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NSDI AND PARTNERSHIPS 12 data between proprietary systems. In some ways, the process leading to the development of this standard was a predecessor to the Open GIS Consortium. Similarly, the FGDC has done a remarkable job of developing a wide range of standards for the capture, coding, definition, storage, and transfer of spatial data. One of the most important has been the Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM, 2001) that establish the standardized description of geospatial datasets. In part because of the importance of effective description to data sharing and the avoidance of duplication, this metadata standard has had a much more significant effect on the NSDI than the data transfer standard. It has been widely adopted in the geospatial data community within the United States, and it represents the de facto standard around the world. Many other metadata standards are sufficiently similar to the CSDGM that conversion between them is straightforward and supported by software tools. In addition to the six SDTS and metadata standards, the various working groups of the FGDC have now endorsed another 10 content standards for themes such as wetlands, utilities, soils, and vegetation. They have also provided standards for orthophotography, Global Positioning System (GPS) data, and remote sensing. Approximately another 20 standards are in various stages of development. The promulgation of these spatial data standards represents an extraordinary effort by a huge number of agencies and individuals. The FDGC should be applauded for encouraging and facilitating these developments. National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse Over the past seven years, the establishment of the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse (NGDC, 2001) has emerged as an important operational component of NSDI. This web-based data server technology represents an excellent example of how the FGDC has reacted to the 1994 Executive Order. It consists of a small number of portals, or access points on the Internet, that provide identical services, together with a larger number of servers that provide direct access to geospatial datasets. The data clearinghouse appears to users as a single, virtual, geospatial data catalog. Portals and servers are maintained by
