Date <unitdate normal="YYYY">

Mandatory

The date(s) of the unit of description
The normalised date is used by the Hub for providing a date search to users

local

Display date: No requirements (see below for recommendations)
Normalised date: YYYY or YYYY/YYYY

For ongoing use YYYY/9999

Mandatory at all levels

• NCA Rules are useful for circa, floruit and periods within a century

• For an open date, use [ongoing] to make it clear that there is no end date; add 9999 to the normalised date: YYYY/9999

• Provide calendar dates in their modern format

• Include the century and not just the decade

• Try to avoid using 'no date' but give an approximation (see NCA Rules)

• Avoid Roman numerals

• Where collections are reproductions of earlier materials, and where the original material is likely to be of primary interest to users, indicate the date of the originals as a subordinate date: 1734-1755 (transcripts of 14th century originals)

• DD month YYYY is a preferred format for display but this is not mandatory

• Multiple, discrete dates are not acceptable within one normalised date entry.