Meet the New Cataloging Rules: RDA Resource Description and Access

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Meet the New Cataloging Rules RDA (Resource
Description and Access)

• Wyoming State Library Webinar
• January 14, 2009
• Susan Wynne

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Disclaimer
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Outline

• RDA process and history
• RDAs goals
• Foundations and influences
• Structure and terminology
• Approaches to some current problems
• Testing plans
• Controversies, questions, considerations
• Current timeline

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My perspective

• Early career
• Jack of all (cataloging) tradesmaster of none
• Struggling to understand RDA
• Goal for today present a balanced view of RDA as
  I understand it

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Whos responsible?

• Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA
  (JSC)
• JSC Chair and Canadian Committee on Cataloging
  rep, Margaret Stewart
• Australian Committee on Cataloging rep, Deirdre
  Kiorgaard (National Library of Australia)
• ALA rep, John Attig
• British Library rep, Alan Danskin
• CILIP rep, Hugh Taylor
• LC rep, Barbara Tillett
• Project Manager, Marjorie Bloss
• Editor, Tom Delsey
• JSC Secretary, Nathalie Schulz

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A brief (recent) history

• Work on the new standard began in 2004, and in
  the same year the Committee of Principals for
  AACR (CoP) appointed Tom Delsey as the Editor. In
  December 2004 a draft of part I of AACR3 was made
  available to the constituencies for review. In
  2005 a new approach was agreed on, and the
  decision made to adopt the title RDA Resource
  Description and Access. In December 2005, the
  draft of RDA part I was made available for
  review. Further drafts of RDA chapters were
  issued in 2006 and 2007. At the October 2007
  meeting, the JSC agreed on a new organization for
  RDA.
• From JSC web site http//www.collectionscanada.gc
  .ca/jsc/rda.htmlbackground

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Current status of RDA

• Full draft released in PDF November 17, 2008
• Draft is not yet available in its online
  incarnation
• Comment period currently open through February 2,
  2009
• PDFs available at http//www.rdaonline.org/constit
  uencyreview/
• Unofficial online quick-and-dirty demo version
  created by Bernhard Eversberg at
  http//www.biblio.tu-bs.de/db/wtr/content.htm

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Whats wrong with the current ways?

• AACR2 has been described as
• Difficult to adapt to digital resources
• Very complex and intricate
• Little used outside of library profession
• Some conventions still tied to the catalog card

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Are these issues the biggest threats to our
future?

• Library catalog records are still too isolated
  from the larger Web
• Catalog data is still not really able to be
  harvested, parsed, and manipulated by machines
• With thanks to Diane Hillmann and John Myers

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Some pieces of the puzzle

• The content (cataloging rules)
• The structure (MARC)
• The display (integrated library systems)

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What RDA is intended to be

• A content standard
• A set of guidelines
• Focused on user tasks
• An online product (with possible print
  derivatives)
• A more international standard
• An effort to make library catalog data play
  better in the Web environment
• 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

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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

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Foundations and influences

• FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic
  Records)
• FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data)
• AACR2
• Paris Principles, currently being updated by IFLA
  (Statement of International Cataloguing
  Principles draft)
• ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic
  Description) But RDA does not follow ISBD order
  and ISBD punctuation is no longer required.

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A crash course in FRBR

• Conceptual model of the bibliographic universe
• NOT a set of cataloging rules or a system design
  for library catalogs
• User tasks Find, Identify, Select, Obtain
• Based on entity-relationship theory (a database
  modeling technique)
• Entities (things), Attributes (characteristics),
  Relationships (interactions)

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FRBR Entities
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Work

• Abstract concept
• Distinct intellectual or artistic creation
• Cannot point to a single concrete example

• J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the Philosophers
  Stone
• the book as it was in the authors head!
• Note that a film version of this title is a
  different (but related) work

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Expression

• A realization of a work in some concrete form
  alphanumeric, musical notation, sound, image,
  objects, etc.
• Examples of different expressions include
  revisions, abridgements, translations, and
  arrangements of musical works

• A French translation of Harry Potter and the
  Philosophers Stone is a new expression

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Manifestation

• A physical embodiment of an expression
• Manifestations are what we typically catalog
• Changes to physical form or format with no
  changes to intellectual or artistic content
  result in new manifestations paper to microform,
  different publishers, etc.

• The American edition The British edition

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Item

• A single example of a manifestation
• Examples of variations among items include
  damaged copies, bound copies, autographed copies,
  etc.

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Examples of Group 1 attributes(characteristics
or properties)

• Work
• Title of the work
• Form of the work
• Date of the work
• Intended audience
• Context for the work
• and more

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Examples of Group 1 Attributes

• Expression
• Title of the expression
• Form of the expression
• Date of the expression
• Extent of the expression
• Language of the expression
• and more

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Examples of Group 1 Attributes

• Manifestation
• Title of the manifestation
• Statement of responsibility
• Publisher/distributor
• Date of publication/distribution
• Series statement
• Physical medium
• Form of the carrier
• Dimensions of the carrier
• and more

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Examples of Group 1 Attributes

• Item
• Item identifier
• Provenance of the item
• Marks/inscriptions
• Condition of the item
• Access restrictions on the item
• and a few more

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High-Level Relationships

• Diagram from FRBR report at http//www.ifla.org/V
  II/s13/frbr/frbr_2008.pdf

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High-Level Relationships

• Diagram from FRBR report at http//www.ifla.org/VI
  I/s13/frbr/frbr_2008.pdf

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High-Level Relationships

• Diagram from FRBR report at http//www.ifla.org/VI
  I/s13/frbr/frbr_2008.pdf

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More relationship examples work-to-work or
expression-to-work

• Sequel or other successive work
• Supplement
• Complementary work (cadenza, libretto, etc.)
• Summarization
• Adaptation
• Transformation (dramatization, screenplay,
  novelization)
• Imitation (parody, etc.)

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More relationship examples

• Whole/part relationships may occur at various
  levels and include chapters, volumes, issues,
  journal articles, etc.
• Abridgments, revisions, translations, and musical
  arrangements are at expression-to-expression
  level
• Manifestation-to-manifestation relationship types
  are reproduction or alternate (alternate format
  or simultaneously released edition)

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• From Barbara Tillett, What is FRBR? A Conceptual
  Model for the Bibliographic Universe, Library of
  Congress Cataloging Distribution Service, 2004,
  http//www.loc.gov/cds/downloads/FRBR.PDF.

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FRAD (even quicker)

• An extension of FRBR to name authority data
• To be published soon
• Current functions of authority data
• Concepts underlying the functions of authority
  data as a basis for future refinements and
  improvements
• User tasks Find, Identify, Contextualize,
  Justify
• Like FRBR, FRAD defines entities, attributes, and
  relationships, but is focused on personal,
  corporate, and family names and their controlled
  access points

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Statement of International Cataloguing Principles

• Draft available at http//www.ifla.org/VII/s13/icc
  /imeicc-statement_of_principles-2008.pdf
• Convenience of the user
• Common usage
• Representation
• Accuracy
• Sufficiency and necessity
• Significance
• Economy
• Standardization
• Integration
• Defensible and not Arbitrary
• From Barbara B. Tillett, FRBR and RDA Resource
  Description and Access, In Understanding FRBR
  What It Is and How It Will Affect Our Retrieval
  Tools, ed. Arlene G. Taylor ( Westport, Conn.
  Libraries Unlimited, 2007), 87-95.

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FRBR, FRAD, and RDA (oh my)

• Many of the concepts and principles are not
  necessarily newbut some of the applications may
  be
• RDA uses FRBR and FRAD terminology, which is new
  to many of us
• In FRBR, attributes and relationships are mapped
  to the four user tasks
• RDA elements are mapped to FRBR and FRAD
  entities, attributes and/or relationships
• http//www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/jsc/docs/5rda-f
  rbrmappingrev.pdf
• http//www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/jsc/docs/5rda-f
  radmapping.pdf
• Relationships and roles
• Linking entities to each other with less
  duplication of information and easier machine
  manipulation
• Reducing reliance on transcription and
  cataloger-created free-text notes

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Structure of RDA
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Structure of RDA
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RDA appendices

• Capitalization
• Abbreviations
• Initial articles
• Record syntaxes for descriptive data
• Record syntaxes for access point control data
• Additional instructions on names of persons
• Titles of nobility, terms of rank, etc.
• Dates in the Christian calendar
• Relationship designators (4 appendices)
• Complete examples

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New terminology
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RDA element set

• Mapped to FRBR and FRAD
• Compatible with ISBD, MARC21, and Dublin Core
• Defines elements for FRBR and FRAD attributes and
  relationships
• RDA Element Analysis http//www.collectionscanada.
  gc.ca/jsc/docs/5rda-elementanalysisrev.pdf
• Provisional registration of RDA element
  vocabulary http//metadataregistry.org/schema/show
  /id/1.html

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RDAs approach to

• Content/carrier problem (GMD and SMD)
• Multiple versions problem
• Abbreviations
• Main entry
• Rule of three
• Publication statements
• Facsimiles and reproductions

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Cataloger scenarios
http//dublincore.org/dcmirdataskgroup/Scenarios
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JSCs record structure scenarios

• 1 Separate records for all entities with linked
  identifiersmirroring the FRBR/RDA conceptual
  model (JSCs preferred approach)
• 2 Composite bibliographic records, with
  authority records representing each entity
• 3 Flat record approach with all Group 1
  entities on one record (this is the only scenario
  that MARC can accommodate)
• From Hillmann, Diane. Facing Forward The
  Challenges Facing Catalogers. http//ecommons.lib
  rary.cornell.edu/handle/1813/11536

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RDA and MARC?

• RDA/MARC Working Group is to propose changes to
  MARC21 to accommodate encoding of RDA data
• MARC is only one possible encoding schema for RDA
  data
• RDA online product will include mappings to MARC
  (current PDF draft has mappings to MARC21 in
  Appendix D)
• JSC has gradually backed away from their
  original stance that RDA could be expressed
  easily in MARC21Diane Hillmann

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RDA-Dublin Core Collaboration

• Define RDA element set and vocabularies
• Develop Dublin Core/RDA application profile
• DCMI/RDA Working Group established April 2007
• Make bibliographic elements usable in Semantic
  Web applications and citable with Uniform
  Resource Identifiers (URIs)
• Based on RDF (Resource Description Framework)

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Online Product Planned Features

• Browse and Search text (chapters and appendices)
• RDA-AACR2 Mappings
• Mappings to Dublin Core, ISBD, MARC
• Full or Core View options
• Workflows and examples for different formats and
  types of resources
• Links to external resources
• Customizable views and settings
• Demo from the IFLA Satellite Meeting, August
  2008 http//www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/jsc/docs/
  iflasatellite-20080808-demo.pdf

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Testing

• Six months
• Coordinated by U.S. national libraries LC, NAL,
  NLM
• Also includes PCC libraries of varying sizes,
  some archives, ILS vendors, OCLC
• RDA itself and compared to AACR2

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Testing

• Feasibility of creating bibliographic data and
  populating MARC record
• Workflow and time comparison to AACR2
• Determination of possible changes to MARC to
  accommodate data created using RDA
• Financial impact of training, workflow, and
  workflow adjustments
• Usability for catalogers, by systems, ability of
  users to locate desired information
• Co-existence of RDA and AACR2 records
• Integration between online product and other
  tools
• System development needed for implementation

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Controversies, questions, considerations

• Cost and accessibility of online product
• Too radical or not radical enough?
• Drafts have been difficult to understand and
  inconsistent
• Has FRBR been tested enough?
• FRBR model doesnt apply equally well to all
  types of materials
• WoGroFuBiCos recommendation to suspend work on
  RDA

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Controversies, questions, considerations

• Internationalization vs. Anglo-American
  membership on JSC
• Flexibility and adaptability vs. specificity and
  detail
• Break with the past vs. compatibility with legacy
  data
• Simplicity and ease of use vs. length and FRBR
  jargon
• What is OCLC going to do?
• and others (see blogs, lists, and other
  resources for more information)

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Current timeline

• Full draft released in PDF November 17, 2008
• Comment period on full draft ends February 2,
  2009
• JSC compiles comments at March 2009 meeting
• RDA content finalized 2nd quarter 2009
• RDA release, 3rd quarter 2009
• Testing by national libraries, 3rd-4th quarters
  2009
• Analysis and evaluation of testing by national
  libraries, 1st-2nd quarters 2010
• Implementation? 3rd-4th quarters 2010

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RDA Implementation Task Force

• Chair, Dr. Shawne Miksa
• Planning training and continuing education
• Look for a preconference and a program at ALA
  Annual in Chicago
• Coordination with regional service providers,
  regional and state library associations
• Train the trainer and road show speakers

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Selected resources

• http//delicious.com/wynne_susan/rda_webinar

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Will RDA be the answer?
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What should I be doing right now?

• Get familiar with FRBR and RDA terminology
• Explore the RDA website and other
  resourcesofficial and unofficial
• Watch discussion lists and blogs for discussions
  and updates
• Ask questions, talk with colleagues, participate
  in the online discussions
• Submit comments to JSC
• Keep an open mind
• Be prepared for change, even if RDA dies
• And, most importantly

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Acknowledgments

• Diane Hillmann
• Heidi Hoerman
• Shawne Miksa
• Tami Morse McGill
• Nanette Naught/Chris Oliver
• Glenn Patton
• Barbara Tillett
• Bloggers Christine Schwartz, Karen Coyle,
  William Denton, Karen G. Schneider

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• Questions?
• Thanks for attending!
• Contact me at swynne_at_uwyo.edu or 307-766-2433