To all catalogers,
We have found ourselves in an unenviable position of opposing the work that
supposedly has been authorized by agencies representing our interests. I
might compare it to a military coup d’état. I mean here the RDA “test” and
its implications on the cataloging world at large. After extensive
discussions on the PCC, OCLC cataloging e-mail lists with opinions from the
British Library, Australia and North America, we can safely conclude that
there is a broad consensus against principles of RDA and the way RDA “test”
has been imposed on the cataloging world.
Therefore, I suggest the following memorandum to be implemented by
catalogers throughout the world in response to the “RDA coup d’état”:
November 2010 Memorandum Against RDA Test
We instruct the OCLC to do the following:
Immediately suspend coding the test RDA records as acceptable records
and recode them as substandard records with a code “RDA” (no PCC, LC,
etc. coding should be allowed on these records). The encoding level
for these records should be “K”, which usually triggers a full review
of the record by highly trained technical assistants or professional
catalogers. The LC records should be coded as level “7”.
The RDA test records should be treated the same way as records coded
with Spanish, French, German, etc. codes. This would allow catalogers
to create parallel records for 040 English records according to
existing and widely accepted AACR2 rules.
Under no circumstances should RDA testers be allowed to create
conflicting NAF or SAF records in LCNAF or LCSAF. This has already
created a great deal of confusion and has been universally rejected
by catalogers involved in the discussion.
We instruct agencies responsible for the RDA test to instruct its testers
to follow above mentioned rules as a way to avoid workflow complications
and growing confusion in libraries around the world.
We understand that the RDA test is just a test and in no way is an
indicative to a future cataloging procedures and rules that would replace
universally accepted AACR2 rules.
Wojciech Siemaszkiewicz
New York Public Library
Library Services Center
31-11 Thompson Ave.
Long Island City, N.Y. 11101
(917) 229-9603
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Re: Fw: Using existing NARs
Lasater, Mary Charles
to:
PCCLIST
11/01/2010 06:02 PM
Sent by:
Program for Cooperative Cataloging <[log in to unmask]>
Please respond to Program for Cooperative Cataloging
Deborah,
CC:DA, the ALA, ALCTS, CCS committee given primary responsibility for RDA,
raised many questions. They had very serious concerns and attempted to go
through the ALA ranks with their questions. They spent many thankless hours
working on RDA, after first attempting to 'redo' AACR2 into AACR3. ALA was
seen as the 'hold up' on moving forward. Many ALA insiders have worked hard
to try to make RDA a 'good thing'. Few people have expressed full support
for it.
I would be considered an ALA insider. I've responded to my membership
renewal by saying it will be very hard for me to renew this year because I
fear ALA, by pushing RDA, an unfinished product, is making a mistake that
will have serious consequences for catalogers and cataloging. Perhaps if
many of us did not pay our dues it would get someone's attention. It is
probably the only way someone at ALA will notice.
Mary Charles Lasater,
Former chair of CCS Executive Committee
-----Original Message-----
From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Deborah Tomaras
Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 3:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PCCLIST] Fw: Using existing NARs
It's an interesting idea, marketing AACR2 2010 to ALA as more palatable
than RDA. Does anyone know any influential ALA members? Or anyone who's
friendly with some? Because, seriously, I would be happy to derail RDA if I
thought it at all possible. Anyone want to form an organization bent on its
destruction?
Deborah Tomaras
Librarian II
Western European Languages Team
New York Public Library
Library Services Center
31-11 Thomson Ave.
Long Island City, N.Y. 11101
(917) 229-9561
[log in to unmask]
From: john g marr <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: 11/01/2010 03:33 PM
Subject: Re: [PCCLIST] Fw: Using existing NARs
Sent by: Program for Cooperative Cataloging <[log in to unmask]>
On Mon, 1 Nov 2010, Mike Tribby wrote:
> First one would need to get the rights to AACR2 from ALA, a prime sponsor
of RDA.
But the only "right" ALA requires is the "right" to profit from it. A
collaborative effort by influential ALA members to incorporate RDA into
AACR could be "marketed" back to ALA as a more viable "product" than RDA
alone.
John G. Marr
Cataloger
CDS, UL
Univ. of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
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