<div id="prepare-a-metadata-file-that-will-describe-the-files-in-the-package" class="section level3">
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<a href="#prepare-a-metadata-file-that-will-describe-the-files-in-the-package" class="anchor"></a>2. Prepare a metadata file that will describe the files in the package</h3>
<p>The next step is to prepare a metadata file that will describe the science datasets and other files in the package. The most common metadata format used in the DataONE network is the <a href="https://knb.ecoinf