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<string-date> Date as a String

Date represented as text.

Usage/Remarks

This element has historically described dates for which months and years were not given (for example, “In apple blossom time”). In current usage, the <string-date> element is typically used for to tag any date that is:
  • Represented as a sequence of characters and punctuation (for example, “January, 2001” or “Fall—Winter 2022”), or
  • Uses a date order (for example, month-day-year: “March 11, 2023”) other than the strict day-month-year or season-year enforced by the <date> element.

Tagging Years and Days

One best practice is to tag the <year>, <month>, and/or <day> or season (<season>) within the <string-date>. So “January, 2021” would become: 
<string-date><month>January</month>, <year>2021</year></string-date>
Another school of best practice agrees that these elements should be tagged, but believes that dates should always be tagged as integer numbers, not as strings such as “<month>January</month>”. Thus the date “January 13, 2023” would be tagged as: 
...
<month>01</month> <day>13</day>,  
<year iso-8601-date="2023-01-13">2023</year>
...

Archiving Note: Use of <string-date> in <date>

The Archiving Tag Set allows <string-date> both inside <date> and at the same level as <date>. This flexibility enables preservation of nearly any publisher’s structure. However, the use of <string-date> within <date> is to be discouraged generally and reserved only for recording cover dates.
Attributes
calendar
content-type
iso-8601-date
specific-use

Multi-lang Attributes

lang-focus
lang-focus-custom
lang-group
lang-source
lang-source-custom
lang-translate
lang-variant
lang-variant-custom

Base Attributes

id
xml:base
xml:lang
Models and Context
May be contained in
<date>, <element-citation>, <event>, <event-desc>, <history>, <mixed-citation>, <product>, <pub-date>, <related-article>, <related-object>
Description
Any combination of:
Content Model
<!ELEMENT  string-date  (#PCDATA %string-date-elements;)*            >
Expanded Content Model

(#PCDATA | email | ext-link | uri | inline-supplementary-material | related-article | related-object | hr | bold | fixed-case | italic | monospace | overline | overline-start | overline-end | roman | sans-serif | sc | strike | underline | underline-start | underline-end | ruby | alternatives | inline-graphic | inline-media | private-char | chem-struct | inline-formula | tex-math | mml:math | abbrev | index-term | index-term-range-end | milestone-end | milestone-start | named-content | styled-content | fn | target | xref | sub | sup | x | day | era | month | season | year)*

Tagged Samples
Lifecycle (history) date 
...
<date date-type="online" specific-use="metadata" 
  iso-8601-date="2012-05-03T08:47:08">
 <string-date>2012-05-03T08:47:08</string-date>
</date>
...
Element citation 
...
<ref id="B12">
 <label>[12 Lapeyre]</label>
 <element-citation>
  <string-name>Rene Lapeyre du Fontclaire Carnu, IV</string-name>
  <article-title>Foraminifera of the Lower Hellstooth</article-title>
  <source>Local Paleo</source>
  <string-date iso-8601-date="1924">Some time before
   <year>1924</year></string-date>
  <publisher-loc>Rockville, MD</publisher-loc>
 </element-citation>
</ref>
...