Date

• Element Name
• Definition
• Where Can the Date Information be Found?
• How Date Works in the Metadata Form
• How Should the Date be Filled in?
• General Date Rules
• Creation Dates
• Special Dates
• Other Examples
• Comments
• Resources

Element Name

Date

Definition

Dates associated with events in the life cycle of the resource.

Where Can the Date Information be Found?

In some cases the date may come from accompanying or supplementary information.

How Date Works in the Metadata Form

Parts:

1. Date qualifier -- drop-down menu
2. Date -- text field

Repeatable?

Yes - to include different kinds of date information, click 'Add' to repeat all field parts; each individual date type (creation, submission, harvested, etc.) cannot be repeated

How Should the Date be Filled in?

General Date Rules

• If no date can be found, leave the field blank
• For each date, be sure to choose the appropriate date type from the controlled vocabulary
  

• Always format dates appropriately:
  

Creation Dates

• Whenever possible, enter an original resource creation date
• Be sure to select "Creation" as the date type from the drop-down menu
• If the creation date is unknown, leave the field blank
• When the resource being described is a collection, a date range can be used to describe the creation date range of all the resources

• Creation date refers to the date of the exact item for the record, even if it is a derivation:

• If the item is a reprint of an original text:

• Use the date of the reprint
• Include a note about the original text and printing date

• If the item is a copy negative:

• Use the date that the copy negative was created
• The date of the original photographs may be used in coverage

• A note about postcards and greeting cards:

• If there is no letter or message written on the card:

• The item is treated as a photograph or piece of artwork
  
• Use the date that the photograph was taken or the drawing was done
  

• If the card has a letter or message written on/in it:

• The item is treated as a piece of correspondence
  
• Use the date that the letter was written or that the card was postmarked
  
• If it is important, the date of the picture can be included as part of the coverage

Special Dates

• Use other types of dates only when they are relevant:
• Date Harvested - Date that a web-resource was captured for archival purposes
  
• Submission Date - Date that the item was submitted for approval by an organization, institution, or agency
  
• Acceptance Date - Date that the item was approved by an organization, institution, or agency

• Submission and acceptance dates are primarily used for patents, but may be used for other items if those types of dates are associated with the item
  

Other Examples

[Letter from Zavala to Santa Anna, March 7, 1829]

Original Resource Creation Date: 1829-03-07

Painting: A Scene from "The Beggar's Opera"

Original Resource Creation Date: 1728/1729

Digital photograph: [Bull riding at the Cowtown Coliseum]

Original Resource Creation Date: 20031227T091640

Court case: Documents pertaining to B. C. Wallace as the receiver of the estate and guardian of Campbell minors, cause no. 532, 1896-1904

Original Resource Creation Date: 1896-11-13/1904-12-08

Farmer's bulletin: Diseases of sheep and goats.

Original Resource Creation Date:  1943-09

University catalog: Catalog of Hardin-Simmons University, 1989-1990 Undergraduate Bulletin

Original Resource Creation Date:  [1989]

Photograph: Crazy Theatre With Car

Original Resource Creation Date:  1914~

Postcard: [Hamilton Hotel, Laredo, Texas]

Original Resource Creation Date:  1910-01-23

Archived website: U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force

Original Resource Creation Date: 2004
Date Harvested: 2009-07-01

Comments

• To express the time period(s), date, or date range associated with the intellectual content of the resource, use the Coverage element.
  • For example, a book published in 1976 that is about Texas history from first statehood to 1964 would have an original resource creation date of 1976, but a coverage date range of 1846 - 1964.
• Recommended best practice for encoding the date value is defined in the proposed standards from the Library of Congress: Extended Date Time Format

Resources

• UNT Date Qualifier Controlled Vocabulary
  
• Library of Congress Extended Date Time Format