Getting Ready for RDA: Preparing for the Transition

1. Getting Ready for RDA: Preparing for the Transition Rick J. Block Columbia University

2. “Still I can not help thinking that the golden age of cataloging is over, and that the difficulties and discussions which have furnished an innocent pleasure to so many will interest them no more. Another lost art.” Charles A. Cutter Preface, 4th ed. Rules for a Dictionary Catalog (1904)

3. “Several principles direct the construction of cataloguing codes. The highest is the convenience of the user.” Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (IFLA, 2009)

4. Deja Vu All Over Again! • The War of AACR2: Victors or Victims. • Charles Martell. Journal of Academic Librarianship. Vol. 7. no. 1 (1981) • The War of AACR2 • Michael Gorman. Our Singular Strengths: Meditations for Librarians

5. Charles Martell: Suggestions • Implement user advocacy procedures • Actively involve in all phases of catalog code development public-service-oriented librarians … as well as computer technologists • Commission formal studies of catalog use • Commission cost studies in the final stages of draft revision • Enumerate the benefits to be derived from the code changes in language that can be understood clearly by the layman

6. Naming the Code • RDA – an international standard • Took “Anglo-American” out of title • Even AACR2 used internationally • Translated into 25 different languages • Used in 45 countries outside the U.S. • Took “Cataloguing” out of title • “Resource description” better understood by metadata communities • Will still include basic principles of bibliographic description

7. Why New Cataloging Rules? • Feeling that continued revision of AACR2 not sufficient to address issues • Evolving formats, including items that belong to more than one class of material • Limitations with existing GMDs and SMDs • Integrating resources • Separation of “content” and “carrier” concepts • Integrate FRBR principles

8. RDA Big Picture Concepts • Designed for the digital world • Founded on AACR • Informed by FRBR and FRAR • Consistent, flexible and extensible framework • Compatible with international principles, models and standards • Useable outside the library community

9. Why Not AACR3? AACR3

10. Why Not AACR3? • Reviewers of AACR3 Part I (2004-05) identified areas for improvement: • Proposed structure of rules – too awkward • More metadata-friendly; less library jargon • More connection to FRBR • Modify the connection of the rules to ISBD • Changes need to be significant enough to merit a new cataloging code, but records still need to be compatible with AACR2

11. RDA is … • “RDA is a content standard, not a display standard and not a metadata schema. RDA is a set of guidelines that indicates how to describe a resource, focusing on the pieces of information (or attributes) that a user is most likely to need to know. It also encourages the description of relationships between related resources and between resources and persons or bodies that contributed to creation of that resource.” (Oliver, 2007, Changing to RDA)

12. RDA will be … • A new standard for resource description and access • Designed for the digitalworld • Optimized for use as an online product • Description and access of all resources • All types of content and media • Resulting records usable in the digital environment (Internet, Web OPACs, etc.)

13. A two-slide history of AACR (1) • 1967 – AACR 1st ed. • 1978 – AACR2 • 1988 • 1998 • 2002 • 2005 (last update)

14. A two-slide history of AACR (2) Logical structure of AACR2 AACR2 & catalogue production Beyond MARC • International Conference on the Principles & Future Development of AACR (1997) • International Conference on the Principles & Future Development of AACR (1997) Issues related to seriality What is a work? Content versus carrier Access points for works Bibliographic relationships

15. AACR2 Part 1 1. General 2. Books, Pamphlets, and Printed Sheets 3. Cartographic Materials 4. Manuscripts 5. Printed Music 6. Sound Recordings 7. Motion Pictures and Video recordings 8. Graphic Materials 9. Electronic Resources 10. Three-Dimensional Artefacts and Realia 11. Microforms 12. Continuing Resources 13. Analysis

16. AACR2 Part 1 1. General 2. Books, Pamphlets, and Printed Sheets 3. Cartographic Materials 4. Manuscripts 5. Printed Music 6. Sound Recordings 7. Motion Pictures and Video recordings 8. Graphic Materials 9. Electronic Resources 10. Three-Dimensional Artefacts and Realia 11. Microforms 12. Continuing Resources 13. Analysis 14. Podcats

17. RDA … • A FRBR-based approach to structuring bibliographic data • More explicitly machine-friendly linkages (preferably with URIs) • More emphasis on relationships and roles • Less reliance on cataloger-created notes and text strings (particularly for identification)

18. What RDA is intended to be • A content standard • A set of guidelines • Focused on user tasks (Find, Identify, Select, Obtain mantra throughout) • An online product (with possible print “derivatives”) • A more international standard • An effort to make library catalog data play better in the Web environment

19. What RDA is intended to be • Change in view from classes of materials in libraries to elements and relationships for entities in the bibliographic universe • May be used with many encoding schema such as MODS, MARC, Dublin Core • An attempt to improve the way we describe and present relationships among resources and bibliographic entities • Flexible and adaptable

20. What it is NOT intended to be • A display or presentation standard • A metadata schema • A rigid set of rules • Structured around ISBD areas and elements • Instructions on creating and formatting subject headings (yet) • Instructions on classification numbers

21. Goals of RDA • Provide consistent, flexible, and extensible framework for description of all types of resources and all types of content • Be compatible with internationally established principles, models and standards • Be usable primarily within the library community, but be capable of adaptation for other communities (e.g. archives and museums) • Be compatible with descriptions and access points devised using AACR2 in existing catalogs and databases

22. Goals of RDA • Written in plain English, and able to be used in other language communities • Be independent of the format, medium, or system used to store or communicate this data • Be readily adaptable to newly-emerging database structures

23. Foundations and Influences • FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) • FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data) • AACR2 • Paris Principles (“Statement of International Cataloguing Principles” 2009 version) • ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description) But RDA does not follow ISBD order and ISBD punctuation is no longer required.

24. Convenience of user Representation Common usage Accuracy Sufficiency and necessity Significance Economy Consistency and Standardization Integration Defensible, not arbitrary If contradict, take a defensible, practical solution. General Principles (ICP)

25. OCLC Webinar Polling Question 1 What one intended benefit of RDA is the most important to your library? • RDA will be simpler than AACR2 and cost effective for libraries to implement and use • RDA will facilitate future library metadata approaches incorporating machine manipulation of metadata • RDA will make library metadata more interoperable and useful in a digital, Web-based world • RDA will be more responsive to users’ finding, identifying, selecting and obtaining wanted information from library catalogs and similar tools • Some other benefit

27. OCLC Webinar Polling Question 2 What, if any, steps are you or your library taking toward implementing RDA? Changing our cataloging practices Attending RDA sessions and reading RDA materials Participating in standards work Waiting to see how others proceed Some combination of the above No plans for implementation

29. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Article by Alison Hitchens (University of Waterloo Library) and Ellen Symons (Queen’s University Library) • Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, 47(8), 691-707.

30. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • FRBR: Do not assume all catalogers have had opportunity to learn FRBR • RDA includes FRBR terminology • RDA addresses FRBR relationships • RDA uses FRBR tasks as basis for core data elements

31. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Vocabulary: Start using new terminology on a daily basis • RDA chapters aligned with FRBR entities and user tasks • Make sure all catalogers understand meaning of all FRBR terms • RDA Toolkit does include imbedded glossary • Emphasize that although terminology has changed, the same information is being used to describe resources

32. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Structure of RDA vs. AACR • Will be useful to provide an orientation on how RDA is structured • Dramatically changed from AACR2 • Chapters no longer based on format but elements of description for each FRBR entity • Chapters no longer based on ISBD areas of description • Internal organization of each chapter should also be highlighted • May want to map commonly used rules from AACR2 to RDA • Play “where did that rule go?” • RDA includes an AACR2/RDA mapping table

33. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Rule changes • Experienced catalogers will need to consult rules frequently and should get back into the habit of looking up rules even for things they know • Highlight rule changes that affect everyday cataloging • Changes to MARC should be highlighted

34. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Options in RDA • Catalogers need to know what to do when options are encountered in RDA • Three options • Rules labeled “alternative” • Optional vs. core elements • “If considered to be important for …” • Library of Congress Policy Statements (LCPSs) replacing LCRIs?

35. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Options in RDA • Process for defining local options • Impact on OPAC and discovery tools • Any impact on copy cataloging • Reliance on catalogers’ judgment • RDA described as “rules to aid cataloger judgment”

36. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Update cheat sheets and manuals • Either delete old manuals or bring them up to date with RDA • References to rule numbers must be changed • This is a good opportunity to review manuals and training materials • Some cheat sheets may be replaced by workflow feature of RDA Toolkit

37. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Training formats • In-house group sessions • Allow catalogers within an institution to be trained at same time and be at the same level of knowledge of RDA • First need to train the trainer • RDA Toolkit workflows will aid in training, including “public” workflows • Trainers will want to create some workflows that will be used locally • May need to follow up with some one-on-one training

38. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Other Training formats • Web-based courses • Local/regional/national workshops • May want to take initiative to organize workshops at the local level • One-on-one training • Train the trainer

39. Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training • Compare RDA to AACR2 • Give concrete examples of how RDA and AACR2 are different and similar • Provide links to listservs, blogs, and other sources of good information • Make sure that people understand the new vocabulary of RDA • Update or create new manuals • Provide step by step concrete examples that help people learn how to use RDA to do their work

40. Webinars • Take advantage of webinars • Resource Description and Access: Background/Overview. (May 14, 2008. 67 minutes) • http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4320 • Cataloging Principles and RDA: Resource Description and Access. (June 10, 2008. 49 minutes) • http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4327 • FRBR: Things You Should Know but Were Afraid to Ask. (March 4, 2009. 57 minutes) • http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4554

41. Webinars • RDA Toolkit: A Guided Tour • http://www.rdatoolkit.org/training/guidedtour • RDA And OCLC Webinar • http://www.oclc.org/us/en/news/websessions/recorded.htm

42. Review • Library of Congress Documentation for the RDA Test • http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/RDAtest/rdatest.html

43. Review • Adam Schiff’s Changes from AACR2 to RDA: A Comparison of Examples • http://eprints.rclis.org/18328/1/BCLAPresentation_20100427.pdf

44. Review • Barbara Tillett’s Examples for RDA – compared to AACR2 • http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/rda_examples-rev04-15-2009.pdf • http://www.columbia.edu/~rjb57/rda_examples.doc

45. Review • RDA in MARC • http://www.loc.gov/marc/RDAinMARC29.html

46. Follow • RDA and OCLC • http://www.oclc.org/rda/default.htm

47. Thinking Ahead • Consider budgetary impacts of licensing RDA • Consider budgetary impacts of RDA training • Consider impact on productivity during the implementation and bedding in period • Do you need to adjust targets? • Is your system vendor aware of RDA? • Import/export profiles • Vendors must consider re-design of their systems in order to incorporate new functionality of bibliographic and authority data • Are there internal impacts on your catalog?

48. What do I Need to Learn? • RDA now outlines the first step in creating a catalog record as deciding on the type of description to be represented, and not deciding on format, although format is still integral • Types of description (rules 1.2) • Comprehensive, analytical, or multi-level description • More emphasis on showing bibliographic relationships (e.g., taxonomy of bibliographic relationships) in order to better allow clustering of records • Read--works by B. Tillett, R. Smiraglia, M. Yee

49. RDA is successor to AACR2 • but is not AACR3 -- RDA is different from AACR2 • Next slides from RDA Test Training

50. RDA based on IFLA’s international models and principles • Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR; 1998) • Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD; 2009) • Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP; 2009)