Dates
SectionAdd new date by clicking the “Add Date” button.
Label
Label is set to Creation by default.
Expression
Expression is used only for dates or date spans spelled out in full year/month (and in rare cases day) form, e.g. 2009 September-2010 February, or 1980s, or if using “circa” to indicate uncertainty about dates, e.g. circa 2000-2010. This field is not used if the single date or date range is a simple YYYY or YYYY-YYYY format. If two dates exist for a collection separate with a comma or semi-colon and then fill in the inclusive dates - example 1965; 2009.
Examples
may be formatted differently depending on where they are used. In all cases, years should be expressed with 4 digits unless part of a proper title. For more guidance
Dates in narrative text (i.e., notes) follow a month, day, then year format. When citing year ranges, do not use dashes and include all digits. Examples follow:
- October 12 (not October 12th)
- October 12, 1952 (when used in narrative the year should be followed by a comma)
- September 1990 (no comma)
- 1980s (no apostrophe)
- 1872 to 1888 (not 1872 to 88)
- from 1940 to 1960
- between 1980 and 1990
- The 21st century; 21st-century technology
Normalized Dates
In normalized fields, all dates should be entered in the ISO 8601 Standard, as follows:
- general-to-specific approach — the year first, followed by month, then day
- each element is separated by a hyphen ("-")
- Numbers less than 10 are preceded by a leading zero
- YYYY or YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD
Date Expressions
If date is approximate, includes months and days, and/or includes significant gaps in date ranges a date expression should also be entered. Dates are still formatted as year - month - day, however the month should be written out. Do not repeat years or months in expressions of date ranges. Semesters may also be referenced in the date expression.
- 2014 July 12-14
- 2007 August 12 - October 31
- 2009 April 5 - 2010 May 1
- 2016 September
- 2015 Fall
Note any significant gaps in date ranges. Separate single dates or ranges with a comma.
- 1903, 1950-1955
- 1965, 2009
For approximate dates, add qualifiers.
1903, 1950-1955- circa 1952-1978
- circa 1975 August
- 1892 or 1893
- before 1920
- after 1920
2015 Fall2009 April 5 - 2010 May 1 For undated material:
- Use sparingly. Use circa to estimate the date range, if the creation date is truly unknown use "undated", do not use n.d.
If a date is not able to be determined, use "undated."
Using the Date Module
Add new date to a collection, series, file, or item by clicking the “Add Date” button.
Field | About |
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Label | Label is set to "Creation" by default. The label specifies the type of date being entered (e.g., date published). Choose as appropriate. |
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Anchor |
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| date-expression |
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| date-expression |
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| Date Expression | Expression is an open text field to enter a natural language expression of the date. It is used when date is unable to be determined, approximate, includes significant gaps in date ranges, and/or includes months. |
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Type | Choose the type of date to be entered: |
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Type
Choose the appropriate option from the drop down menu.Option | When Used |
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Bulk Dates | Rarely used at file level. |
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Creation dates Date range is applicable to |
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the majority of the majority of materials in the description level, |
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excluding any outliers excluding any outliers on either end. | Inclusive Dates |
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Creation dates applicable to all materials in the accession, includingDate range is applicable to all materials in the unit being described, including outliers on either end. | Single | Use if there is only one |
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creation date for all materials in the unit described. |
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Begin | Normalized date field. Numerical value of earliest (or only) creation date in the accession in ISO 8601 Standard Formatting: YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD |
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format. |
End | Normalized date field. Numerical value of |
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latest last creation date (if applicable) in the accession in ISO 8601 Standard Formatting: YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD |
format “Approximate” from the drop down menu if "Approximate" if the dates are estimated or uncertain for any reason. |
Example
approximately 1925