Why RDA?

Canadian Association of Law Libraries

May 26th, 2008

CALL/ACBD Liaison to Canadian Committee on Cataloguing F. Tim Knight

York University Law Library

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Why RDA?Why RDA?

Very brief history of AACR Evolution of bibliographic/information

space AACR in the current information space Goals of RDA in the current/future

information space Getting involved with the development of

RDA

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“Still I can not help thinking that the golden age of cataloging is

over ...”

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“Still I can not help thinking that the golden age of cataloging is

over ...”

Charles A. CutterPreface, 4th ed. Rules for a Dictionary Catalog

(1904)

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WHY RDA?

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A Brief History of AACRA Brief History of AACR

English and American authorities agree to work together to create one set of

cataloguing rules (1904)

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A Brief History of AACRA Brief History of AACR

AACR first appears 1967

AACR2 in 1978 with significant revisions in 1988, 2002 and 2004

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AACR Becomes RDA?AACR Becomes RDA?

Shortly after the last revision in 2004 the draft of a new edition to be called AACR3

appears

However, it soon became evident that a major overall in structure and purpose

was necessary

A year later, in 2005, the first draft of a new cataloguing standard Resource Description & Access was presented

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Resource Description & AccessResource Description & Access

WHY RDA?

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Bibliographic SpaceEvolution of Bibliographic Space

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Evolution of Information SpaceEvolution of Information Space

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Hold it!

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AACR Has Evolved TooAACR Has Evolved Too

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AACR Has Evolved TooAACR Has Evolved Too

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Information Space in a Digital WorldInformation Space in a Digital World

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Ones and ZerosOnes and Zeros11001100100data0100100100100100100books011001001010011001digitized100010111101001110001music100101001010journals01100110100spoken_word01101011010011001podcasts100010001001000100010010electronic10010001101010legislation01010100100010001blogs10001010000100000100010111110111010wikis1001110011000100111100111010011video100111001110010001audio011011101010011001images100100101010110maps10011000110manuscripts10011010010001case_law1000111011011010010

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AACR Has Evolved TooAACR Has Evolved Too

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AACR RevolvesAACR Revolves

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RDA to Save the Day?RDA to Save the Day?

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RDA and the 'Digital World'RDA and the 'Digital World'

RDA intends to be a new standard for description and access designed for use in

the 'digital world'

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RDA Describes the 'Digital World'RDA Describes the 'Digital World'

The guidelines and instructions will

describe all types of resources, including analog, digital and online

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RDA is a Content StandardRDA is a Content Standard

Emphasis on content means the guidelines can be easily used or extended to cover

the description of new emerging resources

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RDA in the Digital WorldRDA in the Digital World

The descriptions will be used in the digital environment enabling use in a variety of

resource discovery services including web-based catalogues

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RDA in the Digital WorldRDA in the Digital World

The standard itself will be a web-based tool

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RDA Provides Logical GuidelinesRDA Provides Logical Guidelines

The aim is to present a structured sequence that will help lead the

cataloguer through a logical decision process

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RDA Simplifies the ProcessRDA Simplifies the Process

Any special instructions for specific types of resources will be minimized and will

appear as part of the general instructions as necessary

(e.g. law, music, etc.)

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RDA Based on Shared PrinciplesRDA Based on Shared Principles

With a clear conceptual framework based on FRBR and FRAD the cataloguer will be

equipped to make better and more consistent decisions based on shared

principles

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RDA Simplifies the ProcessRDA Simplifies the Process

Simpler instructions with clear and concise language will make the rules both

easier to learn and to apply

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RDA Reduces CostsRDA Reduces Costs

This should help reduce the cost of creating resource descriptions while

enabling more descriptions to be created

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RDA Identifies RelationshipsRDA Identifies Relationships

Relationships between information resources will be identified and clarified allowing for easier selection of relevant

materials

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RDA Reaches Out to OthersRDA Reaches Out to Others

Consultations with other communities (e.g. archives, museums, publishers,

educators, book dealers, ILS vendors, etc.) will align the efforts of RDA and the

metadata standards used in those communities

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RDA Reaches Out to OthersRDA Reaches Out to Others

With a focus on content rather than display the possibility for RDA to be used

outside the library community in a broader range of metadata communities is

more likely

e.g. MARC, Dublin Core, ONIX, IEEE-LOM

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RDA Incorporates Existing Metadata RDA Incorporates Existing Metadata

Sharing metadata (tables of contents, reviews, classification, etc.) between

communities can enhance the metadata provided to the information users

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RDA Improves AccessRDA Improves Access

If metadata communities shared the same content standard, this could potentially improve search results across different information repositories and databases

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RDA Summary (1)RDA Summary (1)

Digital World

Designed for Use in the Digital WorldAims to Describe Both Analogue & Digital Is a Content Standard not a Display Standard

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RDA Summary (2)RDA Summary (2)

Simplifying the Process

Provide Logical Guidelines & InstructionsBased on Shared PrinciplesSimplifies the Process of Creating MetadataReduces Costs of Creating Metadata

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RDA Summary (3)RDA Summary (3)

Identify Relationships

Identifies Relationships Between ResourcesUses Existing Metadata Where PossibleImproves Access to Information ResourcesReaches Out to Other Metadata Communities

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Development of RDADevelopment of RDAJoint Steering Committee for Development of RDA (JSC)

Deirdre Kiorgaard, National Library of Australia (Chair)John Attig, Pennsylvania State UniversityAlan Danskin, British LibraryMargaret Stewart, Library & Archives CanadaHugh Taylor, Cambridge University LibraryBarbara Tillett, Library of Congress

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Development of RDADevelopment of RDAJoint Steering Committee for Development of RDA (JSC)

American Library Association (ALA)Australian Committee on Cataloguing (ACOC)British Library (BL)Canadian Committee on Cataloguing (CCC)Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)Library of Congress (LC)

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Development of RDADevelopment of RDA

Canadian Committee on Cataloguing

Christine Oliver, Lynn Howarth (CLA)Alain Bélair (ASTED)Liz McKeen, Marg Stewart (LAC)Mary Curran (CARL)Daniel Paradis (CAML)Alberta Wood (ACML)Tim Knight (CALL)Gerald Stone (CCA)John Leide (SLA)Grant Campbell (CCIS/CAIS)

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Ongoing Development of RDA Ongoing Development of RDA

The first full draft of RDA is expected to be released by the JSC in August, 2008.

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/working1.html

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Participate in RDA DevelopmentParticipate in RDA Development

Canadian Committee on Cataloguing

CCC Secretariat at ccc-l@lac-bac.gc.caChristine Oliver (Chair)

chris.oliver@mcgill.caF. Tim Knight tknight@osgoode.yorku.ca

Discussion list RDA-L http://www.collectionscanada.ca/jsc/rdadiscuss.html

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“The highest principle for the construction of cataloguing codes should be the

convenience of the users of the catalogue.”

Statement of International Cataloguing Principles, IFLA IME ICC, 2003