RSC publishes glossary for RDA

CHICAGO — The four-year RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign Project included a major expansion of the standard to align RDA: Resource Description and Access with the IFLA Library Reference Model, which is the conceptual basis of RDA. This expansion included the addition of several new entities and hundreds of new elements. Developed and maintained by the RDA Steering Committee (RSC) as part of its oversight of the standard, the print “RDA Glossary,” published by ALA Editions, contains the complete terminology for RDA as it was constituted for the December 15, 2020 release to the RDA Toolkit. Allowing for easy offline access by students, instructors, and catalogers, it includes:

• an alphabetical listing of all RDA entities, elements, vocabulary terms, and other RDA-related terms;
• a label and definition for all entries and, where needed, a scope note, inverses, and cross-references; and
• two indexes: an RDA Elements Index, which organizes RDA elements by their domain entities to give users an idea of the structure of RDA, and an RDA Controlled Vocabularies Index, which is organized by element.

The RDA Steering Committee (RSC) is responsible for maintaining RDA: Resource Description and Access. RDA: Resource Description and Access is a package of data elements, guidelines, and instructions for creating library and cultural heritage resource metadata that are well-formed according to international models for user-focused linked data applications. RDA Toolkit is an integrated, browser-based, online product that allows users to interact with a collection of cataloging-related documents and resources including RDA: Resource Description and Access.

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