Geospatial metadata standards include multiple elements for contacts - persons or organizations that play some kind of role in the creation or maintenance of the resource. Although many metadata profiles require listing multiple contact types/roles, they are often the same entity. This post lists the main contact types in use, and their locations in the ISO 19139 and FGDC CSDGM standards.
Point of Contact
This is the person/organization that the user should contact for questions. This contact type should include an address, email, and phone number. Their role in the creation or maintenance of the resource is not specified here- it is just an all-purpose contact for the resource.
ISO ⇨ MD_DataIdentification.gmd:pointOfContact
FGDC ⇨ 1.9-10
Metadata Point of Contact
This is the person/organization that is responsible for the metadata. They are not necessarily part of the publisher or distributor organization. They are the person to contact for problems like misspellings or mistakes in the metadata, so an email address and/or phone number should be included. This is the only contact that is mandatory in the the ISO 19139 standard.
ISO ⇨ MD_Metadata.contact
FGDC ⇨ 7.4-10
Resource Originator
This is the person/organization that created the resource. It is often a person, but can be an organization. If a dataset was compiled or derived from other resources, those can be cited in other elements, such as lineage or aggregated datasets. Contact addresses are not necessary here. To document this in ISO, use the citation field with a role code of “Originator.”
ISO ⇨ MD_DataIdentification.citation.gmd:CI_Citation.gmd:citedResponsibleParty.gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty
FGDC ⇨ 1.1-8.1
Resource Publisher
This is the organization that made the resource available. It is always an organization. They may be the employer or sponsor of the originator. Contact addresses are not necessary here. To document this in ISO, use the citation field with a role code of “Publisher.”
ISO ⇨ MD_DataIdentification.citation.gmd:CI_Citation.gmd:citedResponsibleParty.gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty
FGDC ⇨ 1.1-8.8.2
Distributor
This is the organization that is hosting the resource and making it available for download. Some resources are available on multiple platforms and may have more than one distributor. This field should contain a physical or online address. The distributor’s website can be added in ISO.
ISO ⇨ gmd:distributionInfo/gmd:MD_Distribution/gmd:distributor/gmd:MD_Distributor/gmd:distributorContact/gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty
FGDC ⇨ 6.1-10