RDA: Resource Description and Access

Resource Description and Access (RDA) is the working title for the new edition of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules.

Although the content of the new edition will be built on AACR2, and records resulting from use of the new edition will be compatible with those created in the past, what is being developed is in effect a new standard for resource description and access, designed for the digital world.

The Joint Steering Committee for Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules has agreed that there needs to be increased consultation with stakeholders, in parallel with the revision process. Major stakeholders for the new edition include not only the JSC constituencies who have traditionally had a role in defining the content of AACR, but also library administrators, system developers, metadata communities, MARC format developers, and international programs such as the Program for Cooperative Cataloging, the ISSN International Centre, and IFLA.

The Prospectus for RDA: Resource Description and Access provides further information.

RDA: a new international standard is an article by Ann Chapman published in Ariadne, issue 49 (Oct 2006).

A prototype of RDA Online, the online (and main) version of Resource Description and Access, is available for comment. The prototype is intended to demonstrate the functionality of the software; the draft RDA rules included are for illustration only.