RDA Cataloging

RDA or Resource Description and Access is a new cataloging standard that will upgrade the Online Catalog at Rowan Public Library after the New Year.

The purpose of this standard is to provide a set of guidelines and instructions to support resource discovery.  It is designed to focus attention on the catalog user and the tasks they carry out when they are searching the library online catalog.

There have been many changes in cataloging over the past fifty years and not just because of the growth of new types of publications and new types of content, but also because we live in an online networked world that has changed the way the library and its users go about their work.

RDA was designed by the library community for its use, but one of the stated goals was that RDA should also “be capable of adaptation to meet the specific needs of other communities.”  One of the requirements was a framework that would be flexible enough to allow description of all types of resources, whether traditional library resources, or resources from other cultural communities, such as digital archives or museums.

 The possibility of using RDA in a broader range of contexts is also evident in its definition as a “content” standard, and its adaptability for use in an international context.

RDA is the product of international cooperation between four countries: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. However, “use in an international context” means the potential to be used by many countries around the world, not just by the four that developed the standard.

RDA is a key component for the improvement of resource discovery because it guides the recording of data. It is designed to produce data that can be stored, searched, and retrieved in traditional catalogs and it is also designed for use on the Web with new database technologies. It positions the library to take advantage of the networked online world, and to make library data widely visible, discoverable, and usable.