After AACR2: Content standards for resource description and access

Matthew Beacom, Yale

RDA will be:

• Multinational content standard providing bibliographic description and access for a variety of media and formats collected by libraries today.
• Developed for use in English language environment; it can also be used in other language communities.
• Independence of format (i.e., like MARC21)
• Will support FRBR tags
• Enable users of library catalogs, etc., to find and user resources appropriate to their information needs.

Who develops and supports RDA:

• ALA CC:DA, ACOC, BL, CCC, CILIP, LC, etc.

“New” Part A (formally part I) for RDA:

1. Introduction
2. General Guidelines for resource description
3. Identification of the resource
4. Technical description — FRBR “Select”
5. Content description — FRBR “Select”
6. Terms of availability — FRBR “Obtain”
7. Item specific information (Now sprinkled through the proposal)

Chapters 6-7 — FRBR Find

• Relationships between FRBR and Group 1
  • works
  • expressions
  • manifestations
  • items
• Relationships between FRBR Group 1 and Group 2 entities
  • persons
  • corporate bodies
  • families

“New” Part B

• General guidelines for Access point control
• Authorized forms
• Variant forms

Some “big issues”

• Its a compromise between AACR2 and what’s new.
  • Means compatibility is important
  • needed to maintain international agreements
• Content vs. display
  • RDA will be a content, not display standard
• Transcription
  • How important is data transcription to record identification?

Questions:

How many countries are involved in the RDA development?
US, Canada, UK and Australia.

–TR