Allyson Carlyle of the University of Washington iSchool gave a short presentation at the ALA Member Pavilion on July 12th. She provided a very basic overview and said not to worry if your institution has not done much to address RDA and the changes it will bring. Here is her Top 10 List:
- RDA stands for Resource Description and Access
- RDA is not AACR2 - it is in some ways more and other ways less than a cataloging code. RDA is an element set; it more clearly presents a set of cataloging elements (like author and title); but it is not a display standard, so it does not require ISBD punctuation.
- RDA is intended to play well with other metadata standards (other information systems) and communities.
- RDA is intended to play well with new and emerging document types.
- RDA incorporates a number of new models/standards, including, among others, IFLA's FRBR and its new Statement of International Cataloging Principles.
- RDA will be a web product.
- RDA will result in only a few major changes to records (probably).
- A few things not to like about it: We don't know how much it will cost to use a new set of rules, and We don't know how much it will cost to access RDA itself.
- A few things to like about it: GMD will disappear, replaced by carrier type, media type, and content type, More support for non-Roman scripts, No more rule of three, No more (almost) abbreviations, and Authority records can have information about authors like gender and birthplace.
- Don't hold your breath waiting for RDA - it's not finished yet.
For more information about RDA.
Sally Gibson
