From Testing to Implementation: Managing Full-Scale RDA Adoption at the University of Chicago

Abstract

The University of Chicago Library was a formal participant in the U.S. National Libraries’ Resource Description and Access (RDA), Test from October–December 2010. Immediately following the test period, the Library implemented RDA for original cataloging. This article will reflect on our RDA testing experience, and will address some of the major issues related to managing its adoption, including: staff training; implications on cataloging policies; preparing the integrated library system (ILS) for RDA metadata; managing the integration of RDA with Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) records; major costs associated with full implementation; and finally, what RDA may mean for the future of our metadata infrastructures.