1. Home
 > 
2. ArchivesSpace
 > 
3. Dates

The Dates sub-form in ArchivesSpace manages information about various types of dates relating to all other data models within the system. The Dates sub-form is consistent across all ArchivesSpace metadata editing forms in which it appears.

When adding Dates in ArchivesSpace, be sure to consult the instructions for the specific component level of the record you are adding, as there may be additional rules specific to that component level not mentioned here.

When adding Expressions to a date, there are certain conventions we follow in instances where the date is unknown or cannot be determined with certainty. These mainly affect how machine-readable date fields (those labeled ‘Begin’ and ‘End,’ which appear when the user selects a Type in the Dates sub-form) are populated. Our conventions are as follows:

• When a date range is definitively known: Enter the expression as two DACS-compliant dates, separated by a hyphen, e.g. “1937-1993,” “1945 June 1-August 31.” In the ‘Begin’ field, enter the first date in the range, in machine-readable form; in the ‘End’ field, enter the last date in the range in the same way.
• When a single date is known with some degree of uncertainty: Enter the expression using the keyword ‘circa,’ e.g. “circa 1955.” Assign the date a type of ‘inclusive,’ the ‘Begin’ field a date equal to five years prior to the known single date, and the ‘End’ field a date equal to five years after the known single date.
• When a single date is known with certainty to fall within a range: Enter the expression using the keyword ‘between,’ e.g. “between 1939-1949.” Assign the date a type of ‘inclusive,’ the ‘Begin’ field the first date in the range, and the ‘End’ date the last date in the range.

Field guidelines for Dates

Required fields will appear in bold.

Label
Description	The type of event related to the collection for which dates are pertinent. This field is required.
Local Rules	Select from the drop-down list.
Examples
ArchivesSpace Key	date.label
Expression
Description	A free-text representation of the date being encoded.
Local Rules	ArchivesSpace uses this field to generate dates for export of metadata into other formats, e.g. for <unitdate> in EAD, or for 245$f in MARC. Give the date of the subject matter/content in the collection, rather than the date of creation of the physical objects contained within (photocopies, digital surrogates, halftone reproductions, etc.). If the material being described is a reproduction, record the details about the reproduction, including the date(s) of reproduction, if known, in Scope and Content. Always record the earliest and latest dates of the subject matter in question; the span date. Format dates as necessary based on the formatting of the date field within the collections management database.
Examples
ArchivesSpace Key	date.expression
Type
Description	The type of date being encoded: single, bulk, or inclusive.
Local Rules	Select from the drop-down list. This field governs which machine-readable date fields are made available to the user in this sub-form: a 'Single' type will allow only for a 'Begin' field, while the other two options will allow for both 'Begin' and 'End' fields. In addition to its use in future faceted browsing applications in the ArchivesSpace PUI, the MARC exporter uses the 'Begin' and 'End' dates when populating control fields, so it is important to use both the human- and machine-readable date expressions.
Examples
ArchivesSpace Key	date.date_type
Begin
Description	The single date provided when the date type is singular, or the first date in the range when the date type is bulk or inclusive.
Local Rules	Dates are encoded as YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD.
Examples
ArchivesSpace Key	date.begin
End
Description	The last date in the range when the date type is bulk or inclusive.
Local Rules	Dates are encoded as YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD.
Examples
ArchivesSpace Key	date.end
Certainty
Description	The level of confidence for the information given in a date statement.
Local Rules	If you are uncertain about a date, you may choose an option from the drop-down list provided to indicate the level of uncertainty.
Examples
ArchivesSpace Key	date.certainty