1. Introduction - Scope and Purpose

The NZGLS Metadata Standard is a standard for cross-domain resource description. Here, a resource is defined to be anything that has identity; this is the definition used in Internet RFC 2396, "Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax" by Tim Berners-Lee et al.

The NZGLS metadata set was originally designed for use by any government agency wishing to make information sources or services more readily discoverable. The standard is, however, suitable for more general use. For the purposes of NZGLS metadata, a resource will typically be an online information or service resource, but may be applied more broadly to people and organisations, and information, objects or services that are not available online.