Resource Description and Access RDA – RDA DACH

Resource Description and Access (RDA) is an international cataloguing standard. This standard was introduced in the German-speaking countries as part of a comprehensive project led by the German National Library that spanned the period between 2012 and 2016. The German National Library has been using this cataloguing standard for its descriptive cataloguing activities since October 2015. The standard is based on the IFLA Library Reference Model (IFLA LRM) and the IFLA Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (IFLA ICP). RDA encompasses data elements, guidelines and instructions and is made accessible in the form of a web product – the RDA Toolkit. Along with the RDA text, the RDA Toolkit contains a number of tools and materials. Institutions in the German-speaking countries can use the RDA Toolkit under a consortial licence after joining the consortium.

RDA Toolkit

Download consortial agreement from STA-Community-Wiki

RDA is constantly undergoing further development as part of a cooperative international process. The German National Library has been using this cataloguing standard for its descriptive cataloguing activities since October 2015. The original RDA Toolkit was restructured and its content revised during the course of the "RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign Project" (3R Project) between 2016 and 2020; from 2020, it was presented on a new online platform: RDA Toolkit.

The RDA Steering Committee (RSC) is responsible for developing and maintaining the RDA standard worldwide.

More about the RDA Steering Committee (RSC)

A separate presentation of the standard was developed as part of the "3R for libraries in the Gernan-speaking countries" project; in August 2023, it was published on the STA documentation platform of the Committee for Library Standards under the name RDA DACH. RDA DACH is the RDA cataloguing standard for the German-speaking countries.

The STA documentation platform is regularly developed further and the content of the RDA DACH standard is continually being expanded. This includes the option of importing special rules from user communities and intensifying the focus on other cultural and knowledge institutions such as archives and museums.

The Committee for Library Standards has assigned the task of maintaining and developing the RDA DACH standard to the committees and working groups under its aegis. The rules are the constant focus of the working groups’ activities; they work hand-in-hand to make adjustments and additions that flow into the semi-annual releases on the STA documentation platform.

General information on the development and application status of RDA DACH is provided in the STA Community Wiki

The German National Library’s Office for Library Standards (AfS) supervises and coordinates the maintenance and development of the RDA DACH standard. It also contributes to the further development of the international RDA standard by participating in European committees such as EURIG.

More about EURIG

IFLA Library Reference Model (IFLA LRM)

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has been supporting the development of conceptual models for cataloguing data since the 1990s. The first such model was the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), published in 1998. Other FR models were released during the years that followed.

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The IFLA Library Reference Model (IFLA LRM) is a conceptual model that covers all aspects of bibliographic cataloguing. It also supports the integration of bibliographic data into linked data applications. It is based on the preceding models Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD) and Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRSAD).
The German National Library was a member of the IFLA working group that developed the IFLA LRM and is now observing further work on the models in the FRBR family as part of its involvement with the IFLA Cataloguing Section.

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International Cataloguing Principles (ICP)

The first Statement of Principles, also known as the "Paris Principles", was issued in 1961. This international agreement on fundamental cataloguing issues became the basis for international standardisation: all the standards and cataloguing codes developed since then are based on the ICP. A revised version dating from 2009 also takes non-printed resources and the requirements of online catalogues into account. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) published the most recent version in 2016. This version is more closely aligned with changing user requirements. The German National Library has compiled a German translation. The ICP are currently being revised by a sub-group in the IFLA Cataloguing Section.

More about ICP