NSDI Clearinghouse: background

Executive order (1994)

• Write metadata
• Build a clearinghouse
• Consult the clearinghouse

Clearinghouse design: supply side

• Lots of different organizations
• Different sophistication and work processes
• No desire to centralize data or metadata

Clearinghouse design: demand side

• Users need to know
  • Where the servers are
  • How to search each server
• Complexity of searches unknown