MARCO-BOLO CSV-to-JSON-LD Overview
What is this tool?
This is a metadata publishing tool developed for Work Package 1 (WP1) of the MARCO-BOLO project (MARine COastal BiOdiversity Long-term Observations). The tool helps researchers transform marine biodiversity metadata into machine-readable formats that can be discovered and reused by global research catalogs.
This system demonstrates that comprehensive metadata doesn't require expensive infrastructure - it uses standard tools and automated processing to produce publication-ready, semantically rich outputs that are easily shared across the internet.
Why does this exist?
The MARCO-BOLO project aims to align with IOC Data Architecture and ensure research outputs are discoverable through the ODIS Catalog. Rather than requiring researchers to learn complex semantic web technologies, this tool provides:
- User-friendly data entry through Google Sheets
- Automated validation to catch errors early
- Rich semantic metadata that exceeds typical project standards
- Resource-efficient approach using minimal infrastructure
- Standards compliance with Schema.org and JSON-LD
How it works (simplified)
- Researchers enter data into structured Google Sheets with built-in validation
- Semi-Automated systems sync the data and validate it against schemas
- Processing pipeline converts data to semantic web formats (JSON-LD)
- Published metadata becomes discoverable by research catalogs worldwide (e.g. ODIS)
Key Benefits
- Lean approach: Minimal resources, maximum metadata quality
- Familiar tools: Google Sheets interface with enhanced validation
- Automatic processing: No manual format conversion needed
- Standards compliant: Meets international semantic web standards
- Collaborative: Multiple researchers can contribute simultaneously
Getting Started
New users should begin with the Data Entry Guide for step-by-step instructions on contributing data to the project.
Technical users interested in the system architecture can review the Technical Architecture documentation.