Well, June is here, and we’re counting down to the launch of RDA (Resource Description and Access). The launch date is set for the middle of the month (we’re keeping our fingers crossed) but I don’t believe there is an exact date set. What is actually being launched is the RDA Toolkit. This is the online access to the new rules. In the words of the publishers: “The resource to help you navigate from AACR2 to RDA—the new, unified standard for resource description and access, designed for the digital world and an expanding universe of metadata users.”
The Toolkit will be available by subscription, but to help ease the transition, the publishers are offering a complimentary open-access period from the launch date of mid-June to August 31, 2010. You can sign up here:
http://www.rdatoolkit.org/openaccess
And to help you get started, the publishers have also provided a guided tour of the Toolkit and a list of other training events. Here’s the link:
http://www.rdatoolkit.org/training – scroll down to find the guided tour. You’ll need Adobe Flash Player, but they provide the link for a free download.
And now, for something really different. For all of you anticipating the arrival of RDA with acute trepidation, (and even those of you looking forward to it with excitement) I’ve found a way to ease the pain. Let me introduce you to the “Resource Description and Access Happy Fun Time Companion” from Penny Baker and the folks at the Clark Art Institute Library. (CAI is one of the US Testing Partners.) I think this site is the most fun to be had with RDA, but don’t let the title or its looks fool you. Along with the craziness, this site is chock full of serious and valuable information about all things RDA, FRBR, training, new MARC fields, examples, etc. I was trying to compile a new list of RDA related links, but this site has them all. There’s too much to describe, you just have to look through it. Go ahead, learn lots and have some fun. Find the hilarity in all the hysteria.
http://sites.google.com/site/codlinandshort/
Happy reading!
Karen
Tags: RDA