What is Metadata?

Published on May 09, 2018

Metadata is by definition data that provides information about other data. Make sense? Let’s explain more. Metadata about datasets on our Portal includes information about the system the data is pulled from, when the dataset was last refreshed and a description of the information each column contains, among other things. Arlington County is committed to publishing metadata for every dataset shared for open and collaborative use. Work is now underway to collect and publish metadata for previously published datasets as well as the new ones. Anyone can view the metadata of datasets in the Open Data Portal. If you see data that would be useful to you, reach out to the point of contact (another piece of metadata!) to request access.