Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

This study examines the current state of knowledge about Resource Description and Access (RDA), the new cataloging standard, among Ohio public library catalogers. Data were collected through an online survey from a representative sample of these catalogers.

While a majority of catalogers know about RDA, their working knowledge about it is minimal. There are major differences in this knowledge based on geographic location of Ohio catalogers and educational attainment. The authors propose further training and education opportunities for Ohio catalogers. Further similar research is needed to determine if this lack of knowledge of the new descriptive standard among public library catalogers is a national challenge.

The Library of Congress and other national libraries will adopt Resource Description and Access (RDA) on March 31, 2013, but RDA is already an established cataloging code. Copy catalogers are likely to encounter RDA records in the near future, and need local standards to guide their work.

This article provides technical service personnel who establish policies with the information needed to establish standards for copy cataloging RDA records, particularly monographs. An example of one successful standard, that of Kent State University Libraries, is provided for readers to adopt or adapt.

Reference librarians’ work will be affected by the upcoming change in cataloging standards from the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules to the Resource Description and Access (RDA). Reference librarians were asked to give their perceptions about RDA records. They found that RDA records were comparable in terms of quality and quantity of information. However, terms used in new fields that provide format information lacked clarity. RDA records live compatibly with their Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules counterparts but do have distinctive differences. This study sheds light on what internal users of the catalog will find familiar in the new type of records and what will require a learning curve.