Nota Bene: It is highly recommended that the user of this document read the Introduction to obtain a fuller understanding of Dublin Core and its implementation.
The coverage element is the hardest of the fifteen elements to grasp. Luckily, it is also an element few people will ever need to use. Coverage is intended to provide the spatial location and temporal duration of the document. From this short italicized phrase, everyone knows they are already in trouble and need to quit while their ahead. Actually, its not so bad once you think about it. Familiar data in the example will also nip it in the bud. The Table comes first:
| TYPE | SCHEME | LANG |
|---|---|---|
(default=English) Standard ISO 639 | ||
(Latitute and Longitude) | ||
The average Web author would more than likely skip over this element. But it could be used in some instances for DLOs containing chiefly historical information for content. For instance, a refereed (or unrefereed for that matter) journal article might have as its subject matter the art work of Michelangelo (1475-1564), the metadata might look like this:
<META NAME="DC.coverage" CONTENT="16th Century Italy"
The spatial characteristic is Italy and the temporal characteristic is 16th century.
The other SCHEMEs deal with cartographic DLOs (maps) and will not be explained here. Indepth explanations of the coverage element, particularly in regard to cartographic DLOs, can be obtained by reading Dublin Core Element: Coverage.
Please send your questions, comments, or suggestions to
gfrost@valdosta.edu
Copyright ©1997 by Guy Frost
Last Updated July 27, 1997