Coverage

Definition

Geographic and temporal information related to the content of the resource.

Where Can the Coverage Information be Found?

In some cases, coverage information may come from accompanying or supplementary information; generally the item must be read/examined to find coverage information, such as:

Item Types	Information Sources
For text	titles abstracts tables of contents section/chapter headings introduction/scope statements/text content
For images	notes on 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 (content)
For music scores	title page table of contents
For videos	label on disc container cover title screens or content
For sound files	information on disc/cassette container information content of audio
For computer files	title page/screen text of document (content)

How Coverage Works in the Metadata Form

Parts:

1. Coverage type – drop-down menu

2. Coverage – text field

Note: Some coverage information opens 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, Place Box or Point) can be repeated to include multiple places

• Coverage eras (Time Period) can be repeated to include multiple eras

• Coverage dates should be expressed in a single entry as an individual date or date range(s)

Required?

No (more information)

How Should the Coverage be Filled in?

General Coverage Guidelines

• Multiple places and time periods may be included when relevant

• Coverage is about the content of the item

  • For some items (e.g., original photographs) the coverage date will be the same as the creation date

  • For text items dates and locations may overlap with creation dates and publisher locations but are often different

  • For reproductions, consider that the content and creation may not match regardless of type (e.g., a copy negative would have a different creation date than the coverage date, which will match the original photo)

Place Name(s)

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

Guidelines	Examples
Include any places relevant to the content of the item	United States France
Note that most locations will already have an established form that should be chosen from the searchable modal. If the location name is not in the system, follow the instructions below. Use a hierarchical format of the current place name in the Geonames Database:
General Format
Separate elements of the hierarchy with a space followed by a hyphen and then another space ([text] - [text]) Begin with the largest (“country” level) and proceed to the smallest relevant geographical unit	Canada - Ontario Province
	England - Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority - Brighton
	Poland - Lower Silesia Province - Lubin County - Lubin Gmina - Lubin
Write out “County”, “Parish”, “Province”, and other relevant descriptors (not “State”) For most places in the United States, this form should be used: United States - [state] - [county] County - [city]	Italy - Latium Region - Rome Province - Rome
	United States - Louisiana - Caddo Parish - Shreveport
	United States - Illinois - Cook County - Chicago
Levels of Specificity
If the place is a territory or “dependent state,” treat it as a country and do not include the parent nation in the hierarchy	Guam
When item content covers continents rather than countries (e.g., maps), use continent names based on the CIA World Factbook (also listed in the) Comments section	North America Central America and Caribbean
For content about the entire United Kingdom rather than the individual countries, use the “nation” name	United Kingdom
Do not include political groups (e.g., the European Union, United Nations, etc.); instead list the relevant member countries based on the content/time of publication	France England Germany etc.
For bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans, etc.) and geographic landmarks (e.g., mountains): Include the most specific location that is relevant (e.g., country, region, county, state, etc.) or Leave the coverage place blank for oceans or landmarks that are not contained in a specific region	Coverage Place: United States - Texas Keyword: Neches River
	Keyword: Atlantic Ocean
Do not include: Any levels smaller than the “city” or populated place levels (parks, neighborhoods, etc.) Names of military installations that are not also designated as “populated places” Geographic regions other than continents (e.g., Midwest) Proper names can be included as keywords	Coverage Place: United States - Texas - Palo Pinto County - Mineral Wells Keyword: Crazy Park
	Keyword: New England
For a neighborhood, subdivision, or other non-populated place: Use the smallest appropriate level (usually a county or city) Add the name of the area as a keyword, using the full name/designation	Coverage Place: United States - Texas - Taylor County - Abilene Keyword: Brook Hollow Subdivision
	Coverage Place: United States - Texas - Taylor County Keyword: Camp Barkeley
A colonia or “Census Designated Place” (CDP) is treated the same as a city Other forms of the name (e.g., with the CDP note) can be added as keywords Note: A CDP is defined according the U.S. Census Bureau and is noted in their database	Coverage Place: United States - Webb County - Ranchitos Las Lomas Coverage Place: United States - Webb County - Village East Colonia Keyword: Ranchitos Las Lomas CDP, Texas
Name Changes
If the region being described has changed names or restructured, use the current name Variant names may be included as keywords and may be used in other text fields when describing the item/content If the previous hierarchy or version of a place name is important, it may also be added as a historic place name	Coverage Place: Puerto Rico Keyword: Porto Rico
	Coverage Place: Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh Municipality - Ho Chi Mihn City Historic Place Name: Vietnam - Saigon

Exceptions

Guidelines	Examples
New York City encompasses five different counties, so the “county” part of the hierarchy should be omitted New York boroughs can be included at the level below “city” (with the relevant county)	United States - New York - New York City United States - New York - Kings County - New York City - Brooklyn Borough
For “Hollywood” do not include “Los Angeles” as the city	United States - California - Los Angeles County - Hollywood
The District of Columbia should be written as “Washington D.C.”	United States - Washington D.C.
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 - Indiana - Hancock County - Vernon Township - McCordsville	United States - Texas - Galveston County - Galveston United States - Indiana - Hancock County - McCordsville
Places classified as “Independent Cities” will not have counties	United States - Missouri - St. Louis Independent City - St. Louis
There is no need to include a descriptor such as “Department” or “National District” if it already appears in the name (Distrito Federal, etc.)	France - Île-de-France Region - Département de Ville de Paris - Paris Portugal - Distrito de Lisboa - Lisbon

Historic Place Name

• For places that have changed names, it may be appropriate to include a historic place name, so that users can still search the location in the coverage field

• Generally, historic place name(s) will be added in addition to coverage place value(s) that use the current version of the location’s name

• In some cases, it may be more appropriate to put the name in a keyword instead, such as the name for a body of water (which is excluded from place names), even if it is a historic usage

Guidelines	Examples
Add the historic name of the location If known, use a hierarchical format to provide context	Yugoslavia - Brod
	United States - Indian Territory - Canadian County - El Reno
	U.S.S.R.
	France - Alsace Region - Bas-Rhin Department - Herrlisheim
	New Spain

Geocoordinates

• Place point and place box are used to represent specific coordinates when available information is more specific than a place name (e.g., place points should not be dropped in a city center unless that is the actual location of the content)

• Values may be approximate, but should be as accurate as possible

• After choosing place point or place box in the drop-down menu, clicking in the text area will pop up with a Google Maps interface

  • Follow the instructions in the modal to place a precise point or to draw a box representing the area

  • Click “Insert” to save the information (the coordinates will automatically be saved in the record)

• Geocoordinate options are repeatable, but multiple point(s) or box(es) should be used sparingly, and only when this level of specificity is appropriate

• Since these represent different/more specific information, geocoordinate entries should only be use along with the appropriate place name(s)

Place Point

• Place points are appropriate to denote a specific location such as:

  • The vantage point of an image (generally from ground level)

  • Marking the center of a building for an interior photo (or unknown vantage point of a known building)

  • Textual content about a building or specific location

  • Audio/video recorded at a known location (e.g., a building or vantage point)

Place Box

• Place boxes are appropriate when content encompasses an entire area, such as:

  • A map

  • An aerial photograph

  • An architectural drawing

  • A technical report about the survey of a specific area

  • A pamphlet/guide for a park, historic estate, etc.

Multiple Geocodes

• In specific cases where the content encompasses multiple points/areas place points and place boxes are repeatable, such as:

  • A photo/image collage of multiple buildings or locations-

  • A technical report of study about multiple discreet areas

  • A map (box) with an inset photo (point)

  • Different maps printed on two sides of the same sheet

Time Period

• Time period refers specifically to the browse structure used for Portal records

• Time period(s) should be chosen from the 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

• Use the ‘Coverage Date’ qualifier for date(s) represented or discussed in the content

• Note that coverage dates will often be broader than the creation date for textual materials (do not copy the creation date as the coverage date unless it matches the content)

• Include exact dates when applicable

• Only use a single coverage date entry, even when documenting multiple dates or ranges

• Use proper formatting:

Guidelines	Examples
Write dates using the format YYYY-MM-DD, separating sections with a single hyphen	A photograph taken February 16, 1958	1958-02-16
Include partial dates if content discusses a whole year (YYYY) or month YYYY-MM), or if that is the most specific date that can be determined	A calendar of events for August 2001	2001-08
	An annual report for calendar year 1972	1972
	A letter written sometime in 1852	1852
Uncertain Dates
If a date is uncertain, use a question mark at the end It the specific year is unknown (e.g., a decade), the last digit can be replaced by “X”	A map documenting a survey, believed to have occurred in 1720	1720?
	A book discussing trends of the 1970s	197X
Approximate (“circa”) dates are represented with a tilde at the end	A letter written mid-May 1862, discussing general news without specific dates	1862-05~
For B. C. dates, include a hyphen at the front of the date The year must have at least 4 digits	A report on archeological findings from 601 BC	-0601
Date Ranges
For a single, inclusive date range, use the interval notation	A journal with article content ranging 1908-1928	1908/1928
	An interview discussing events from roughly 2013 until 2018, when it was recorded	2013~/2018
	Annual financial report for fiscal year 2003	2002-09-01/2003- 08-31
To represent a particular date within a known range, use one-of-a-set notation (This generally applies to photos, where the content matches the creation date)	A photograph taken at an event held September 12-15, 1974	[1974-09-12..1974- 09-15]
For multiple (inclusive) dates or date ranges that are not consecutive, use multiple date notation with {curly brackets} (This is primarily applicable when it is important to emphasize that the content is only about multiple separate dates that are significant. In most cases a general or approximate range is sufficient.)	Report documenting data collected in 1900, 1950, and 2000	{1900,1950,2000}
	Thesis comparing various aspects of WWI and WWII	{1914-07..1918-11, 1939-09..1945-09}

For additional date formats and examples, see General Date Rules.

Other Examples

Drawing: Bird’s eye view of Denton, Denton County, Texas: 1883

• Place Name: United States - Texas - Denton County - Denton

• Coverage Date: 1883

• Time Period: new-sou: New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1876-1939

Map: Hispania nova

• Place Name: Spain

• Place Name: Mexico

• Time Period: eur-tex: European Explorers in Texas, 1519-1689

Letter to Cromwell Anson Jones, May 19, 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

• Coverage Date: 1888~/1920

Map: Bachman Lake Park: Hike and Bike Trail Plan

• Place Name: United States - Texas - Dallas County - Dallas

• Coverage Date: 1983-03

• Time Period: mod-tim: Into Modern Times, 1939-Present

• Place Box: N:32.8683058054, E:-96.8294005002, S: 32.8437915023, W:-96.8905119504

[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

• Coverage Date: 1914/1917

[House at 911 N. Sycamore]

• Place Name: United States - Texas - Anderson County - Palestine

• Coverage Date: 1991-06

• Time Period: mod-tim: Into Modern Times, 1939-Present

• Place Point: 31.7671795871, -95.6326822933

Map: Abernathy Quadrangle

• Place Name: United States - Texas - Lubbock County - Abernathy

• Place Name: United States - Texas - Hale County

• Place Box (map boundaries): N:33.88, E:-101.75, S: 33.75, W:-101.88

• Place Point (center of quadrangle): 33.81, -101.81

• Time Period: tex-land: The Texas Landscape

Map: Encinal County

• Place Name: United States - Texas - Webb County

• Historic Place Name: United States - Texas - Encinal County

• Time Period: tex-fron: The Texas Frontier, 1846-1861

• Time Period: tex-land: The Texas Landscape

Photograph: The Arsenal - Kremlin offices

• Place Name: Russia - Moscow Federal City - Moscow

• Historic Place Name: U.S.S.R.

• Coverage Date: 1985

• Place Point: 55.752042, 37.617935

• Time Period: mod-tim: Into Modern Times, 1939-Present

1988 Historical Calendar: Mayors of Denton

• Place Name: United States - Texas - Denton County - Denton

• Coverage Date: 1848-08~/1988

• Time Period: new-sou: New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1876-1939

• Time Period: mod-tim: Into Modern Times, 1939-Present

Newsletter: Division Log, Number 7158, July 14, 1987

• Place Name: United States - Tarrant County - Fort Worth

• Coverage Date: 1978/1987-07-14

• Time Period: mod-tim: Into Modern Times, 1939-Present

Comments

• Note: As of February 2014, we are using the GeoNames Database as the authority for place names rather than the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.

• 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. To reduce duplication, it is recommended to use coverage for any relevant content information and only duplicate it when it is applicable to the creation (e.g., the creation date/coverage date for original photographs).

• It is strongly recommended that both coverage place(s) and coverage time period(s) be included when known (or reasonably inferred) 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 more information about date implementation and local practices, see the Date guidelines and the notes in the Comments section.

• 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

Note: 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

Based on the browse features in the CIA World Factbook the following countries are in the three Asian regions:

Central Asia	East & Southeast Asia	South Asia
Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan	Brunei Burma Cambodia China Hong Kong Indonesia Japan Laos Macau Malaysia Mongolia North Korea Papua New Guinea Paracel Islands Philippines Singapore South Korea Spratly Islands Taiwan Thailand Timor-Leste Vietnam	Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan British Indian Ocean Territory India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

Back to Coverage Place Names

Resources

• UNT Coverage Qualifier Controlled Vocabulary

Dates

• UNT Coverage Time Period Controlled Vocabulary

• Library of Congress Extended Date Time Format

Places

• GeoNames Database

• Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

• CIA World Factbook

• Member Countries of the European Union

• U.S. Census Bureau

More Guidelines:

• Quick-Start Metadata Guide

• Metadata Home