1. Tools for creation of formal metadata
2. Metadata in Plain Language

Providing contact information

Contact_Information provides a structure that attaches address, phone, fax, and email information to the names of people or organizations. It appears in four different sections of standard metadata:

• Point_of_Contact
• Process_Contact
• Distributor
• Metadata_Contact

All of the elements described here go within Contact_Information.

Required contact information

1. Is the contact a person or an organization?
   • Person -- the Contact_Organization is optional.

       Contact_Person_Primary:
         Contact_Person:  Name of the person
         Contact_Organization:  Name of the organization
     

   • Organization -- the Contact_Person is optional.

       Contact_Organization_Primary:
         Contact_Organization:  Name of the organization
         Contact_Person:  Name of the person
     

2. What is the address?
   You can supply more than one address. You should indicate whether the addresses given are mailing addresses or physical addresses. This helps people determine which delivery services they can use to send mail to the contact.

     Contact_Address:
       Address_Type:  "mailing", "physical", or "mailing and physical"
       Address:  text
       City:  Name of city
       State_or_Province:  Name or 2-letter abbreviation
       Postal_Code:  Zip code in USA
       Country:  Optional; users may assume USA
   

3. Does the contact have a voice, FAX, or TDD/TTY phone?

     Contact_Voice_Telephone:  Telephone number
     Contact_TDD/TTY_Telephone:  Telephone number
     Contact_Facsimile_Telephone:  FAX number
   

4. Does the contact have an email address?

     Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:  Email address
   

Optional contact information

  Contact_Position:  Role of the contact in the organization
  Hours_of_Service:  Time period (not formally structured)
  Contact_Instructions:  text