Audubon Core Public Review
 
By: Steve Baskauf, Review Manager
 
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) announces the Public Review of 
the proposed Audubon Core Multimedia Resources Metadata Standard. 
Audubon Core is designed to provide a controlled vocabulary to address 
the management, acquisition, and content descriptions of biodiversity 
multimedia.  It is a product of the Joint GBIF- TDWG Multimedia 
Resources Task Group (MRTG) and has undergone peer review, several 
revisions, and review by the TDWG Executive Committee.  If you are a 
potential producer or consumer of metadata for biodiversity-related 
multimedia, we would like your input on this proposed TDWG Technical 
Specification Standard.
 
You may find it easiest to view the proposed standard online.  The 
following links lead to the three parts of the standard:
 
- the non-normative introduction: 
http://terms.gbif.org/wiki/Audubon_Core_Non_Normative_Document
- the normative introductory material: 
http://terms.gbif.org/wiki/Audubon_Core_(1.0_normative)
- the normative term list: 
http://terms.gbif.org/wiki/Audubon_Core_Term_List_(1.0_normative)
 
A downloadable zip archive containing the proposed standard can be 
obtained at http://www.tdwg.org/standards/638/ .  This archive includes 
an informative adoption and sustainability plan which is not an official 
part of the proposed standard.
 
To raise specific issues or to make specific recommendations, use the 
issues tracker described at 
http://code.google.com/p/auduboncore/wiki/AboutIssueTracker .  To engage 
in general discussion about the standard, join the TDWG email list 
(tdwg-content) by subscribing at 
http://lists.tdwg.org/mailman/listinfo/tdwg-content .  You can then post 
messages to [log in to unmask] .  Issues raised in that 
conversation may be added to the issue tracker as well.  Comments about 
the proposed standard will be archived as a part of the standards 
adoption process.
 
In accordance with the TDWG standards process, a minimum of 30 days is 
required for public comment on the proposed standard. Comments should 
therefore be received by 1st April 2013. For more information about the 
TDWG standards process, see 
http://www.tdwg.org/standards/status-and-categories/ and 
http://www.tdwg.org/about-tdwg/process/ .
 
Please distribute this call for comment to anyone you think could or 
should comment on Audubon Core.  You may address any questions about the 
review process to me at [log in to unmask] .
 
Thanks to the authors, Robert A. Morris (convenor), Vijay Barve, Mihail 
Carausu, Vishwas Chavan, Jose Cuadra, Chris Freeland, Gregor Hagedorn, 
Patrick Leary, Dimitry Mozzherin, Annette Olson, Greg Riccardi, and Ivan 
Teage for their work on the proposed standard. Thanks also to the 
anonymous reviewers, the Executive Committee, and Lee Belbin who served 
previously as Review Manager for the standard.