This guide provides instructions for how to publish open geospatial data to Data.gov and Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) using GeoNode, specifically State GeoNode. State GeoNode is a digital service provided by the U.S. Department of State for publishing open geographic data produced by or compiled by the U.S. Government to the public, U.S. Government decision-makers, and partners on complex emergencies, natural disasters, and diplomatic activities world-wide.
If you find bugs in this guide, please get in contact with us at HIU_DEV@state.gov.
Before you upload any data to State GeoNode, you'll need to choose a good filename. The standard naming convention for HIU is:
Region_Name_Date_Organization.shp
This naming convention is similar to the naming convention for final products, but not exactly the same.
Region
For Region, if just one country, use the country's short name. If two countries, use both country names, such as SyriaTurkey_. If more than two countries, use a sub-region name that makes sense and follows some standard understanding, such as WestAfrica_, Global_, or EurasiaOceania_. Stay away from complex concepts, such as TheLevant_.
For example:
Syria_IDPSites_2015LateJun_HIU_DoS.shp
EurasiaOceania_LSIB_Lines_Detailed_2015.shp
Syria_RefugeeSites_2015Jun11_HIU_USDoS.shp
Date
For Date, you don't need to include the full ISO numeric representation. If the data is generalized to Late June then say late june, instead of picking a specific date. Within GeoNode, you'll still need to select a specific publish date, but that does not need to correspond exactly with the filename.
Pro Tip
You can rename all the component files of a shapefile at once (.shp, .shx, .dbf, etc.). Simply select all the files and click F2 on your keyboard. Once you rename one of the files, all the component files will update too.
Once you have a good filename, zip the shapefile components into one .zip file (not .shp.zip). Only include a .shp.xml metadata file if you've inspected it to ensure that it does not contain lineage data that can leak protected network information. You can easily edit metadata in GeoNode, so it most cases the initial upload won't need to include an ArcCatalog managed .shp.xml.
Once a file has been zipped properly, upload the .zip file to State GeoNode. GeoNode will automatically unzip the file and parse each component. Start at http://geonode.state.gov/layers/upload or relevant url. Once uploaded, click the "Edit Metadata" once it is visible.
GeoNode has an easy to use metadata editor. The key metadata fields to focus on are:
Also include the following, if you're sure of the correct values:
Make sure to save your changes and double check the layer from it's detail page.
Data.Gov automatically harvests from GeoNode every 24 hours, so no additional work is required. The harvest description is at http://catalog.data.gov/harvest/geonode-state-csw.
Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) contains a strict subset of the datasets on State GeoNode under the us-state-hiu organization. The datasets are curated and only include the most recent datasets, instead of the full take.
Once data has been uploaded to State GeoNode, update the API links for resources. DO NOT delete any datsets on HDX, except in very unique circumstances. Simply click update on a resource and paste in the new download url for shapefile, KML, GeoJSON, etc.