Providing Context for RDA
Derived from IFLA documents and various presentations delivered by
RDA Joint Steering Committee members at IFLA, ALA or CLA conferences
Compiled by:
Modified by:
Sue Andrews
University of British Columbia Library
susan.andrews@ubc.ca
Les Moor
University of Manitoba Libraries
leslie.moor@umanitoba.ca
Re-Use of Materials
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Objectives of this module
• Identify major developments in cataloguing that have
influenced RDA
• Introduce the Functional Requirements for
Bibliographic Records
• Understand the origins of the organization and
terminology of RDA
• Understand RDA’s role in an international cataloguing
context
RDA Influences
• Major events and studies influencing RDA
– Paris Principles (1961)
– AACR (1967); AACR2 (1978)
– Stockholm Seminar (1990)
– FRBR (1998)
– FRAD (2004)
– IME/ICC (2009)
• RDA (2010)
Paris Principles (1961)
• Originated from “The International
Conference on Cataloguing Principles” – Paris,
1961
• Influenced by > 100 years of previous codes
and principles
• Highly influential
AACR (1967)
AACR2 (1978)
• Originated from “The International
Conference on Cataloguing Principles” – Paris,
1961
• Influenced by > 100 years of previous codes
and principles
• Highly influential
Stockholm Seminar on Cataloguing
(1990)
• IFLA-sponsored seminar with participants from around the world
• Agreement on the need for a re-examination of existing
international cataloguing practices
• Proposed an IFLA-sponsored study to:
• Examine the relationships between the data elements in
bibliographic records and the user needs to be met.
• Recommend an internationally acceptable basic level of
functionality and a set of basic data requirements for records
created by national bibliographic agencies.
•
i.e. what do we really need in our records?
The findings were reported in the (1998) IFLA publication:
Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records
Functional Requirements for Bibliographic
Records (FRBR) (1998)
• A user-based approach
• No a priori assumptions
• An entity analysis technique
– entities
– attributes
– relationships
• Consideration of all users, all formats
• Independence from any particular cataloguing code
FRBR: Generic User Tasks
• To find (e.g. materials on a given topic, by a given author).
• To identify (e.g. confirm that the record retrieved
corresponds to the document or format sought, and to
distinguish between two resources with the same title)
• To select (e.g. have enough information to decide which of
multiple records best suits the user’s needs)
• To obtain (e.g. have enough info to find on shelf, order, access
electronically, the resource you’ve discovered)
FRBR Entities
1
Works
Expressions
Manifestations
Items
2
Persons
Families
Corporate
bodies
3
Concepts
Objects
Events
Places
Relationships between Group 1 Entities
The Movie
The Novel
Work:
Expression: Orig.
Text
Transl.
Critical
Edition
Manifestation:
Paper
Item:
Copy 1
Autographed
PDF
Copy 2
HTML
Orig.
Version
FRBR Relationships
• Persons, events, other works
– are the subjects of Works
• Authors, artists, composers
– create Works
• Editors, translators
– realize Expressions
• Publishers, printers
– publish or print Manifestations
• Donors, libraries
– own Items
FRBR in MARC
Work - red
Expression - blue
Manifestation - green
Item - orange
Functional Requirements for Authority
Data (FRAD) (2009)
What are the functions of Authority Data?
– To Document decisions
– To Serve as reference tool
– To Control forms of access points
– To Support access to the bibliographic file
– To Link bibliographic and authority files
FRAD User Tasks and Entities
User tasks:
– Find (e.g. information on an entity and its associated resources)
– Identify (e.g. confirm that the entity described corresponds to
the entity sought)
– Contextualize (rda: clarify) (e.g. clarify the relationship between
two or more entities)
– Justify (rda: understand) (e.g. understand why a particular name
or title is chosen as the “preferred” name or title)
• Entities:
– FRBR Group 1 (work, expression, manifestation, item)
– FRBR Group 2 (person, family, corporate body)
– FRBR Group 3 (concepts, objects, events, places)
FRAD basic relationships
IME-ICC General principles (2009)
General principles:
1. Convenience of the user.
2. Common usage.
3. Representation.
4. Accuracy.
5. Sufficiency and necessity.
6. Significance.
7. Economy.
8. Consistency and standardization
9. Integration.
“The rules in a cataloguing code should be defensible and not arbitrary. It
is recognized that these principles may contradict each other in
specific situations and a defensible, practical solution should be
taken.”
See http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/cataloguing/icp/icp_2009-en.pdf
RDA (2010)
• Scope: support of basic user tasks from FRBR (FISO)
and FRAD (FICJ)
• Principles: guided by IME-ICC:
– Differentiation, sufficiency, relationships,
representation, accuracy, attributions, language
preference, common usage or practice, uniformity
• Core Elements:
– Guided by FRBR/FRAD “high value” elements to support
user tasks, ISBD mandatory elements
Summary
AACR2
Paris
Principles
Stockholm
Seminar
FRBR/FRAD
IME/ICC
ETC.
• RDA is a convergence of a number of cataloguing codes,
principles, and initiatives
Questions