Enhancing Data Reusability: Experiences from NOAA's NCEI

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) stewards one of the world's largest and most diverse collections of environmental data. The longevity of this organization and its predecessors has led to a great diversity of digital and physical data formats and media. NCEI strives to develop processes, guidance and tools to facilitate the creation of independently understandable data which leads to their reuse. Tackling the challenge of making data reusable requires forethought in many areas including new technologies and evolving best practices, knowledge of current and investigation of potential user communities, elbow grease and serendipity.

This presentation will focus on NCEI's experiences with taking data beyond independently understandable to reusable by multiple, diverse and evolving user communities.