IGSN Technical Documentation of the IGSN

2013-04-15 Telecon

IGSN e.V. Telecon April 15, 2013

10:00am EDT, GoToMeeting

Present: Jens Klump, Kerstin Lehnert, Leslie Hsu (note taker), Cathy Constable, Anthony Koppers, Anders Noren, Lee Allison

Add notes to the live EtherPad: http://openetherpad.org/cMn1iwqDFP

Agenda

  • Update since last phone call
    • EGU activites
    • Other interactions
  • Discuss/summarize views on namespace alignment (an IEDA deliverable)
  • Discuss and vote on MARUM application

Notes

  • Jens summarized a discussion from EGU about allocating agents responsibility to make metadata available for harvest:
    • New view: Responsibility of the allocating agents to provide an interface where SESAR can harvest the metadata.
    • (Old view: Make the deposition of metadata at SESAR a mandatory component of registration.)
    • This brought up workflow and logistics questions. What is the workflow? Does the metadata need to be harvested before the IGSN is assigned? It is possible that there is a situation where the metadata is not uploaded. Do we have plans for enforcement or some one that is going to chase people to get the metadata. Answer: There needs to be an agreement that allocating agents establishing the interface for harvesting. The IGSN might not be part of the catalog right away. The catalog is a discovery tool so it’s okay if the IGSN isn’t there right away.
  • Requirements for AA:
    • The capability of having the metadata harvested would be a requirement that is tested before an AA starts registering IGSNs.
    • Not a requirement to do it at the same time, but there is some time period that the metadata must be deposited.
  • AK: Would SESAR allow metadata to be deposited that has IGSNs that are longer than 9 characters? KL: Yes, it needs to, because we had an agreement that the syntax would be flexible.
  • Discussion of moving away from 3-digit namespaces (which give too many (6-digits worth) IGSNs to a single namespace.
    • KL: At IEDA we need to move away from the three-digit namespaces, because we are giving away too many numbers. The ones that have namespaces now will stay that way, in the future we will try to come up with a way to suggest to people - how many samples do you plan to register? if it is less than a million, then it doesn’t make sense (to give 6 digits worth of IGSNs). We are not ready to accept those types (non three-digit) of namespaces yet. We need to write up the requirements now. And that software for namespace assignment needs to be a module so that people don’t need to invent it over and over again.
    • JK: Namespace allocation: when a user requests a namespace - it is a subnamespace of the allocating agent. If the user wants a namespace that is not a subnamespace of the AA, then the AA can request the namespace from the registry, but that will not be decided right away. If it is simple case, the manager can grant it. If not simple case, then the decision goes to the executive board, then up to the general assembly if necessary. For examples, IEDA would get IE and can hand out four digit namespaces that start with IE with full authority. A namespace is unique at one allocating agent and globally. Other AA besides IEDA should select their two digits soon. You can request other, unique namespaces outside of the AA 2 digits, but it will take more time (similar to requesting personalized license plates).
    • AN: What is the timeline for implementing this? KL: If we want to do it in the next 5 months KL will need to find resources that fall outside of the IEDA scope. Involve the people from GFZ since they have done something similar.
    • LH note: should expose the current namespaces so we know what is taken.
    • JK: We have a test site up already where you can test registration.
    • AN: We should provide guidance to people for how they might start laying the groundwork to do that. What sorts of names might they be using, etc.
  • JK: we adapted the datacite metadata store for the igsn metadatastore. CSIRO wants to set up an infrastructure for giving IGSNs.
  • Membership:
    • KL: CSIRO will be a member soon
    • KL: At the IGSN Town Hall at EGU, WHOI expressed interest to be a member.
    • You can be a member and not be an allocating agent, but you need to be a member to be an AA
    • Voting on the membership of MARUM
      • Statutes says that an invitation needs to be sent to the last known address of the member Two months in advance. JK: we can have an extra-ordinary assembly, it just needs to be announced. KL: is email okay for the invitation? JK: It says letter which is started with the day of dispatch of the letter (could be tomorrow - 16 of June). AN: Can it be written down in email. JK: As long as we all agree on the decision, that is fine. We send out a letter today for a meeting on June 15. (June 15 is Saturday so moved to June 17)
      • KL: there should be a call through the marine curators list and post on IGSN and EarthCube to say that anyone wants to apply for membership, they should do so within the next two months because there will be a general assembly.
  • Upcoming General Assembly to vote on MARUM
    • AK: If we are going to have a general assembly as GoToMeeting, also have a check everyone who is sure they want to be an allocating agent, and how they plan to deal with their metadata.
    • AK: For mid-June decide if new AA decide what namespace they need.
  • Update on other recent events:
    • KL: We held a webinar a few weeks ago, with lots of questions. We should be doing that on a regular basis so that people can log in and talk to us.
    • KL reported there were 20-25 people at the townhall at EGU, and interest from EPOS (European Plate Observatory)
    • JK: we had a long discussion with ORCID - (ORiginator and Contributor ID) effort from publishing houses to assign unique IDs to authors. they want to add more services than just identifying people (which exists through the national library), want to link attribution of papers to people. Martin (?) technical director of ORCID, allow them to claim authorship or some other relation to samples. Link a person ID to an IGSN.
    • JK: Will try to have a coding sprint later this summer, ORCID, MARUM, GFZ (IEDA if they can join). And on in CERN in october. (Try to make sure if Lulin can participate.)
    • KL: We planned a joint booth at next EGU (maybe AGU) (ORCID, IGSN, DataCite)
    • KL has a meeting with Brooks Hansen from AGU tomorrow for the AGU journals.
    • JK says that the EGU poster was successful. (What is the poster, can it be posted?)

Actions

  • Invitations to General Assembly June 17 (send email today) (LH - done)
  • Post a call for more applications to IGSN at EarthChem, EarthRef, Marine curators list, others
  • Write up the Registration and AA requirements discussed today, post on wiki site (LH drafted 4/19/2013)
    • https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OxDbhvyxMik_pMcmxMnqPvcGuVt2Lo1ALaOfeHCY1Sw/edit
    • Draft at Google Doc above (editable) will move to wiki on May 3 with any comments/suggestions incorporated
  • Ask Brian Buckowski if there is a spot to give an IGSN update at the Marine Curator’s workshop (June 11-13)