The full benefits of XML will be achieved only if organizations use the same data element definitions and those definitions are available for partners to discover and retrieve. A registry/repository is a means to discover and retrieve documents, templates, and software (i.e., objects and resources) over the Internet. The registry is used to discover the object. It provides information about the object, including its location. A repository is where the object resides for retrieval by users.

In partnership with the General Services Administration (GSA), the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been piloting the use of registry/repository software.  The proof-of-concept prototype was formerly available at http://xmlregistry.nist.gov/xml-gov/ A brief budget justification was prepared for the pilot.

GSA contracted Booz Allen Hamilton to compile the more detailed capital asset plan and business case (OMB Circular A-11, Exhibit 300) for the operational version of the registry, for consideration in the FY 2004 budget cycle. OMB invited other agencies to cosponsor the registry. (Mark Forman's August 26, 2002, memo containing that invitation was formerly available at http://www.feapmo.gov/feapmo_004.htm) The business case was discussed at the Open Forum on Metadata Registries in January 2003.

In support of the pilot, we formed a Registry/Repository Team. Formation of the team is documented on our listserv. Roy Morgan of NIST now leads the team. The third generation of the proof-of-concept registry is at http://xmlregistry.nist.gov:8080/index.jsp The President's FY 2004 budget request for GSA included $2.1 million for the operational version of the registry. Fiscal Year 2004 funding for GSA was included in H.R. 2673, the omnibus appropriations signed by the President on January 23, 2004, but funding for the registry was not provided.

Other registry efforts of which we are aware include:

• OASIS' xml.org Registry | Industry Sectors | Announcement
• ebXML Registry TC | Standards Registry
• freebXML Registry
• ebXML Registry Implementations
• See also OASIS' e-Gov TC & Focus Area


• DoD XML Registry
• Navy Logistics/Tech-Data XML/SGML Repository
• U.S. Army Publishing Agency SGML/XML Registry
• DLA/DLIS Integrated Metadata Repository System (IMRS)


• EPA's Environmental Data Registry (EDR)
  • Registry Requirements, November 25, 2002 - [HTML] [DOC]
• Justice Standards Registry
• IRS Tax XML Developments
• Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Schemas & Documents
• OMB/OIRA's Paperwork Reduction Act Reports
• eGrants Core Data Elements
  • Federal Register Notice
• Proposed Data Elements for Financial Reports
• LANL XML Repository
• NIST STEP Repository - Demo



• UN XML Repository
• Data Interchange Standards Association Registry Intiative
• Human Resources XML (HR-XML) Consortium Specifications
• Apache Jakarta Project Registry Implementation
• Common XML Locale Repository
• Dublin Core Metadata Registry
• Hong Kong's Central Registry
• CORES Registry
• Open GIS Specifications
  • OGC Schema Repository
• Sino Linux ebXML Registry/Repository Server

If you are aware of additional XML registries that should be listed here, particularly those containing data elements and schemas that are "inherently governmental" in nature, please contact Roy.