| Describe
this Element
NAME
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coverage |
DEFINITION
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The descriptor coverage uses keywords to identify a span of space or time expressed by the intellectual content of a media item.
Coverage in intellectual content may be expressed spatially by geographic location. Actual place names may be used. Numeric coordinates and geo-spatial data are also allowable, if useful or supplied.
Coverage in intellectual content may also be expressed temporally by a date, period, era, or time-based event.
The PBCore metadata element coverage houses the actual spatial or temporal keywords. The companion descriptor coverageType is used to identify the type of keywords that are being used. |
ELEMENT
INTERDEPENDENCIES
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 This element, along with its sibling element coverageType, is hierarchically bound to the container pbcoreCoverage
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REFINEMENTS &
ENCODING SCHEMES
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Because the metadata element coverage can house both spatial and temporal keywords or descriptors, the refinements and encoding schemes are discussed separately below.
SPATIAL COVERAGE...
When the coverageType is identified as *spatial*, PBCore recommends you use free-form text to enter data. PBCore does not maintain its own authority file for geographic or place names. However, there are several resources you can employ to obtain well-formed geographic or spatial names:
USGS Geographic Names Information Services (GNIS)
Query the online database:
http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information about almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and its territories. The Federally recognized name of each feature described in the data base is identified, and references are made to a feature's location by State, county, and geographic coordinates. The GNIS is the official repository of domestic geographic names information for the United States and its territories.
United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Links to web sites relevant to geographical names standardization:
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/links.htm
TEMPORAL COVERAGE...
When the coverageType is identified as *temporal*, PBCore recommends you use free-form text to enter a date, period, era, or time-based event. Where and if appropriate, you may prefer to use the specific date/time encoding rules established in the ISO 8601 profile of the international standard for the representation of dates and times. If the pure ISO 8601 Profile is too cumbersome or restrictive, you may prefer to employ the syntax it suggests for entering dates (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD).
(http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime). |
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GUIDELINES
FOR USAGE
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In principle, PBCore's use of *coverage* is similar to that of Dublin Core. However, we do not define two separate metadata elements, one for coverageSpatial and one for coverageTemporal. Instead, PBCore allows for the repeatability of the container pbcoreCoverage, which itself houses the keywords for coverage and the designations for the type of coverage being expressed. Actual implementation of coverage is, as always, dependent on the information or digital asset management system being employed.
SPATIAL COVERAGE GUIDELINES ...
When entering place names, coordinates or geo-spatial data, care should be taken to provide consistent information that can be interpreted by end users attempting to search for media items. The descriptor coverage, when using spatial keywords and descriptions, implies physical boundaries and logical jurisdictions. and should be used in order to support more precise searching than possible with the information found in the descriptors title, subject or description.
When applicable, utilize the standards based names found in the USGS and United Nations web sites noted above.
TEMPORAL COVERAGE GUIDELINES ...
When entering date and time data, care should be taken to provide consistent information that can be interpreted by end users attempting to search for media items. The descriptor coverage, when using temporal keywords and descriptions, implies temporal boundaries, and should be used to provide additional information that identifies the date/time period for the intellectual content of a media item you are cataloging. NOTE: temporal coverage must not be confused with copyright dates or the date on which a media asset was created. Temporal coverage relates to the intellectual content of a media item. Copyright dates refer to ownerships and rights over the media item itself.
If a date is approximate, add a question mark,
but separate the date from the question mark by a space so that
the question mark is not interpreted as part of the date value
by a search engine, e.g., 1972 ? .
Temporal Coverage should be used in order to support
more precise searching than possible with the information found in the descriptors title, subject or description.
Where and if appropriate, you may prefer to use the specific date/time encoding rules established in the ISO 8601 profile of the international standard for the representation of dates and times:
(http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime).
If the pure ISO 8601 Profile is too cumbersome or restrictive, you may prefer to employ the syntax it suggests for entering dates (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD). Examples are provided below.
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OBLIGATION
TO USE
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Optional |
REPEATABLE
ELEMENT
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Apply once within its container, pbcoreCoverage (which itself can be applied multiple times for a media item).
Spatial keywords, when tagged as *spatial* by the companion element coverageType, are considered as one application within the container pbcoreCoverage. Repeat the container pbcoreCoverage when temporal keywords, tagged as *temporal* by the companion element coverageType, are used. |
TYPE OF
DATA ENTRY
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Text String |
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Describe
this Element
