This post is a quick rundown of the main software applications used for the Big Ten Academic Alliance Geospatial Data Project.
Hosted Applications
GeoBlacklight
Purpose: This application is the public geoportal.
Authors: GeoBlacklight project
Code Base: Open source application built on Blacklight and Ruby on Rails
Project GitHub repository fork: https://github.umn.edu/Libraries/geoblacklight/
Associated Scripts
Csw-to-geoblacklight- python and XSLT used for publishing, updating, deleting records
Comments: This is the core output of the project. GeoBlacklight is actively developed, and new functionality has been added in version 1.x that we hope to migrate to soon.
GeoNetwork
Purpose: This online application is for collaboratively editing XML files in the ISO 19139 format.
Authors: Open Source Geospatial Foundation
Code Base: Open source application built on Java with Apache Tomcat
Project GitHub repository: https://github.com/BTAA-Geospatial-Data-Project/core-geonetwork
Associated Scripts
Csw-update- python and XSLT used for updating selected fields via a csv file
Comments: This application has been the key to processing our GIS records online, but it has several limitations in terms of easy batch editing and in developing customizations. We have been following a few unfinished attempts at building a simpler online editor in recent years, but a satisfactory alternative has not yet been found.
Omeka
Purpose: This online application is for collaboratively editing Dublin Core metadata with the GeoBlacklight schema extension.
Authors: Omeka
Code Base: Open source application built on PHP
Project GitHub repository: https://github.com/BTAA-Geospatial-Data-Project/Omeka
Associated Scripts
GeoBlacklight plugin- for spatial fields metadata schema extension and conversion to GeoBlacklight formatted JSON files
Comments: This application has offered a surprisingly easy way to edit metadata records for maps. Ironically, using Omeka for geometadata has been described to me a “hack," but it actually has been an excellent fit.
Desktop software
ArcCatalog
Purpose: Transforming GIS metadata files into common format. Adding template information. Generating technical metadata
License: Proprietary
MarcEdit
Purpose: Transforming MARC metadata files into spreadsheets to load into Omeka.
License: Free, open source
Oxygen
Purpose: Various XML tasks, including batch deleting and updating nodes and troubleshooting.
License: Proprietary, Macintosh
License: Proprietary, Macintosh
SAAS
Google Apps
Purpose: Communications, documentation, sharing files
Asana
Purpose: Documentation, reports, task management