Template RDA Teaching Slides

Version date: 15 November 2024

Elisa Sze, Education and Orientation Officer, RDA Steering Committee

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What is RDA?

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RDA definition

• RDA (Resource Description and Access) is “a package of data elements, guidelines, and instructions for creating library and cultural heritage metadata that is well-formed according to international models for user-focused linked data applications.” (About RDA)
• RDA can also be used for creating resource descriptions that take the form of traditional bibliographic and authority records.
• RDA is continually developed and improved through international collaboration.
• RDA data elements, vocabularies, guidelines, and instructions can be consulted using the RDA Toolkit, a subscription service.
• RDA element sets and vocabularies for linked data use are available through the open access RDA Registry.

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Context for RDA

• “Resource description” refers to “the description of the kinds of resources found in library and cultural heritage collections.”
• Depending on context, we might describe a resource as a work, expression, manifestation, or item (see the IFLA Library Reference Model discussion of “user tasks”).
• Resource descriptions will look different depending on the data environment. Data can appear as:
• Flat file records
• Relational databases
• Bibliographic and authority data
• Linked open data
• In RDA, these environments are called “implementation scenarios.”

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RDA implementation of LRM

• RDA is a practical implementation of the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM), an enhanced entity-relationship modelling framework for bibliographic data.
• What this means:
• RDA adopts all the LRM entities except Res
• RDA expands upon LRM attributes and relationships as needed for bibliographic description
• Communities that implement RDA may choose to refine RDA further through community policies and guidance
• The RDA element set is compatible with the LRM Entity Relationship (LRMer)
• RDA cites the IFLA Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP)

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Internationalization of RDA

• RDA is designed for an international audience.
• RDA Toolkit is fully available in English, Finnish, French, and Norwegian, with additional translations (either partial or full) actively being developed. Translations include languages in various scripts.
• Different communities with different data needs may establish their own policies and best practices for how to apply RDA when describing different kinds of resources. Examples:
• Policy statements published in RDA Toolkit
• Community resources
• Application profiles
• External guidance documents
• [Include local documents and resources as applicable.]
• RDA can also be used with other standards.

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Relationship with other standards

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Theoretical grounding for RDA

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Underlying conceptual model: IFLA LRM

• LRM resolved inconsistencies between FRBR, FRAD, and FRSAD to develop a “single, streamlined, and logically consistent model that covers all aspects of bibliographic data and that at the same time brings the modelling up-to-date with current conceptual modelling practices” (IFLA, 2017).
• LRM is designed to “support and promote the use of bibliographic data in linked data environments” (IFLA, 2017).
• Functionally, the scope of LRM is informed by 5 generic user tasks: Find, Identify, Select, Obtain, Explore.

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LRM user tasks

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Source: IFLA LRM, Table 3.1 User Tasks Summary, page 15

RDA as practical application of LRM

• For practitioners, LRM user tasks present clear goals for creating and maintaining bibliographic data for end users.
• RDA provides guidance, instructions, and many possibilities for the types of data that can be recorded, as well as how that data can be recorded.
• To provide an internationally inclusive package of vocabularies and instructions, RDA offers many options for communities with varying bibliographic data needs.
• This flexibility means that it is up to individual communities to determine how they want to implement RDA, and what supplementary instructions they will provide.

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LRM user tasks imply that…

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Exercise: What kind of data will help an end user perform each of these tasks?

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Entities

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What is an “entity”?

RDA Glossary definition: “An abstract class of a physical or conceptual thing in the universe of human discourse.”

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In plain words: An entity is a particular way of looking at or describing an object or idea to someone else.

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RDA only provides guidance and instructions on certain classes of things. These classes are called “RDA entities”. An RDA entity can be further sorted into one of these entity subtypes: Work, Expression, Manifestation, Item, Agent (such as Person, Collective Agent, Family, or Corporate Body), Nomen, Timespan, and Place.

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RDA entities

• RDA Toolkit only provides instructions on RDA entities.
• An RDA entity may be narrowed down to one of these subtypes:
• Work
• Expression
• Manifestation
• Item
• Agent
• Person
• Collective Agent
• Family
• Corporate Body
• Nomen
• Timespan
• Place

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RDA resource entities

• An RDA entity may be narrowed down to one of these subtypes:
• Work
• Expression
• Manifestation
• Item
• Agent
• Person
• Collective Agent
• Family
• Corporate Body
• Nomen
• Timespan
• Place

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Work, Expression, Manifestation, Item

• When describing a resource, we describe it in terms of these resource entities: Work, Expression, Manifestation, and Item.
• The resource entities offer different ways to look at, think about, describe, or represent a resource to someone else.
• We describe entities using properties called elements:
• Attribute element = a property or characteristic of an entity
• Relationship element = a relationship that one entity has with another entity

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Exercise: Attributes and relationships

Cataloguing has always consisted of recording attributes and relationships, even if cataloguers have not always used the term “element.”

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Can you identify some attribute or relationship elements that you have recorded recently?

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Diagram: A set of attribute and relationship statements comprise a description of a library resource (a “metadata description set”)

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Metadata description set for Entity A

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Metadata description set for Entity A:

<has attribute 1> …

<has attribute 2> …

<has attribute 3> …

<has attribute 4> …

<has relationship element> …

Metadata description set for Manifestation A and Expression B

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Metadata description set for Manifestation A:

<has title of manifestation> …

<has carrier type> …

<has media type> …

<has note on manifestation> …

<has expression manifested> …

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Metadata description set for Expression B:

<has title of expression> …

<has content type> …

<has manifestation of expression>…

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Work

• Definition and scope: “A distinct intellectual or artistic creation, that is, the intellectual or artistic content.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• [Local examples to be provided]

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Expression

• Definition and scope: “An intellectual or artistic realization of a work in the form of alpha-numeric, musical or choreographic notation, sound, image, object, movement, etc., or any combination of such forms.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words: A communication of a work that can be seen, read, heard, or touched. It can refer to different language versions of a work, or different content types (such as text, tactile text, sound, spoken word, etc.) by which a work is communicated.
• [Local examples to be provided]

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Manifestation

• Definition and scope: “A physical embodiment of an expression of a work.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words: A publication, production, or manufactured object that makes an expression concrete. It can refer to a physical or digital container that carries or holds a communication.
• [Local examples to be provided]

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Item

• Definition and scope: “A single exemplar or instance of a manifestation.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words: One copy of a manifestation. In a physical library setting, an end user might look for a manifestation but will borrow an item.
• [Local example to be provided]

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Knowing about resource entities helps us learn to use RDA more effectively

• Elements are specific to the entity they describe:
• Work elements can only describe a work.
• Expression elements can only describe an expression.
• Manifestation elements can only describe a manifestation.
• Item elements can only describe an item.
• (This is what is meant when we say that the resource entities are “disjoint”.)
• The values we record for each element helps us distinguish between different resource entities, even if those entities share commonalities.

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Other RDA entities associated with resource description

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Agent

• Definition and scope: “An entity who is capable of deliberate actions, of being granted rights, and of being held accountable for its actions. An agent includes a collective agent and a person.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• An agent can be a group or person that can take action, can hold rights, and is responsible for its actions.
• Based on the “Minimum description” requirements, an agent must be identifiable by some kind of appellation (for example, an agent’s name, access point, or identifier)

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Why is Agent an entity?

• We may want to record a relationship between an agent and a resource entity:
• For example, an agent may be responsible for a work, expression, or manifestation
• Or, an agent may have a relationship with an item
• Beyond just these relationships, we may want to record properties regarding an agent; we can only do so if Agent is an entity.

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Subtypes of Agent

• Agent is an entity supertype. Agent may be further categorized into one of these entity subtypes: Person or Collective Agent.
• Note that entity subtypes inherit the properties of its supertype, but the reverse is not true.
• You can describe a collective agent using the properties of an agent, because a collective agent is a type of agent. However, not all properties of a collective agent will be relevant to describing an agent.
• Likewise, you can describe a person using the properties of an agent, but not all properties of a person will be relevant to describing an agent.

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Person

• Definition and scope: “An agent who is an individual human being who lives or is assumed to have lived.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• A person must be a human being, living or deceased.
• In the real world, we are used to identifying a person by a name or identifier. Likewise, RDA “minimum description” requires that a person be identifiable by some kind of appellation (for example, by name, access point, or identifier).

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Collective agent

• Definition and scope: “An agent who is a gathering or organization of two or more persons that bears a particular name and that is capable of acting as a unit.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• A collective agent must consist of 2 or more persons.
• It must have a name and be able to act as a unit.
• “Minimum description” requires a collective agent be identifiable by some kind of appellation (for example, by name, access point, or identifier).

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Family

• Definition and scope: “A collective agent who is composed of persons who are related by birth, marriage, adoption, civil union, or similar legal status, or who otherwise present themselves as a family.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• A family can have legal status or it can simply be a group of people who present themselves as a family.
• “Minimum description” requires that a family be identifiable by some kind of appellation (for example, by name, access point, or identifier)

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Corporate body

• Definition and scope: “A collective agent who is composed of persons who are organized for a common purpose or activity.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• A corporate body is an organization with an overall purpose or activity.
• “Minimum description” requires that a corporate body be identifiable by some kind of appellation (for example, by name, access point, or identifier).

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Place

• Definition and scope: “A given extent of space.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• A place has characteristics that reflect the physical world.
• A significant change in location tells us that there may be a difference in Place.
• “Minimum description” requires that a place be identifiable by some kind of appellation (for example, by name, access point, or identifier)

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Why is Place an entity?

• A place has properties beyond its name or physical location.
• We may want to record other properties of a place, such as category of a place, or agents who have a relationship to the place (related agent of place)
• We can only record properties if we are describing an entity. Therefore, Place is considered an entity.

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Timespan

• Definition and scope: “A finite period of time.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• “Finite” means that a timespan has a beginning and ending.
• The characteristics of Timespan reflect the physical world.
• “Minimum description” requires that a timespan be identifiable by some kind of appellation (for example, by name, access point, or identifier).

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Why is Timespan an entity?

• Although we often think of timespans as attributes, the name or label we give to a timespan can differ depending on culture, language, or context.
• Different calendars require different timespans to be recorded.
• To avoid misunderstanding over which timespan is described, it is helpful to be able to record its properties.
• Elements do not have properties, but Entities do. This is why Timespan is considered an entity in RDA.

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Nomen

• Definition and scope: “A label for any RDA entity except a nomen. A nomen includes a name, title, access point, or identifier.”
• RDA Toolkit
• RDA Registry
• In plain words:
• A nomen simply tells us that there is an association between (on the one hand) a name, title, access point, or identifier, and (on the other hand) one of the other RDA entities.
• “Minimum description” requires us to record both a nomen string and an appellation for the RDA entity that is being identified by association.

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Reasons for Nomen – Example 1

[This example should be replaced with a local example]

A person reading this string of characters--

Anne of Green Gables

--may recognize that this string corresponds to the title of a work of Canadian fiction.

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However, someone who does not know of this work will only see a string of characters. The string of characters would not convey meaning until one learns that it corresponds to the title of a work.

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Reasons for Nomen – Example 2

[This example should be replaced with a local example]

A person reading this string of characters--

2001

--might associate the string with any of these entities:

• A year in the Gregorian calendar
• A work that is a motion picture
• A corporate body in Waterbury, Connecticut

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A person can infer from context which entity is meant by the string “2001”. However, for machine processing, more information is required to associate this string with the correct entity.

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Why is Nomen an entity?

• A Nomen is an entity because in addition to its nomen string, we may want to record other properties about it, such as:
• Category of nomen
• Context of use
• Language of nomen
• Script of nomen
• Relationships to other entities

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Nomen and appellations

• You will encounter Nomen when you try to record a name, title, access point, or identifier for another RDA entity.
• A name, title, access point, or identifier for another RDA entity is called an appellation.
• In RDA Toolkit, a typical “Recording” instruction under any appellation element will include this stock phrase:

Record this element as a value of Nomen: nomen string or as an instance of a Nomen.

• In plain words: This instruction tells you that you are going to record some kind of name, title, access point, or identifier, in order to identify a specific entity.

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Aggregates

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Aggregates are manifestations

• Aggregates are manifestations that embody multiple expressions.
• Examples: anthologies, compilations, materials that include accompanying or bonus materials, and manifestations that embody multiple language versions of a work.
• An aggregate embodies an aggregating expression.
• In turn, the aggregating expression realizes an aggregating work.
• The aggregating work itself is defined as a plan to aggregate multiple expressions for embodiment within a manifestation.
• Thus, an aggregate could be said to embody multiple individual expressions, in addition to embodying the aggregating expression.
• The concept of aggregates comes from LRM.

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Categories of aggregates

Aggregates can be categorized as one or more of 3 types:

• Collection aggregate – a manifestation that embodies 2 or more expressions of 2 or more independent works
• Parallel aggregate – a manifestation that embodies 2 or more expressions of a single work
• Augmentation aggregate – a manifestation that embodies 2 or more expressions of 2 or more works, where one work is supplemented by 1 or more other works

[Local examples of each kind of aggregate should be provided.]

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Describing aggregates

Instructions can be found under “Describing a manifestation that embodies two or more expressions”.

• Elements that could potentially be used to describe an aggregate (consult RDA Toolkit for details):
• note on manifestation
• expression manifested
• work manifested
• contributor agent to aggregate
• accessibility content
• colour content
• illustrative content
• sound content
• supplementary content

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Describing expressions in the context of aggregates

Describing expressions of aggregating works and expressions that are aggregated.

• There is no direct relationship between
• An aggregating expression and the expressions that are aggregated
• An aggregating expression and an agent related to one or more of the expressions that are aggregated
• Thus, the only elements that can be used to indicate the presence of an aggregating expression are:
• Expression element: note on expression
• Expression element: aggregates

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Describing works by one or more agents in the context of aggregates

Describing aggregating works and works that are aggregated.

There are instructions for describing an aggregating work that is “created by one or more agents who are responsible for the plan for aggregation”. These Work elements can be used:

• note on work
• aggregator agent

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See RDA Toolkit for details.

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Describing successive works in the context of aggregates

Describing aggregating works and works that are aggregated.

Additional instructions for describing an aggregating work that is a successive work exist. (Note: A successive work is “a diachronic work that is planned to be realized by multiple distinct expressions.”)

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For successive works that are aggregating works, these work elements could potentially be recorded:

• issue
• subseries

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Describing aggregates versus parts of works

Describing a work that is aggregated

• Do not use the Work element part of work because “a part work is considered to be essential to the whole work” rather than an entity that is aggregated.
• Instead, to record information about the aggregating work, you can use the Work element note on work.
• RDA also allows you to relate a static work to a successive aggregating work, using the element issue of.
• RDA also allows you to relate a successive work to a successive aggregating work, using the element subseries of.

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Diachronic works

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Diachronic works - Definition

Definition: A diachronic work is “a work that is planned to be embodied over time, rather than in a single act of publication. When the plan is carried out, the content of the work changes over time by being realized by one or more discrete expressions that are embodied by one or more manifestations.”

• In plain words: If the work consists of a plan for content to change over time, the work is a diachronic work.

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[Local examples of diachronic works should be provided.]

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Types of diachronic works

There are 2 types of diachronic works:

• Those extended by accumulation = “successive works”.
• Those extended by replacement = “integrating works”.

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Key element: the Work element extension plan

• This is distinct from the Manifestation element mode of issuance, which merely indicates if a manifestation is issued in one or more units.
• An explanation for recording extension plans can be found in the Guidance chapter “Content and carrier.”
• General Guidance on Diachronic works discusses “transformation boundaries” or “WEM lock”, which states that “a diachronic work is realized by one and only one expression and embodied by one and only one manifestation.”

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Describing manifestations in the context of diachronic works

Describing a manifestation of a diachronic work

RDA offers instructions based on whether there are common values of elements across manifestations of different units, issues, or iterations of the diachronic work, or if there are variations in those values.

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See RDA Toolkit for details.

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Describing works in the context of diachronic works

Describing a diachronic work

RDA offers instructions based on whether there are common values of elements across the units, issues, or iterations of a diachronic work, or if there are variations in values.

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See RDA Toolkit for details.

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Describing diachronic works – Extension plan

Describing an integrating work

Describing a successive work

Describing a serial work (a kind of successive work)

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• The Work element extension plan (RDA definition: “a categorization that reflects an intention to extend the content of a work”), is used to specify the kind of diachronic work described.
• RDA offers a vocabulary encoding scheme, RDA Extension Plan for use with this element. Nonetheless, communities are also permitted to refer to a different VES for this element.

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Collections

• Definition: A collection is “a plan to gather two or more items that form a manifestation. Items are gathered together after their creation to form a collection manifestation.”
• In plain words: A collection gathers items together to form a manifestation; this is unlike an aggregate, which gathers expressions together to form a manifestation.
• Examples of a collection: Items bound together by the owner of those items, the papers of a historical figure, a kit put together by a local museum, or a locally created collection.
• Example of an aggregate: An anthology published by a publisher agent.
• The collections model accommodates description and access of items that have been assembled by a person, library, cultural heritage institution, or other agent.
• Guidance is forthcoming; for now, refer to the proposal papers discussed in October 2021 and the decisions that were approved (including a list of added and deprecated elements) by the RSC.

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Non-RDA entities

These abstract classes are not RDA entities but communities may offer local instructions (“refinements”) on how to describe them:

• Subject – Out of scope; refer to external subject cataloguing schemes instead. The Work element subject (or one of its element subtypes) can be used to indicate the topic of a work.
• Fictitious personage – RDA implements the LRM definition of the Person entity. An appellation of a fictitious personage may instead be treated as a pseudonym of an agent.
• Non-human entity – RDA implements the LRM definition of the Person entity. A non-human entity may instead be recorded as bearing a relationship to an RDA resource entity using one of these elements:
• related entity of work
• related entity of expression
• related entity of manifestation
• related entity of item

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Resource description

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Resource description - Entity boundaries

• An RDA entity boundary is “the set of criteria that is applied by an agent who creates metadata to determine if a description of a new RDA entity is required.”
• In plain words:
• “An agent who creates metadata” is the cataloguer.
• Entity boundaries answer the question: “When does a cataloguer create a new metadata description set (for example, a new bibliographic record, or a new authority record for an agent)?”
• On each RDA entity page, look for the section “Entity boundaries” to see the elements that can be used to answer this question.
• Entity boundaries can depend on the traditions of a community.

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Resource description - Elements

• Think of elements as building blocks for metadata statements.
• Example: title proper

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• A metadata statement is “a piece of metadata that assigns a value to an RDA element…”
• Example: title proper: Speedball technique charts
• Example: <has title proper> Speedball technique charts

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• A plan to bring together one or more expressions of one or more metadata statements = a metadata description set
• Example: A MARC bibliographic or authority record
• Example: A BIBFRAME record

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Choice of recording method

• When recording a value for an RDA element, we are applying 1 of 4 recording methods:
• Unstructured description
• Structured description
• Identifier
• IRI (Internationalized Resource Identifier)
• Which recording method to apply will depend on:
• The element – Some elements allow multiple recording methods, while other elements permit only specific recording methods.
• The requirements of your community – Instructions would be communicated through policy statements, community resources, external guidance documents, or application profiles.

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Recording methods - Definitions

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Recording methods – Data utility

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Example of unstructured description versus structured description - 1

If we are describing a work, and we want to record a value for the element author person for that work:

Anne of Green Gables

by L.M. Montgomery

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Author person

Example of unstructured description versus structured description - 2

If we are describing a work, and we want to record a value for the element author person for that work:

Anne of Green Gables

by L.M. Montgomery

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Author person

Transcription guidelines

• When recording unstructured and structured descriptions, we need to consider how the data will be transcribed.
• RDA recognizes two transcription methods:
• Basic – Requires minimal cataloguer intervention
• Normalized – Requires additional cataloguer judgment. General guidelines on:
• Capitalization
• Diacritical marks, language, and script
• Letters or words intended to be read two or more times
• Numbers
• Punctuation
• Punctuation of initials and acronyms
• Spacing of initials and acronyms
• Symbols
• Communities determine which guidelines to apply and may further refine those guidelines.

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Example of basic transcription versus normalized transcription - 1

On source of information:

THE STORY GIRL

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Example of basic transcription versus normalized transcription - 2

On source of information:

THE STORY GIRL

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Structured descriptions that call for terms from a vocabulary encoding scheme

• When an element instructs you to record a term from a vocabulary encoding scheme (VES), some typical options you might see are:
• Option. Record an appropriate term from the [RDA … VES] vocabulary encoding scheme.
• Option. Record a term from another appropriate vocabulary encoding scheme…
• Sometimes, a structured description instruction may tell you to record the values of multiple elements by applying a string encoding scheme as another option.

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Locating string encoding schemes

• A string encoding scheme (SES) is “a set of string values and an associated set of rules that describe a mapping between that set of strings and a value of an element.” Think of SES as a syntax or prescribed sequence of values that may be delimited by punctuation.
• Access points are elements that often require application of SES. Look for instructions like this:
• Option: Construct an access point by applying a string encoding scheme to the values of one or more other elements.
• Given that conventions around access point construction vary by language and community, RDA does not prescribe which SES to apply. Communities must decide for themselves.
• Example: ISBD for Manifestation SES
• [Examples of SES can be provided.]

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Data provenance

• Definition: “Information about the metadata recorded in an element or set of elements. Metadata about metadata, or metametadata.”
• Many elements include an option to record the source of data (except when the recording method used for an element is IRI).
• Where values are taken from a vocabulary encoding scheme (VES), data provenance instructions allow you to cite the VES.
• Separately, the Guidance chapter Data provenance provides overarching suggestions for sources of information that can be used to support resource description.

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What are element supertype, element subtype, superelement, and subelement?

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Navigating and reading RDA

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Looking up instructions in RDA Toolkit

The RDA Toolkit includes Help pages to assist new Toolkit users in navigating and searching more effectively:

• Navigating RDA Toolkit – summarizes categories of content and features available
• Searching RDA Toolkit – covers how to search using exact phrases, keywords, and wildcards; narrow searches; search by MARC21, original RDA Toolkit instruction numbers, and citation numbers; and filter search results
• Personalizing RDA Toolkit – explains how to set up institutional or personal views to display desired policies, examples, and preferred Guidance menu organization.

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Understanding the language of RDA

New users of RDA Toolkit are encouraged to read the Guidance on Terminology to help adapt to the language of RDA. Some tips:

• A label in uppercase refers to an entity as a class, such as Corporate Body. A label in lowercase refers to an instance of a class, such as corporate body.
• Each element has a unique element label; therefore, element labels may not be seen as “user-friendly”. Institutions are permitted to map RDA element labels to more suitable ones for display in local catalogues and discovery layers.
• Definitions, scope notes, and instructions appear in present tense.
• Instructions tend to use indefinite articles.
• Nouns usually appear in the singular.
• Terms with specific meaning in RDA appear in italic font.

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When to look up RDA Toolkit versus RDA Registry

• The RDA Registry contains vocabularies that represent RDA entities, elements, and controlled terminologies. RDA element sets and RDA value vocabularies are presented for use in Resource Description Framework (RDF).
• RDA element sets, value vocabularies, their translations, and associated maps and alignments are collectively called “RDA Reference.”
• https://www.rdaregistry.info/ serves as a namespace for RDA Reference
• RDA Registry is intended for developers. It does not contain guidance or instructions on how to apply or use RDA elements and vocabularies; for guidance and instructions, one must refer to the RDA Toolkit.

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Flow of updates to RDA Toolkit and RDA Registry

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Source: https://www.rdaregistry.info/rgAbout/RDADataFlowDiagramUpdate20241119.jpeg

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Application decisions for RDA

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Application profile

Definition: “A specification of the metadata that is used in an application.”

• In plain words: It tells us what to include as metadata for a library application, catalogue, or discovery layer to function as intended. An application profile can be as complex as a highly technical spreadsheet, or as simple as a user-created word processing document outlining workflow.

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What is or can be included in an RDA application profile?

• RDA entities to describe
• RDA elements that meet minimum description requirements for those entities
• RDA elements used to describe and access those entities
• Vocabulary encoding schemes and string encoding schemes to apply
• Recording methods applicable to each element
• Applicable set(s) of policy statements and external guidance documents
• If using user-friendly display labels: mapping RDA element labels to the local display labels.
• Mapping elements to the local implementation scenario or data environment.

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Application profile examples

• In RDA Toolkit, the “Minimum description” section of each Entity page lists the elements that must be included in descriptions of the entity. Application profiles should generally take these into account.

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• [Include local examples as appropriate. Some examples are below.]
• Music Library Association (MLA) Application Profile Draft 2023-08-08
• National Library of New Zealand CiP (Cataloguing-in-Publication) Metadata Application Profile (in RDA Toolkit “Documents” area)
• Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) of Australia Application Profiles
• University of Washington Libraries RDA/RDF Application Profiles for configuring Sinopia templates
• Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) BIBCO Standard Record

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Policy statements

• Policy statements are sets of guidance or instructions created by specific communities to help their members interpret and apply RDA.
• They appear in the “Policies” menu of RDA Toolkit, but can also be turned on in the “View” settings and from the “Select Policy Statement Set” dropdown menu that appears on most Toolkit pages.
• Policy statements may identify which elements to use or not use. In this sense, they are an application profile.
• Where multiple options or condition-options exist, policy statements may indicate which instructions to apply or prefer.

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Community resources within RDA Toolkit

• Community resources contain supplementary guidance or instructions for communities. These resources fall into 2 types:
• Partner organizations – Contributed by organizations that already manage official translations and policy statements.
• Contributing organizations – Organizations create documents using the RDA Toolkit HTML Editor; with approval from RSC, documents are then included in Community Resources.
• Toolkit users can also subscribe to public “Documents”
• Instructions formerly published in the original RDA Toolkit that are no longer part of the official RDA standard are preserved separately under Legacy RDA Community Resources. Legacy instructions are not updated.

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Community resources outside RDA Toolkit

Some communities offer additional guidance outside RDA Toolkit.

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Examples:

• Program for Cooperative Cataloging - RDA Metadata Guidance Documentation
• DCRMR: Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (RDA Edition)
• RDA DACH
• [Add local examples as appropriate]

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RDA implementation considerations

Regardless of the size of the institution and staff capacity, these are some tips that may assist with implementation:

• Point to an application profile that staff can consult.
• For libraries with small collections, an application profile can be as simple as a list of required and common elements, and approved vocabulary encoding schemes and string encoding schemes.
• For large institutions that are members of consortial or cooperative programs, ensure that local policies and practices are compatible with community application profiles and requirements.
• Provide examples that are meaningful to staff. Examples may be customized to resources found in local collections.
• Stay current with RDA developments. Recently updated instructions are always listed at the bottom of the Toolkit landing page upon login. RDA news can be viewed without logging in.

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Questions about RDA?

For educators or trainers:

• Visit the Learning Resources section of the RDA Toolkit website for ideas around teaching, and links to webinars and training materials (no login required)
• Connect with the RSC Education and Orientation Officer
• General queries about RDA: email rdatoolkit@ala.org

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