, road, bedrock maps, etc.). For weather or forecast maps, use scientific visualization.
• Photograph:
• Remotely sensed imagery: Imagery generated from measuring devices that are not in direct contact with the medium they are measuring (e.g. radar or satellite imagery).
• Scientific illustration: Still or animated images not based on data but meant to illustrate scientific concepts or processes (e.g. diagram, graph, figure, virtual reality). (e.g. Incoming and Outgoing Radiation)
• Scientific visualization: Visuals generated from data or model output (e.g. graphed or modeled, dynamic or static, physical or numerical, data, simulations, animations, weather forecast or streamflow maps). (e.g. Idealized ENSO Simulation)
• Video: (e.g. clips, interviews, lectures movies, etc.).
• Visual webcast: A broadcast that was captured digitally from the web (may include aduio portions as well).

SCIENCE STANDARDS Best Practices:

Naional Science Education Standards (science content, National Resource Council 1996) Definition:

The National Science Education Standards present a vision of a scientifically literate populace. They outline what students need to know, understand, and be able to do to be scientifically literate at different grade levels.

Things to do:

• Choosing an educational standard and associating it with a resource signifies that the content of the resource supports student learning and attainment of the specific ability noted. This can be through many different mechanisms and resource types, including access to background, text-based material. Some standards available for cataloging are general in nature, hence the resource need not address the entire scope of the standard to be eligible for these data. Additional, more detailed information on the specific concepts included in each standard is available for each grade level grouping, K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 (courtesy SRI International) to assist in making appropriate choices.
• Use standards only with materials where student learning occurs
• Catalogers are expected to have experience and familiarity with the standards they choose to include in a record. If you do not, then please refrain from using this field or consult a colleague before entering such data.
• When standards are identified by the resource creator and presented in the resource, all catalogers should include these data in the record, or select those that are in keeping with the abovementioned criteria.

Examples:

• Stratospheric Ozone references the National Science Education Standards (e.g. 9-12:Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry Standards: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry)

Things to avoid:

• If you are not familiar with the use of educational standards and if the resource does not explicitly contain this information, please refrain from using this field.
• Do not create a compiled list of standards addressed by a collection of diverse resources. For example, if the URL being cataloged is an overarching site that provides access to a collection of lesson plans, you must create a record for each lesson plan and associate the standards directly with the individual lesson plan, rather than combining them all into one long list.

Other standards? Do this:

• Use the separate field of Geography Standards to add National Geography Standards.
• If the resource indicates other standards such as the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) or the National Educational Technology Standards by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) etc., enter this information in the Additional Information field, citing the authorizing body and source for the standard. Please contact the DLESE metadata specialists for the appropriate words (controlled vocabularies) to actually write into the Additional Information field for such information.

National Science Education Standards Vocabulary Explanations:

• K 4:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Systems, order, and organization
• K 4:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Evidence, models, and explanation
• K 4:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Change, constancy, and measurement
• K 4:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Evolution and equilibrium
• K 4:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Form and function
• K 4:Content Standard A Science as Inquiry Standards:Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• K 4:Content Standard A Science as Inquiry Standards:Understanding about scientific inquiry
• K 4:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Properties of objects and materials
• K 4:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Position and motion of objects
• K 4:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism
• K 4:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Characteristics of organisms
• K 4:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Life cycles of organisms
• K 4:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Organisms and environments
• K 4:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Properties of earth materials
• K 4:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Objects in the sky
• K 4:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Changes in earth and sky
• K 4:Content Standard E Science and Technology Standards:Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans
• K 4:Content Standard E Science and Technology Standards:Abilities of technological design
• K 4:Content Standard E Science and Technology Standards:Understanding about science and technology
• K 4:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Personal health
• K 4:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Characteristics and changes in populations
• K 4:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Types of resources
• K 4:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Changes in environments
• K 4:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Science and technology in local challenges
• K 4:Content Standard G History and Nature of Science Standards:Science as a human endeavor
• 5 8:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Systems, order, and organization
• 5 8:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Evidence, models, and explanation
• 5 8:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Change, constancy, and measurement
• 5 8:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Evolution and equilibrium
• 5 8:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Form and function
• 5 8:Content Standard A Science as Inquiry Standards:Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• 5 8:Content Standard A Science as Inquiry Standards:Understanding about scientific inquiry
• 5 8:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Properties and changes of properties in matter
• 5 8:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Motion and forces
• 5 8:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Transfer of energy
• 5 8:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Structure and function in living systems
• 5 8:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Reproduction and heredity
• 5 8:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Regulation and behavior
• 5 8:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Population and ecosystems
• 5 8:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Diversity and adaptations of organisms
• 5 8:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Structure of the earth system
• 5 8:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Earth's history
• 5 8:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Earth in the solar system
• 5 8:Content Standard E Science and Technology Standards:Abilities of technological design
• 5 8:Content Standard E Science and Technology Standards:Understanding about science and technology
• 5 8:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Personal health
• 5 8:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Populations, resources, and environments
• 5 8:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Natural hazards
• 5 8:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Risk and benefits
• 5 8:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Science and technology in society
• 5 8:Content Standard G History and Nature of Science Standards:Science as a human endeavor
• 5 8:Content Standard G History and Nature of Science Standards:Nature of science
• 5 8:Content Standard G History and Nature of Science Standards:History of science
• 9 12:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Systems, order, and organization
• 9 12:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Evidence, models, and explanation
• 9 12:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Change, constancy, and measurement
• 9 12:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Evolution and equilibrium
• 9 12:Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards:Form and function
• 9 12:Content Standard A Science as Inquiry Standards:Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• 9 12:Content Standard A Science as Inquiry Standards:Understanding about scientific inquiry
• 9 12:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Structure of atoms
• 9 12:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Structure and properties of matter
• 9 12:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Chemical reactions
• 9 12:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Motions and forces
• 9 12:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Conservation of energy and increase in disorder
• 9 12:Content Standard B Physical Science Standards:Interactions of energy and matter
• 9 12:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:The cell
• 9 12:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Molecular basis of heredity
• 9 12:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Biological evolution
• 9 12:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Interdependence of organisms
• 9 12:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Matter, energy, and organization in living systems
• 9 12:Content Standard C Life Science Standards:Behavior of organisms
• 9 12:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Energy in the earth system
• 9 12:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Geochemical cycles
• 9 12:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Origin and evolution of the earth system
• 9 12:Content Standard D Earth and Space Science Standards:Origin and evolution of the universe
• 9 12:Content Standard E Science and Technology Standards:Abilities of technological design
• 9 12:Content Standard E Science and Technology Standards:Understanding about science and technology
• 9 12:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Personal and community health
• 9 12:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Population growth
• 9 12:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Natural resources
• 9 12:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Environmental quality
• 9 12:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Natural and human-induced hazards
• 9 12:Content Standard F Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Standards:Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges
• 9 12:Content Standard G History and Nature of Science Standards:Science as a human endeavor
• 9 12:Content Standard G History and Nature of Science Standards:Nature of scientific knowledge
• 9 12:Content Standard G History and Nature of Science Standards:Historical perspectives

SUBJECT Best Practices:

Subject Definition:

The content area(s) of science and learning addressed by the resource.

• Enter at least 1 subject.
• Each different subject should have its own entry row in the table.
• The words in the list (controlled vocabulary) ensure good searching results for library users looking for the resource.

Subject Vocabulary Explanations:

• Agricultural science: The science of cultivating soil, crops or livestock.
• Atmospheric science: The study of Earth's atmosphere including both its physical and chemical properties. Includes meteorology (weather) and some aspects of the El-Niño and La Nina phenomena, such as; precipitation patterns, atmospheric pressure, wind patterns and temperature distributions.
• Biology: The study of living organisms including both animals (zoology) and plants (botany); their structure and function, origin and evolution, the interrelationships between and distribution of species, and the classification of species.
• Chemistry: The study of a substance's composition, structure and properties, and the changes it undergoes in all three including associated energy changes. Includes molecular structure, solution and concentration, acid/base/salts, and the periodic table of elements.
• Climatology: The study of the mean physical state of the atmosphere, it's statistical variation over time and space as evidenced by weather patterns over long periods of time. Includes the analysis of the causes of different climates, the presentation of climatic data and the application of climatic data to problems.
• Cryology: The study of ice and snow, including glaciers, sea ice and ice shelves.
• Ecology: The study of the relationships between organisms and their environments (both living and non-living) at the population, community and ecosystem levels.
• Educational theory and practice: The study of methods of teaching, learning and pedagogy.
• Environmental science: An interdisciplinary, systems approach to understanding the link between human activities and the natural environment as well as the related impacts of humanity on individual species, ecological systems, and human health. Topics include resource use and environmental sustainability, responses of systems to anthropogenic stress; population growth; biodiversity and conservation; pollution and water quality.
• Forestry: The science of developing and managing forests for wood, wildlife, recreation, water, and forage.

• Geographical Sciences:
  • Human geography: The study of the characteristics and phenomena of the Earth's surface that relates directly to or are due to human activities. Also known as anthropogeography.
  • Physical geography: The study of the description, distribution and interaction of diverse physical features of Earth's surface.
• Geological Sciences:
  • Geochemistry: The study of chemical composition, structure and phase changes in the solid matter of the Earth, and the processes which have produced the observed distribution of elements and nuclides in these phases. Topics include; stable, radiogenic, and radioactive isotopes, crystal structures, formation and abundance of elements, trace elements.
  • Geologic time: Any formal division of geologic chronology. More popularly, a span of million or billions of years in the past prior to the start of modern history. Include methods to calculate/estimate Earth's history (e.g. carbon dating).
  • Geology: The study of the Earth and it's history as represented in rocks. Includes the materials of which it is made, the processes that act on these materials (weathering, sedimentation), and the products formed (geologic features and rock formations). Include plate tectonics (global scale) and volcanoes here.
  • Geophysics: The interdisciplinary study of physics of the Earth and its environment (i.e. earth, air, and by extension space). Includes the study of earthquake waves, geomagnetism, gravitational fields, and electrical conductivity using precise quantitative principles.
  • Mineralogy or petrology: The science of minerals and rocks dealing with their origin, crystallography, properties, and classification. In particular petrology focuses on the origin, occurrence, structure and history of rock, especially igneous and metamorphic rock.
  • Paleontology: The study of extinct organisms, including their structure, environment, evolution, and distribution, as revealed by their fossil remains.
  • Structural geology: A branch of geology concerned with the form, arrangement, and internal structure of rocks. Include tectonics, folding and faulting of the earth's crust on a moderate to small scale here.

• History and philosophy of science: The study of the origin and nature of scientific thought, theory and investigations.
• Hydrology: The scientific study of the occurrence, circulation, distribution, and properties of terrestrial water, in particular inland water before its discharge into the oceans or evaporation into the atmosphere. It includes the study of the occurrence and movement of water and ice on or under the earth's surface (e.g. surface water, groundwater and limnology).
• Mathematics: The science of numbers, their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations and abstractions.
• Natural hazards: Events or phenomena that have the potential to inflict property damage and loss of life. This includes floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions and tidal waves.
• Oceanographical Sciences:
  • Biological oceanography: The study of the flora and fauna of oceans in relation to the marine environment.
  • Chemical oceanography: The hydrographic and physical characterization of the ocean, including the chemical composition of seawater, salinity, the vertical and regional variation of elements, the mineralogical composition and distribution of marine sediments, and the oceanic cycle of organic and inorganic carbon and associated elements.
  • Physical oceanography: The study of the physical properties of Earth's oceans including temperature, sea level height, tides, currents, the movements of the sea, and the variability of these factors in relationship to the atmosphere and the ocean bottom. Also includes El Nino-related changes in sea level height, temperature and surface currents.

• Physics: The study of the laws that determine the structure of the universe with reference to the matter and energy of which it consists. It is concerned not with chemical changes that occur but with the forces that exist between objects and the interrelationship between matter and energy.
• Policy issues: The study of laws, protocols, treaties etc. as they impact the environment or education.
• Soil Science: The study of the formation, classification and properties of soil; includes soil management and agronomy here.
• Space science: Study of matter and objects outside the Earth's atmosphere, includes condensed matter, planets, moons, comet, galaxies etc. This includes both the physical and chemical properties.
• Technology: Resources that focus on the use of technical methods, processes or knowledge. Includes resources that involve the development of technical skills such as GIS, GPs and image processing as a significant component of the learning objective.
• Other: No choice within the list is appropriate.

TECHNICAL Best Practices:

Technical Definition:

Type of computer requirements that are necessary to access, interact or operate a component of the resource. The technical information should refer to digital, not non-digital information.

Things to do:

• Enter at least 1 technical information set by choosing General , Unknown , Known or Other .
• If Known is selected, enter a Type Name and then if applicable, enter Minimum Version Information for the type name.
• As each technical information set is entered, it appears in the Requirement Tpe table in the order in which it was enterd. If you make a mistake you can delete the entry.
• Type Name lists the computer requirements necessary to access, interact or operate a component of the resource. This information indicates particular browser types, specific operating systems, and software or plug ins.
• Provide us with Minimum Version Information , if you know it.
• These best practices refer to digital type information (web pages and in the future CD-ROMs). They do not refer to non-digital information (rock or water samples as physical objects).

When to use General:

• If the resource needs only a browser that has been around for awhile like Internet Explorer 4.x and lower or Netscape 4.x and lower, then select General:No specific technical requirements. For these browsers, do not complete the Minimum Version Information field.
• If the resource says it will work in both Netscape and Internet Explorer without indicating a browser version and the resource has no other requirements, select General:No specific technical requirements .
• If you select General , then the choices of Unknown , Known or Other cannot be selected.
  

When to use Unknown:

• If you can not readily determine the technical information about a resource, select Unknown:Technical information not easily determined .
• If you select Unknown , then the choices of General , Known or Other cannot be selected.

When to use Known:

(for browsers and operating systems)

• If the resource needs Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher or Netscape 6.x and higher, select Known . Then complete the Technical Type Name field and the Minimum Version Information field.
• If the resource indicates that it will work in Netscape only, select Known . Then enter Browser:Netscape in the Technical Type Name field. Complete the Minimum Version Information field if the version number is 6.x or higher.
• If the resource indicates that it will work in Internet Explorer only, select Known . Then enter Browser:Internet Explorer in the Technical Type Name field. Complete the Minimum Version Information field if the version number is 5.5 or higher.
• If the resource works in both Netscape and Internet Explorer but you know that the resource will only work with specific versions of these browsers then enter two Known technical information sets. Select one to be Browser:Netscape and complete the Minimum Version Information field. Then choose Known again to add Browser:Internet Explorer . Again complete the Minimum Version Information field.
• If a resource requires a particular operating system(s), please indicate it.
• To indicate multiple operating systems, enter a Known technical information set for each operating system .
• If you select Known , then General and Unknown cannot be selected.

When to use Other:

(for browsers and operating systems)

• If you would like to add a plug-in or piece of software that is not on the type name list, select Other:More specific technical requirements and then complete the Additional Technical Information box. If possible, indicate whether the item you are adding is an operating system, software, browser, etc.
• If you select Other , then the choices of General and Unknown cannot be selected.

Examples:

• I f a resource requires Windows 2000 and MacOS 9.x, enter 2 technical information sets. Select Known and choose the Type Name to be Operating system:Microsoft Windows and then indicate Win 2000 in the Minimum Version Information field. Then select Known again and choose Operating system:Macintosh and indicate MacOS 9.1 in the Minimum Version Information field.
• If a resource requires UNIX, please complete the Minimum Version Information field to say whether its Linux, Solaris or Hewlett Packard (HP).

Things to avoid:

• Do not indicate RAM requirements when they are below 32 MB of RAM because most computers now days have 128 MB of RAM or greater .
• This is a example to avoid. Catalogers have entered many different plug-ins like QuikTime, Shockwave, Media Player and Real Player all in one record. The chances of a resource needing 4 of these at one time is highly unlikely because some of these players do the same thing. So please before careful and for such a situation consider doing the following. Select "Other:More specific technical requirements" and saying in the Additional Information box that this site has imagery that may require one of the following viewers QuikTime, Shockwave, Media Player or Real Player.
• Do not include subscription and membership information. Indicate subscription and membership information in the Description field.
• Do not indicate browser version numbers for browser versions 4.x and lower.
• If the website offers a CD-ROM version of the site, do not list the technical requirements for the CD if you are cataloging the web version of the CD.
• Do not exceed 8 different technical information sets. Generally, most resources have 1-3 appropriate technical information sets.
• Do not enter the same technical information twice. The cataloger will not create a duplicate entry.

Technical Vocabulary Explanations:

• General:No specific technical requirements: The resource needs only a browser to work and no other requirements.
• Other:More specific technical requirements: In order for the resource to work, it needs something that is not on this list. The cataloger provides more information in the Additional Technical Information box above.
• Unknown:Technical information not easily determined: The cataloger does not know or can not determine the technical information for the resource.
• Browser:Internet Explorer: The Microsoft Internet Explorer browser is specifically required to make the resource work properly.
• Browser:Netscape: The Netscape browser is specifically required to make the resource work properly.
• Operating system:Microsoft Windows: The resource needs this operating system in order to function, generally for PC type computers.
• Operating system:Macintosh: The resource needs this operating system in order to function, generally for Mac type computers.
• Operating system:UNIX: The resource needs this operating system in order to function, generally for UNIX workstations.
• Operating system:PC DOS: The DOS operating system is specifically required to make the resource function, generally on PC type computers.
• Software or plug in:Adobe Acrobat reader: Required to make the resource work properly for the following file formats: .pdf.
• Software or plug in:ArcView: The geographic program ArcView is required to make the resource work properly.
• Software or plug in:Cosmoplayer: Required to make the resource work properly.