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Coverage

 

 

Element Name

Coverage

 

Where Can the Coverage Information be Found?

In many cases, the item must be read/examined to find coverage information but it may come from:

Item Types
 Information Sources
For text
  • titles
  • abstracts
  • tables of contents
  • section/chapter headings
  • text
For images
  • bottom or back of a photograph
  • visible items (people surroundings, objects, etc.)
  • illustrations
 For maps
  • statement in a caption
  • notes around the outside of the map
  • geographic area and time period of the map
 For music scores
  • title page
  • table of contents
 For videos
  • label on disc
  • container cover
 For sound files
  • information on disc/cassette
  • container information
 For computer files
  • title page/screen
  • text of document

In some cases coverage dates and places may come from accompanying or supplementary information.

 

How Coverage Works in the Metadata Form

Parts:
1. Coverage type -- drop-down menu
2. Coverage -- text field

Note: Some coverage information (place and time period) open in a pop-up modal
Repeatable?
Yes - to include different kinds of coverage information, click 'Add' to repeat all field parts
Coverage location (Place Name) can be repeated to include multiple places
Coverage eras (Time Period) can be repeated to include multiple eras
Coverage dates can only be expressed as: [1] a single date (Coverage Date) or [2] a single date range (Start Date and End Date)

 

How Should the Coverage be Filled in?

General Coverage Guidelines

  • Multiple places and time periods may be included when relevant
  • Coverage is about content and may or may not be the same as the creation time and place of the item

 

Place Name(s)

  • Place names include sovereign political entities (such as countries) and continent-level regions

 

Guideline
 Example
  • Include all relevant places covered in the item
 United States
France
 
      • Separate elements of the hierarchy with a space followed by a hyphen and then another space
      • Begin with the largest ("country" level) and proceed to the smallest relevant geographical unit
      • If a place does not have a 'country' or is unclear, use the hierarchy found in Getty starting after "World" or 'continent'
      • If the place is a territory (or listed as a "dependent state" in Getty), treat it as a country and do not include the parent nation in the hierarchy
      • Use the "English" version of the country name (rather than the "Preferred" form, if they differ) and for well-known foreign cities; the "Preferred" form can be used for other parts of the hierarchy
 Canada - Ontario Province

England - Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority - Brighton

West Indies Archipelago - Lesser Antilles Island Group - Leeward Islands - St. Martin Island

Guam

Germany - Niedersachsen - Hannover National District - Hannover
      • If the item content covers continents rather than countries, continent names (from the CIA World Factbook) can be used alone as a coverage location
      • If the item content covers the entire United Kingdom rather than the individual countries, the nation name can be used alone as a coverage location

      • Do not include political groups (e.g., the European Union, United Nations, etc.); instead list the relevant member countries
 North America
Central America and Caribbean

United Kingdom

France
      • Do not include any levels smaller than the 'city' level or geographic names that are not inhabited places or regions (mountains, parks, etc.)
      • For bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans, etc.):
          • Include the country or region (if relevant) or
          • Leave the coverage place blank for oceans or bodies that are not contained in a specific region
      • Proper names can be included as keywords
      • For a neighborhood, subdivision, colonia, "Census Designated Place" (CDP)*, etc.:
          • Use the smallest level listed in Getty (this may be counties for CDPs, or cities for neighborhoods)
          • Add the name of the area as a keyword using the full name/designation

*Note: a CDP is defined according to the U.S. Census Bureau  and is noted in their database

    		 Coverage Place: United States - Texas - Palo Pinto County - Mineral Wells
    Keyword: Crazy Park

    Keyword: Atlantic Ocean

    Coverage Place: United States - Texas - Webb County
    Keyword: Ranchitos Las Lomas CDP, Texas
    Keyword: Village East Colonia

    Coverage Place: United States - Texas - Taylor County - Abilene
    Keyword: Brook Hollow Subdivision
        • Write out "County", "Parish", "Province", and other relevant descriptors (not "State")
        • For (most) places in the United States, the same form should always be used:
    United States - [State] - [County] County - [City]
    		 Italy - Lazio Region - Roma Province - Rome

    United States - Louisiana - Caddo Parish - Shreveport

    United States - Illinois - Cook County - Chicago
    •  Exceptions:

    1.  New York City encompasses five different counties, so the "county"
         part of the hierarchy should be left out completely


    United States - New York - New York City
    2.  New York boroughs can be included at the level below "city"
    (use the relevant county within the hierarchy)
    United States - New York - Kings County - New York City - Brooklyn Borough
    3.  For "Hollywood" do not include "Los Angeles" as the city
    United States - California - Los Angeles County - Hollywood
    4.  For Nashville, Tennesee, Getty lists the preferred name as "Nashville-Davidson"
    (based on a 1963 consolidation); for clarity, do not use the hyphenated version
    United States - Tennessee - Davidson County - Nashville
    5.  The District of Columbia should be written "Washington D.C."
    United States - Washington D.C.
    6.  Within the United States, do not include places in the hierarchy
         between 'county' and 'city' (e.g., United States - Texas - Galveston
         County - Galveston Island - Galveston)
    United States - Texas - Galveston County - Galveston

    7.  Places classified as "Independent Cities" will not have counties
    United States - Missouri - Saint Louis Independent City - Saint Louis
    8.  If the "authorized form" (from the Getty Thesaurus) of a place name is
         transposed and separated by a comma (i.e. Ville de Paris, 
         Département de), write it out in the original order
    France - Île-de-France Region - Département de Ville de Paris - Paris
    9.  There is no need to include a descriptor (like "Department" or "National
         District") if it already appears in the name (Département de Ville de
         Paris, Distrito Federal)
    Mexico - Distrito Federal - Ciudad de México
    10.  For islands in the Mariana Islands Group, the Getty Thesaurus has two
         records; use the hierarchy that includes Northern Mariana Islands
         (labeled a dependent state) rather than Mariana Islands Island Group
    Northern Mariana Islands - Saipan Island
    • If the region being described has changed names, use the current form of the name
    		Coverage Place: Puerto Rico
    Keyword: Porto Rico

     

    Time Period

    • Time period refers specifically to the browse structure used for Portal records
    • Time period(s) should be chosen from the Portal controlled vocabulary to reflect the era(s) of the content
    • In cases where the years of the time periods overlap, always use the most generic era unless a more specific one applies
    • It is important to include the time period whenever possible in Portal records for browsing

     

    Dates

    • Include exact dates when known
    • Use the 'Date' field if there is a specific date or a single general month/year associated with the content
    • Use the 'Start Date' and 'End Date' fields when the item is about a range of time
    • Use proper formatting:
    Guideline Example
    • Write dates YYYY-MM-DD, separating the sections with a single hyphen
    		 1958-02-16
    • Include partial dates if only the year (YYYY) or only the month and year (YYYY-MM) are known
    		2001-08
    1885
    • If a date is uncertain, use question marks to fill in unknown portions or at the end (YYY?-MM, YYY?, YYYY-MM-DD?)
    		199?
    1887-12-06?
    • If a date is approximate ("circa"), use a tilde at the end: YYYY-MM-DD~
    		1862-05~
    • If the date comes from an outside resource rather than the item itself, use the basic format, but put the date in brackets: [YYYY-MM-DD]

    [1874-07]
    • For B. C. dates, include a hyphen at the front of the date (-YYYY-MM-DD)

    -0601

     

     

    Other Examples

     Drawing: Bird's eye view of Denton, Denton County, Texas : 1883
        Place Name: United States - Texas - Denton County - Denton
        Time Period: new-sou : New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1876-1939
        Coverage Date: 1883
    Map: Hispania nova
        Place Name: Spain
        Place Name: Mexico
        Time Period: eur-tex : European Explorers in Texas, 1519-1689
    Letter to Cromwell Anson Jones, 19 may 1869
        Place Name: United States - Texas - Galveston County - Galveston
        Time Period: civ-war : Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1876
        Coverage Date: 1869-05
    Photograph: 1918 Morning After
        Place Name: United States - Texas - Denton County - Aubrey
        Time Period: new-sou : New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1876-1939
        Coverage Date: 1918-04-15
    [Bell County Ex-Confederate Association Ledger]
        Place Name: United States - Texas - Bell County - Belton
        Time Period: new-sou : New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1876-1939
        Start Date: 1888~
        End Date: 1920
    [Letter to Johnson Moorhead from H. T. Hathaway]
        Place Name: United States - Kansas - Reno County - Turon
        Time Period: new-sou : New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1876-1939
        Coverage Date: 1888
    French World War I poster
        Place Name: France
        Start Date: 1914
        End Date: 1917

     

    Comments

    • Although the coverage element appears to repeat information that could also be placed in other elements, such as subject/keywords and date, it is needed to provide the best interoperability with other metadata and resource-sharing systems.
    • It is strongly recommended that both coverage place(s) and coverage time period(s) be included in order to facilitate the browse structure for Portal records, and to provide the best interoperability with other metadata and resource-sharing systems.
    • Recommended best practice for encoding the date value is defined in the proposed standards from the Library of Congress: Extended Date Time Format

     

    • For coverage place names, the following continent names can be used in place of countries (derived from the CIA World Factbook):
    Africa
    Antarctica
    Arctic*

    Australia/Oceania
    Central America and Caribbean
    Central Asia
    East & Southeast Asia
    Europe
    Middle East
    North America
    South America
    South Asia

    *Although the "Arctic" is not on the list of continents, it is used as a regional term for maps in the Factbook; it can be used when the item is related to the whole Arctic region rather than specific continents/countries

     

    Back to Coverage Place Names

     

     

    Resources

    (Note: to search for a CDP, choose "Geographies" in the left-hand menu)

    This page is maintained by Hannah Tarver — last modified Thursday, February 09, 2012. 10:30 PM
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