RDA and Serials Cataloging

Reflecting the new modelling for serials introduced by IFLA’s Library Reference Model in the most recent revisions to RDA, this up-to-date resource is an important tool for day-to-day practice as well as a reference manual for unusual or difficult cases.

Serials and continuing resources present a variety of unique challenges in bibliographic management, from special issues and unnumbered supplements to recording the changes that a long-running periodical can experience over time. Of this book’s first edition, the Australian Library Journal declared, “Highly recommended for any situation – technical service departments or library students – where serials need to be catalogued using RDA protocols.”

Jones, a serials authority in the field and a major contributor to the 3R Project, here updates his authoritative text. Framing the practice within the structure of the IFLA LRM conceptual model on which RDA is now based, and its new modelling of serials, his guide:

• introduces the concept of diachronic work and explains how serials, as a type of diachronic work, can be described using the new attribute element extension plan;
• explores new developments after the completion of the 3R Project, with references to AACR2 as a touchstone;
• introduces the new term work group and demonstrates its usefulness in enabling relationships and supporting collocation;
• demonstrates how serials cataloguers' work fits in the cooperative context of OCLC, CONSER, and NACO; and
• presents examples of how RDA records can ultimately engage with the Semantic Web.