LC Announces RDA Implementation Plans

The Library of Congress recently announced that they have devised a long-range training plan for their (now, effectively, certain) move to RDA.

First, a little background. The U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee issued last June a report in which they recommended that RDA adoption by the Library of Congress, the National Agricultural Library, and the National Library of Medicine take place "no sooner than January 2013"—and then only if nine conditions are either met or significant movement is made on achieving them.[1] According to Beacher Wiggins (Director, Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate), a recently published update reveals good progress is being made on matters such as "re-wording" parts of RDA into less elaborate prose and establishing a framework for a successor to the MARC standard.[2] And so with fulfillment of the prerequisites looking favorable, LC personnel have devised a year-long, three-part training plan to bring their cataloging staff up to speed on RDA.

Doubtless the most significant aspect of LC's plan is their target date for RDA implementation: March 31, 2013. This date, as they put it, is "when all catalog records newly created at LC will be produced according to RDA instructions."[3] (Though a "target" date and not a firm deadline, it does give something for the rest of us to hang our hats on.) Their planning document goes into further detail on scheduling, recommended instruction topics, and logistical issues pertinent to LC staff and supervisors; at the same time, it could also serve as a blueprint for local library training.