DCAT-US 3.0: Catalog

The catalog of datasets, services, and other information describing data assets.

A curated collection of metadata about datasets, data services, or other resources

• Type: object
• Additional properties: Any type allowed

Example:

{
    "@type": "Catalog",
    "title": "National Climate Data Catalog",
    "description": "A comprehensive catalog of climate and weather datasets from federal monitoring stations across the United States.",
    "publisher": {
        "@type": "Agent",
        "name": "National Climate Data Center"
    },
    "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
    "dataset": [
        {
            "@type": "Dataset",
            "title": "Daily Climate Observations 2024",
            "description": "Daily temperature, precipitation, and wind measurements.",
            "contactPoint": {
                "fn": "Climate Data Support",
                "hasEmail": "mailto:climate@example.gov"
            },
            "publisher": {
                "name": "National Climate Data Center"
            },
            "identifier": "https://example.gov/datasets/climate-observations-1"
        }
    ],
    "homepage": {
        "@type": "Document",
        "title": "National Climate Data Catalog Homepage",
        "accessURL": "https://example.gov/climate-data"
    },
    "language": [
        "en"
    ],
    "issued": "2020-01-15",
    "modified": "2024-06-01",
    "rights": [
        "This catalog is maintained by the National Climate Data Center."
    ],
    "spatial": [
        {
            "@type": "Location",
            "prefLabel": "United States"
        }
    ],
    "themeTaxonomy": [
        {
            "@type": "ConceptScheme",
            "title": "Climate Science Topics"
        }
    ],
    "conformsTo": {
        "@type": "Standard",
        "title": "DCAT-US 3.0"
    }
}

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > dataset #

Requirement: Mandatory

List of datasets included in the catalog. Use this together with service so the catalog is not empty.

• Type: array of Dataset classes
• Required: Yes

Each item of this array must be:

• Dataset: A collection of data published or curated by one provider

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > conformsTo #

Title: schema version

Requirement: Recommended

Standard, schema, profile, or model that this catalog follows

• Type: null or Standard

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > homepage #

Requirement: Recommended

Main public web page for the catalog, usually an HTML page

• Type: null or Document

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > issued #

Title: release date

Requirement: Recommended

Date when the catalog was formally issued, such as its initial publication date

• Type: null or object

Examples:

"2020-01-15"

"2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"

"2024"

"2024-01"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language #

Requirement: Recommended

Language codes used for catalog metadata text (such as titles and descriptions), using ISO 639-1 codes like en or es

• Type: combining
• Additional properties: Any type allowed

Examples:

[
    "en"
]

[
    "en",
    "es"
]

Any of:

• Null allowed when not required
• Language code
• List of language codes

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language > anyOf > Null allowed when not required #

• Type: null

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language > anyOf > Language code #

• Type: string

Restrictions:

• Max length: 2

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > language > anyOf > List of language codes #

• Type: array of string

Each item of this array must be:

• Language code: -

Language code #

• Type: string

Restrictions:

• Max length: 2

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > modified #

Title: update/modification date

Requirement: Recommended

Most recent date when the catalog content changed, not just catalog-record metadata

• Type: null or object

Examples:

"2024-06-01"

"2024-06-01T14:30:00Z"

"2024"

"2024-01"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > rights #

Requirement: Recommended

Rights statements about the catalog that are not already covered by license or accessRights, such as copyright or policy restrictions

• Type: null or array of string

Examples:

[
    "This catalog is maintained by the National Climate Data Center."
]

[
    "This catalog is maintained by the Federal Data Management Office.",
    "Data within this catalog may be subject to individual dataset licensing terms."
]

Each item of this array must be:

• rights items: Full text of a statement of rights

Array Item #

Full text of a statement of rights

• Type: string

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > spatial #

Title: spatial/geographic coverage

Requirement: Recommended

Geographic area covered by the catalog

• Type: null or array of Location classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Location: A named place or geographic area

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > themeTaxonomy #

Title: themes

Requirement: Recommended

Controlled vocabulary or taxonomy used to classify catalog resources, such as datasets and services

• Type: null or array of ConceptScheme classes

Each item of this array must be:

• ConceptScheme: A controlled vocabulary or other list of approved terms for a concept

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > @id #

Requirement: Optional

• Type: string
• Format: iri

Example:

"https://example.gov/catalogs/federal-data-catalog"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > @type #

Requirement: Optional

• Type: string
• Default: "Catalog"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > accessRights #

Requirement: Optional

Information about whether the catalog is publicly accessible, restricted, or not public

• Type: null or string

Example:

"Public access with no restrictions"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > catalog #

Title: Related catalogs

Requirement: Optional

List of related catalogs that are useful in the context of this catalog

• Type: null or array of object

Each item of this array must be:

• DCAT-US 3 Catalog: A curated collection of metadata about datasets, data services, or other resources

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > category #

Requirement: Optional

List of high-level categories for the catalog

• Type: null or array of Concept classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Concept: A controlled term or label, optionally drawn from a concept scheme

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > contactPoint #

Title: Contact points

Requirement: Optional

Contact information people can use to ask questions or send feedback about the catalog

• Type: null or array of Kind classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Kind: Contact information for an individual or entity

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > creator #

Requirement: Optional

Person or organization responsible for creating the catalog metadata

• Type: null or array of Agent classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Agent: A person, organization, software agent, or other entity involved with a resource

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > description #

Requirement: Optional

Plain-language summary of the catalog

• Type: null or string

Examples:

"A comprehensive catalog of climate and weather datasets from federal monitoring stations across the United States."

"A comprehensive catalog of federal government data assets spanning multiple agencies and data domains."

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > hasPart #

Requirement: Optional

List of catalogs that are contained within this catalog

• Type: null or array of object

Each item of this array must be:

• DCAT-US 3 Catalog: A curated collection of metadata about datasets, data services, or other resources

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > identifier #

Requirement: Optional

Main unique identifier for the catalog, such as a URI or another persistent identifier

• Type: null or Identifier

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > keyword #

Title: keyword/tag

Requirement: Optional

List of keywords or tags describing the catalog

• Type: null or array of string

Example:

[
    "federal data",
    "government",
    "open data",
    "public records"
]

Each item of this array must be:

• keyword items: -

Array Item #

• Type: string

Restrictions:

• Min length: 1

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > license #

Requirement: Optional

License that governs how the catalog can be used or reused

• Type: null or string

Example:

"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > otherIdentifier #

Requirement: Optional

A list of identifiers for the Catalog besides the main identifier, e.g. the URI or other unique identifiers

• Type: null or array of Identifier classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Identifier: A unique identifier and optionally it’s scheme and other relevant information

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > publisher #

Requirement: Optional

Person or organization responsible for publishing and making the catalog available

• Type: null or Agent

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > qualifiedAttribution #

Requirement: Optional

List of agents with specific responsibilities for the catalog

• Type: null or array of Attribution classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Attribution: A responsibility that an agent has for a resource

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > record #

Title: catalog record

Requirement: Optional

A catalog record describing how a single resource (such as a dataset or data service) is registered in the catalog

• Type: null or array of CatalogRecord classes

Each item of this array must be:

• CatalogRecord: A record in a catalog, describing the registration of a single resource

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > rightsHolder #

Requirement: Optional

Organizations that hold rights in the catalog

• Type: null or array of Organization classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Organization: An organization involved with a resource, including parent or child organizations

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > service #

Requirement: Optional

List of data services included in the catalog. Use this together with dataset so the catalog is not empty.

• Type: null or array of DataService classes

Each item of this array must be:

• DataService: A service that provides access to data or data processing functions

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > subject #

Requirement: Optional

List of subjects of the catalog

• Type: null or array of Concept classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Concept: A controlled term or label, optionally drawn from a concept scheme

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > temporal #

Title: temporal coverage

Requirement: Optional

Time periods covered by the catalog

• Type: null or array of PeriodOfTime classes

Each item of this array must be:

• PeriodOfTime: Information about a specific time period with a start- and/or end-time

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > theme #

Title: theme/category

Requirement: Optional

List of themes or categories for the catalog. A catalog can have more than one theme.

• Type: null or array of Concept classes

Each item of this array must be:

• Concept: A controlled term or label, optionally drawn from a concept scheme

DCAT-US 3 Catalog > title #

Requirement: Optional

Human-readable title of the catalog

• Type: null or string

Examples:

"National Climate Data Catalog"

"Federal Data Catalog"