Resource Description and Access (RDA)-Based Cataloguing in Ghanaian Public University Libraries: State of Play and Potential Strategies for Implementation

Abstract

This study sets out to determine the extent of adoption and implementation of RDA as the cataloguing standard in Ghanaian public university libraries and explore potential strategies for its successful implementation. Surveys and case study designs were mixed under the tenets of mixed methods approach to address the research problem from the perspective of 80 cataloguing practitioners. The study determined that the RDA standard has not been adopted as the cataloguing benchmark for Ghanaian public university libraries save for one out of the nine libraries studied owing to a variety of reasons. It was also concluded that the phasal mode of implementation was adopted by the sole implementing library and strategically appealed to present RDA non-implementing libraries in lieu of a future implementation alongside collaboraion and partnerships. The study recommends among others, collaboration and partnerships with RDA implementing libraries as well as leadership by Ghana’s academic library consortium as potential strategic initiatives toward the entrenchment of the standard in Ghana.