RDA
- Heather Baker
- Natalie Sommerville
Scope:
Contact: Natalie Sommerville
Unit: Resource Description
Date last reviewed: 01/09/2020
Date of next review:
Created by Amy Turner, Sept. 15, 2010
The Resource Description Department has adopted the Bibliographic Standard Record (BSR) as its basic standard, and training covered only the elements required by the BSR. When replacing RDA records, we are responsible only for those elements, though typos and obvious transcription errors should be corrected elsewhere in the record.
DUKE RDA/BSR "Cheat sheet"
Fixed field: Type a and Blvl m should be supplied. Use Elv I, Source d, desc i. Also fill out Lang, Ctry, Dtst and Dates for all books. Form and and Mrec will be used in rare cases (microforms, photocopies, Romanized records without linked fields for the non-Roman script). No other fixed field elements are required.
040 NDD $b eng $e rda NDD
General notes on description:
*More "what you see is what you get." Abbreviate only what is abbreviated on source. Do not omit the author's titles, etc. in the 245 $c. Do not use Latin abbreviations such as [S.l.] and [sic] (See the rules for more detail).
*Use square brackets only for information from outside the resource cataloged. The title page is still the primary source of information, but can be supplemented from the cover, etc. without the use of brackets.
*There are two options for capitalization. I recommend that we follow the old rules. The alternative is to transcribe directly from the source, which can result in disconcerting use of all caps.
The 260 is replaced by the 264. Second indicator 1 means publisher, and will be used for most book cataloging. Give only one place of publication, only one publisher, only one date (except for sets, with opening and closing dates). For place of publication, do not add state or country if it is not on the resource. If the publication date is not given explicitly, it can be inferred from other dates. See RDA 2.8.6.6 and its LC-PCC PS for more details.
In the 300 field use only $a. Spell out pages or volumes.
336-338 Use constant data or the OCLC macro. Although multiple instances of each field are possible (e.g. with accompanying material) only one instance of each is required.
Notes are limited to source of title, 502 for unpublished dissertations (with new subfields), and 505.
For choice of descriptive access points, there is more room for judgment. The rule of three is gone, and there is theoretically no limit on the number of author entries, but only one is required. The first author gets the main entry, regardless of the number of co-authors. For form of descriptive access points, including series tracings, follow RDA and the LC-PCC Policy Statements.
For subject headings, see slides 215-216 in "Basic Subject Cataloging Using LCSH" and use your judgment.
The only effect on call numbers is somewhat less cuttering to title main entry.
RDA in general (and the core standard in particular) leaves more room for judgment than AACR2. Keep in mind the long-standing trend at Duke to emphasize access over description. For example, RDA 2.4.1.4 reads “Abridge a statement of responsibility only if this can be done without loss of essential information.” One of the sorts of information that can be considered optional is information about an institution associated with an author. This is not important to access, and may be omitted. Then in 2.4.1.5 there is another optional admission “If a single statement of responsibility names more than three persons, families, or corporate bodies performing the same function (or with the same degree of responsibility), omit any but the first of each group of such persons, families, or bodies. Indicate the omission by summarizing what has been omitted in a language and script preferred by the agency preparing the description … Example: Roger Colbourne [and six others].” This is equivalent to the AACR2 “rule of three” and the option can be applied. 2.4.1.6 gives instruction for multiple statements of responsibility, for example, “by X ; edited by Y.” According to the core standard, only the first of these is required, but the cataloger may judge editors and others associated with the work as important to access and add them.
In descriptive access points, Duke catalogers are encouraged to go beyond the core requirement of author main entry, and add access point for additional authors (up to two), editors and other contributors (up to three in any category).
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Links to more information:
BIBCO Standard Record (BSR) RDA Metadata Application Profile:
http://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/bibco/documents/PCC-RDA-BSR.pdf
OCLC policy on RDA:
https://www.oclc.org/us/en/rda/policy.htm
Front page of the RDA Toolkit (no login needed):
Examples compiled by Adam Schiff, showing difference between AACR2 and RDA, with rule citations:
https://faculty.washington.edu/aschiff/ (1st RDA presentaion, available in PDF or Power Point)
Some examples from LC:
https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/RDAtest/rdaexamples.html
The parent page of the link above, with more links to LC documentation and training materials: