Why must metadata records be cataloged in the USGS Science Data Catalog if the data are already available in an acceptable digital repository? [111]

Various Federal directives require agencies to manage data as assets and make those data publicly available, open, discoverable, and usable. The USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC) meets these Federal requirements by serving as the authoritative source for the USGS to provide its metadata to data.doi.gov, data.gov, and the Office of Management and Budget. Additionally, the SDC serves as the official data inventory of the USGS. To be compliant with these Federal requirements, metadata records must be cataloged in the SDC to identify USGS data assets distributed by USGS Trusted Digital Repositories (TDR) and by non-USGS repositories. Most USGS TDRs provide metadata to the SDC as a part of the data release process and repository owners should be consulted for guidance as needed. For other USGS and non-USGS repositories, the SDC tool for uploading individual metadata records may be used.