Question

DC includes an element called “Date”. You display it like this:

<meta name="dc.Date" content="2011-06-28" />

But the idea of qualifiers lets you have a “Date Created” and “Date Updated.” But is there a way to embed this correctly? I’ve seen this a couple ways:

<meta name="dc.Date" content="(Scheme=Created) 2011-06-28" />
<meta name="dc.Date" content="2011-06-28" scheme="Created" />

Is there a standard?

Answer 1

As I read the spec these things you are talking about are Element Refinements (like created, modified, etc. for date).

Element Refinement: These qualifiers
make the meaning of an element
narrower or more specific. A refined
element shares the meaning of the
unqualified element, but with a more
restricted scope. A client that does
not understand a specific element
refinement term should be able to
ignore the qualifier and treat the
metadata value as if it were an
unqualified (broader) element. The
definitions of element refinement
terms for qualifiers must be publicly
available.

from dublincore.org

The spec suggests two equivalent ways of writing:

<meta name="DC.Date.modified" content="2001-07-18" />
<meta name="DCTERMS.modified" content="2001-07-18" />

---

A Scheme that you mention is used to define encoding, formatting of data. For example for dates, it can either be DCMI Period or W3C-DTF as seen on this page.

Encoding Scheme: These qualifiers
identify schemes that aid in the
interpretation of an element value.
These schemes include controlled
vocabularies and formal notations or
parsing rules. A value expressed using
an encoding scheme will thus be a
token selected from a controlled
vocabulary (e.g., a term from a
classification system or set of
subject headings) or a string
formatted in accordance with a formal
notation (e.g., “2000-01-01” as the
standard expression of a date). If an
encoding scheme is not understood by a
client or agent, the value may still
be useful to a human reader. The
definitive description of an encoding
scheme for qualifiers must be clearly
identified and available for public
use.

from dublincore.org

They can be used like:

<meta name="DC.date" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" content="2001-07-18" />