Hi folks,

I thought some of you might be interested in this compilation of some emails originally sent to the AUTOCAT email list

1. What is the best way for catalogers to prepare for the full implementation of RDA on March 31, 2013? What do you recommend in terms of courses, webinars, training materials, handbooks, etc.?

David Simon

Librarian II

New Haven Free Public Library

New Haven, CT

Phone: 203-946-7459

Fax: 203-946-8140

Email: dsimon@nhfpl.org

2. I found the free webinar on the RDA Toolkit to be very helpful. You learn to navigate the rules and what's in them.

Barbara Brownell. Multicultural Books & Videos

3. a. http://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/RDA training materials

b. Use of controlled substances )-:

This is not an official statement from LC. The first reflects official LC policy and what is done within LC, and is available free for all. The second does not reflect LC policy, but might help in its own way.

Aaron Wolfe Kuperman

Library of Congress, ABA USPL, Law Cataloging Section

This is NOT an official communication from the Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress has comprehensive training material available online, for free. Look under the Training block at: http://www.loc.gov/aba/rda/ Adam Schiff has an excellent side-by-side comparison between AACR2 and RDA. Multiple versions are available at his home page: http://faculty.washington.edu/aschiff/

The following websites offer various snapshots of the changes associated with RDA:

Changes from AACR2, by the JSC: http://www.rda-jsc.org/docs/5sec7rev.pdf

MARC21 changes for RDA, by LC: http://www.loc.gov/marc (select "RDA in MARC" link on the page) OCLC changes for RDA: http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/technicalbulletins (#258, 260, 261)

The following titles are available from ALA Publishing (www.alastore.ala.org), as a sample of handbooks, read the reviews and decide whether to buy:

Oliver, Chris. Introducing RDA: a Guide to the Basics. (ISBN: 978-0-8389-3594-1) $45.

Maxwell, Robert. Maxwell's Handbook for RDA: Explaining and Illustrating RDA, Resource Description and Access using MARC. (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1172-3) $85.

El-Sherbini, Magda. RDA: Strategies for Implementation. (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1168-6) $65.

ALA's ALCTS (Association for Library Collections and Technical Services), offers a number of webinars: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/cat. (Pay at first, then they transition to free later on.) A variety of state and regional groups are offering various programs, workshops, etc.

In general, paying for training offers the ability to ask questions as you go. Free material requires more self-motivation to navigate and may have a scope or focus beyond your immediate needs. One must therefore balance time and money investments in choosing which route to follow.

In the end, nothing replaces access to and working with the actual standard though. Catalogers currently trained in AACR2 may find the "backdoor" access of the online Toolkit's mapping from AACR2 to RDA to be particularly beneficial at first -- the FRBR underpinnings of RDA results in some unexpected locations for various rules (the new locales make sense when one reflects on things, but can be challenging to find in the heat of the moment). The print version offers an access model that may be more financially palatable, at the detriment of lacking the online version's bells and whistles, and of being somewhat out of date.

John F. Myers, Catalog Librarian

Schaffer Library, Union College

Schenectady NY 12308

myersj@union.edu

518-388-6623

5. I was actually thinking about this some myself this week. Here are three helpful tools I have found.

ALCTS YouTube channel for RDA: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1AAFB573158DC4A1&feature=plcp

ALCTS webinar archive: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/past/webinar

LibGuide on RDA from the University of Montana: http://libguides.lib.umt.edu/RDA

I have to say, I have found the LibGuide to be the most helpful of these so far. I was thinking about creating a LibGuide for the other employees at my library, but I may just share this one with them and save myself the work.

I hope these resources help!

Emily Krug

Emerging Technologies and Cataloging Librarian Somerset Community College Learning Commons Somerset, KY

606-451-6715

emily.krug@kctcs.edu

6. Lots and Lots of training. Repetition to become familiar with the concepts and applications. I noticed the LC RDA training courses can be helpful, but some were prepared in March, and a lot of things have changed since then. I got a bit lost because the version of RDA I was looking at on my computer did not look the same as the version in March 2012, so once you get past that and past the increasing amount of outdated information shared, they can be helpful.

Since my emphasis is authority control, I am getting the most out of MARC21 for Authority data and cross-checking against RDA, LC PCC PS, LC guidelines and DCMZl.

I was worried I was getting too old to pick up this new way of looking at things, but I think I may have a handle on it...only because we have been going over and over and over these principles.

Judith Kirk

Coordinator, Authority Control

Western Michigan University Libraries

Kalamazoo, MI 49008

I hope people find at least some of these responses useful

cheers

Chris

Chris (Christine) Todd

Team Leader, Cataloguing Team 1

National Library of New Zealand

The Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua

Direct Dial: +64 4 474 3093

email: chris.rae.todd@dia.govt.nz

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