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Best Practices/Catalogs and Indexes
Contents
Overview
Information published on the web should be referenced by catalogs and indexes. (A catalog is a list of publications. An index is a list of terms appearing in publications, with links to the publications that contain them.)
Why
Publication on the web of catalogs and indexes of public sector information can make a significant contribution to discoverability, both by search engines and by people browsing the web.
Intended Outcome
There are catalogs and indexes that list all published public sector information, by topic, and by originating administration.
Possible Approach
Public sector bodies publishing information on the Web SHOULD maintain indexes to and catalogs of that information on-line, and SHOULD co-operate with other administrations to maintain links between their catalogs.
How to Test
Existence of catalogs and indexes can be determined by inspection of public sector websites.
Evidence
Several presentations and discussions at the Samos SHARE-PSI workshop mentioned the problem of finding information, and specifically that catalogs and indexes that might help find information did not exist.
The Open Public Sector Data Business Scenario identifies catalogs and indexes as a requirement.
Lifecycle Stage
Planning and publication.
Audience
Everyone responsible for the creation or publication of public-sector information.
Related Best Practices
(To be added once the list of best practices is complete.)