Designed for the digital world and an expanding universe of metadata users, RDA: Resource Description and Access is the new, unified cataloging standard—an evolution of the cataloging principles from AACR2, with rules carried over or adapted to the RDA model.
Benefits of RDA include:
A structure based on the conceptual models of FRBR (functional requirements for bibliographic data) and FRAD (functional requirements for authority data) to help catalog users find the information they need more easily
A flexible framework for content description of digital resources that also serves the needs of libraries organizing traditional resources
A better fit with emerging database technologies, enabling institutions to introduce efficiencies in data capture and storage retrieval
The online RDA Toolkit subscription (subscribe here) provides a one-stop resource for evaluating and implementing RDA, and is the most effective way to interact with the new standard. It includes searchable and browseable RDA instructions; two views of RDA content, by table of contents and by element set (read more about RDA Element Set View); user-created and sharable workflows and mappings—tools to customize RDA to support your organization’s training, internal processes, and local policies; links to other relevant cataloging resources; and searchable and browseable full text of AACR2 with links from AACR2 to RDA.
This full-text print version of RDA offers a snapshot that serves as an offline access point to help solo and part-time catalogers evaluate RDA, as well as to support training and classroom use in any size institution. An index is included. The online RDA Toolkit includes PDFs, but purchasing the print version offers a convenient, time-saving option.
