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  • 1.  familial relationships in RDA

    Posted Jun 29, 2025 02:06 AM

    CC:DA,

    At one of the recent Zoom cataloging drop-in sessions that I hold every few weeks for our catalogers at UW Libraries, I was asked how a parent and child could be related in a name authority record.  I explained that neither original nor official RDA contains any relationship elements to relate persons within families.  We currently only have elements to relate families to family members.  At present the only option catalogers have is to use simple see also related person of person access points and to explain the specific relationship in a note on person (such as in a source consulted note (MARC 670), nonpublic note (667), or biographical information (678)).

    CC:DA has made recommendations for new relationship designators for family relationships in the past (see 2015's CC:DA/TF/Relationship Designators in RDA Appendix K/6 at https://alair.ala.org/bitstreams/92e11a4d-8d9b-4049-b1d1-373166f508fa/download), and I'm wondering if now is a good time to revisit this and consider making proposals for new relationship elements for at least some of the common person to person family relationships?  I'm thinking of at least:

    parent, reciprocal: parent of  (or parent, reciprocal: child)

    sibling

    spouse

    And perhaps narrower under parent:

    grandparent, reciprocal: grandparent of (or grandparent, reciprocal: grandchild)

    step-parent, reciprocal: step-parent of (or step-parent, reciprocal: step-child)

    adoptive parent, reciprocal: adoptive parent of (or adoptive parent, reciprocal: adoptive child)

    The 2015 CC:DA proposal includes many other familial and other types of person to person relationships that are not currently in official RDA that could also be reconsidered.

    Now that official RDA is fairly stable perhaps it is a good time for CC:DA to take up making new proposals again for revisions and additions, and relationship elements could be a good way to get started on that.

    Just putting it out there to see if it's something CC:DA would be interested in tackling.  NARDAC could also if CC:DA isn't interested, but I thought I'd throw it out to you first.

    --Adam Schiff, ALA NARDAC representative



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    Adam Schiff
    Principal Cataloger
    University of Washington Libraries
    He/Him/His
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  • 2.  RE: familial relationships in RDA

    Posted Jun 30, 2025 07:56 AM

    This is a good idea. If CC:DA decides to make these proposals, you will need to remember that "RDA is designed for an international audience." Family/kinship terminology vary across cultures. Gender neutral terms that indicate a one to one relationship don't always exist in some languages. For example, the term sibling does not have an equivalent in French. In some cultures, there is no term like grandparent that represent both a maternal and a paternal grandparent.  In some cultures, uncles and aunts can be family friends. 

    The RSC may be willing to  add some of these elements to RDA but could also ask that others be added as community refinements.



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    Dominique Bourassa
    Metadata Librarian
    Yale University Library
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    Original Message