The RDA Update Forum was well-attended. For those who have not previously heard of RDA, it is to be the replacement for the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR), otherwise known as the cataloger's bible. It has been in development for a number of years by the Joint Steering Committee (JSC). RDA stands for Resource Description and Access.
The RDA comment period within ALA has ended and the RDA full draft is complete. From here, the RDA full draft will go to the developers for coding. A demo of RDA will be made available in February. RDA will be published as a Web product. Data dictionaries and schemes will be free, but the tools, rules/handbook, and other related sources would follow a subscription model. The model will likely be based on the number of concurrent users. They are also working on a no-cost access model for those in developing countries.
When asked about the future of a concise version of RDA, the audience was told the JSC considers it a separate work which would require a re-write and a new editor. In the past, AACR has been accompanied by a concise version available for purchase.
Beecher Wiggins of LC discussed how RDA will be tested by the national libraries (LC, NLM, National Agriculture Library). Testing is to be done with existing systems (ILS, MARC format, etc.) and will likely involve at lest 20 separate testers. Testing is currently slated to last 6 months with half of the time dedicated to training and the other half dedicated to actual testing. At this point, testing will focus on traditional print materials. LC is planning to bring other groups into the testing process (e.g., DCMI group, developers outside of libraries). LC intends to post the testing methodology to their Web site in the near future. Should RDA pass through the testing, implementation will occur no sooner than March 2010.
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