Gaudet, FRBR, AACR2 and RDA: Changes in Cataloging
Catching up on past blog mentions: Dodie Gaudet’s FRBR, AACR2 and RDA: Changes in Cataloging from mid-October is a general overview of what’s going on with said acronyms and standards, aimed at her colleagues in Massachusetts.
However, it seems that very few people are happy with RDA. Many think the guidelines are too general and will result in inconsistent bibliographic records that are less likely to be shared among libraries. Others feel RDA is too much like AACR2 and will not be as easy to use for non-print media as they had hoped.
What does all of this mean for the cataloger in a small library that uses Library of Congress or OCLC for its source of cataloging? Probably not much right now. RDA is due out in the spring of 2009, and that’s an optimistic goal. The bibliographic records for books, CDs, and DVDs will likely continue to look very much the same for a while. The biggest impact will be on the “one of a kind” works.