RDA Communications Bulletin, December 2023

Colleagues,

Please read below for Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) updates on official RDA.

CONTENTS

Reminder: PCC Implementation Timeline for the Official RDA Toolkit

Final Report of the PCC Test of the Official RDA Toolkit

PCC Introductory RDA Training Now Available

PCC RDA Implementation Task Group

The PCC RDA Communications Committee and You

Reminder: PCC Implementation Timeline for the Official RDA Toolkit

On June 13, 2023, the PCC Policy Committee announced that the PCC will have a rolling implementation from May 1, 2024 to April 30, 2027 of the official RDA Toolkit. This 3-year rolling implementation will allow institutions to transition to the official RDA Toolkit when they are ready before the removal of the original RDA Toolkit.

The PCC RDA Implementation Task Group (discussed below) will be developing recommendations and clarifying expectations for PCC's implementation of the official RDA Toolkit.

The PCC will continue to catalog using the original RDA Toolkit until instructed otherwise.

Final Report of the PCC Test of the Official RDA Toolkit

The PCC Task Group to Test the Official RDA Toolkit issued its Final Report, which summarizes the most frequently cited or most significant problems from the test and provides general recommendations. The PCC Policy Committee (PoCo) accepted the report and recommendations and discharged the task group on November 17, 2023.

The task group conducted a thorough test of the official RDA Toolkit to ensure that PCC catalogers could use the Toolkit, related LC-PCC Policy Statements (LC-PCC PSs), and Metadata Guidance Documentation (MGDs) to accurately catalog materials in various formats in both MARC and BIBFRAME.

The test was designed to identify problems that need to be corrected to support PCC's implementation of the official RDA Toolkit. During its analysis of the test, the task group identified 625 problems in the LC-PCC PSs, 366 problems in the MGDs, and 417 problems in the RDA Toolkit. These problems indicate areas where PCC may need to work on improving documentation and/or developing training rather than major issues that would delay or significantly impact implementation.

The problems identified during the test and the recommendations from the task group are being used by PCC and the Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division (PTCP) at the Library of Congress to help with PCC's implementation of the official RDA Toolkit. For example, PTCP staff have already been working to resolve many of the LC-PCC PS and MGD problems, the PCC Working Group on Metadata Application Profiles has started drafting application profiles for official RDA, and the SCT RDA Training Task Group: Monographs will be reviewing the training recommendations when it begins developing its Phase 2: RDA in Practice training.

In addition, problems in the RDA Toolkit were shared with the North American RDA Committee (NARDAC). NARDAC has reviewed all comments identified as a priority by the task group and will be forwarding approximately 60% of them to the RDA Steering Committee (RSC) for resolution, 21% of them to PCC to possibly create proposals, and approximately 18% of them to the SCT RDA Training Task Group and the RSC Education Officer.

For more detailed information about the test, results, and recommendations, see the Final Report of the PCC Test of the Official RDA Toolkit.

PCC Introductory RDA Training Now Available

The Standing Committee on Training (SCT) is pleased to announce the launch of Introductory RDA Training. Developed by past and current members of the RDA Training Task Group chaired by Adam Baron, this first phase of training consists of 17 modules for PCC catalogers, policymakers, and specialists to be able to identify key changes introduced during the 3R Project, use and navigate the RDA Toolkit, understand new concepts, and define key vocabulary terms. This Phase 1 training prepares learners for Phase 2 training which will focus on RDA in practice.

Designed for in-person or virtual instruction, the training modules can be used for self-study or training cataloging staff locally, regionally, or nationally. Training materials may also be adapted provided credit is given to the PCC SCT RDA Training Task Group: Monographs.

The Introductory RDA Training is available through the Catalogers Learning Workshop at https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/rda/index.html. The training materials include slides in Microsoft PowerPoint with speaker notes and exercises in Microsoft Word.

The RDA Training Task Group welcomes feedback, including corrections, suggested enhancements, and questions. Please submit feedback via the PCC RDA Communications Committee Feedback Form.

The RDA Training Task Group is currently planning to present a free webinar series of this training in the first half of 2024. Additional details are forthcoming.

PCC RDA Implementation Task Group

PCC has appointed a task group to deal with issues surrounding the implementation of official RDA. The task group is charged with developing an implementation plan that clearly outlines what implementation will mean for PCC members and answer questions such as:

• What does "rolling implementation" mean in the current cataloging context?

• Will catalogers be required to complete specific training before implementation? Will they be required to undergo review?

• What are best practices for interaction between the documentation (e.g., the RDA Toolkit, the LC-PCC Policy Statements, Metadata Guidance Documentation, and other application profile documentation)?

• When will the official RDA Toolkit and supporting documentation be ready for production with BIBFRAME data?

The task group is also charged with surveying the community annually to track PCC's implementation. Activities of the task group are anticipated to take place over a fairly long period of time, with its final report due June 1, 2027.

More details, including membership of the task group, may be found in the PCC RDA Implementation Task Group Charge.

The PCC RDA Communications Committee and You

The PCC RDA Communications Committee has been set up as one of the primary mechanisms for communication between PCC members and standards creators on issues dealing with RDA and its surrounding documentation. We invite all to participate.

If you have a comment-whether major or minor-about RDA, the Toolkit, the LC-PCC Policy Statements, the Metadata Guidance Documentation, or the official PCC RDA Training, including suggestions for improvement, corrections, etc., please use the RDA Communications Committee Feedback Form.

To see feedback that has already been received, together with actions based on the feedback, see the Public Tracking Spreadsheet.

For general information about the committee, including a workflow diagram and past PCC RDA Communications Bulletins, see https://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/rda/communications-committee/.