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Label (unqualified) |
DC.Date |
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Under the IPSMS, the date element must be qualified. See below for the two qualifiers mandated for use in the IPSMS, Version 1.0, and the remainig three qualifiers considered optional. |
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Label |
DC.Date.created |
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Definition |
The date a resource or document was created in its present form. |
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Purpose |
The created date indicates when a resource was created. It indicates the currency or time relevance of a resource. It allows a search to be restricted to resources created within a particular time span or on a particular date. |
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Obligation |
Mandatory |
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Encoding Scheme |
ISO 8601 standard |
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Examples |
<meta name="DC.Date.created" content="2001-07-14"> |
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Label |
DC.Date.modified |
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Definition |
The date a resource was modified or updated. |
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Purpose |
The modified date indicates when a resource was modified. It indicates the currency or time relevance of a resource. It allows a search to be restricted to resources modified within a particular time span or on a particular date. |
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Obligation |
Mandatory |
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Encoding Scheme |
ISO 8601 standard |
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Examples |
<meta name="DC.Date.modified" content="2001-08-24"> |
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Label |
DC.Date.valid |
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Definition |
Date of validity of a resource |
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Purpose |
The valid date indicates when a resource becomes valid or ceases to be valid. It may be most useful to represent the time period in which a resource is valid by expressing the period as a range of dates. |
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Obligation |
Recommended |
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Encoding Scheme |
ISO 8601 standard |
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Examples |
[Indicating a tax period in which a resource is applicable]: <meta name="DC.Date.valid" content="2000-04-01/2001-03-31"> |
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Label |
DC.Date.issued |
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Definition |
Formal publication date of a resource |
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Purpose |
The issued date indicates when a resource was formally published in its current form |
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Obligation |
Recommended |
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Encoding Scheme |
ISO 8601 standard |
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Examples |
<meta name="DC.Date.issued" content="2001-02-09"> |
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Label |
DC.Date.available |
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Definition |
Date resource became available |
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Purpose |
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Obligation |
Recommended |
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Encoding Scheme |
ISO 8601 standard |
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Examples |
<meta name="DC.Date.available" content="2001-03-19"> |
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Note: The date is to be recorded using the ISO 8601 standard. This is: yyyy-mm-dd. |
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Recommendation: When the creation date is first being input (i.e. new document), insert the same date as the modified date. Rationale: Until a document sees its first change after its initial creation, its creation date is in reality the last time the document was modified. Consequently its creation and modified dates are one and the same until a change in the document content occurs. |
The date refers to the resource, not the metadata record itself. A date range for the intellectual content of a resource must be described using the DC.Coverage element.
DC.Date qualifiers (created, modified) allow for increased precision. They are intended to enhance discovery, allowing for a search to be refined based on a document's creation or modification date.
If the full date is unknown, month and year (YYYY-MM) or just year (YYYY) may be used. ISO 8601 also allows for the expression of time if required.
A date range may be appropriate where metadata has been assigned at a collection-level, and the resources that make up the collection covered include various creation dates. It may also be appropriate where the period of validity of a resource needs to be expressed.
A date range should be expressed making use of a solidus (/) which separates the two dates. ISO 8601 allows the use of the '/' separator. Example:
<meta name="DC.Date.created" content="2001-02-06/2001-07-14">
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Note: Information seekers and software may have difficulty interpreting other date formats if used. |