The ‘Europeanisation’ of Cataloguing Codes: An Analysis of the Evolution of RDA

Abstract

Purpose — This chapter uniquely addresses the topic of introducing a common set of cataloguing rules throughout Europe. While no such development is on the immediate horizon, there are signs that current trends are moving towards that possibility. At first glance, this may appear a trivial development in that ‘European’ standards in many areas are in place and not a source of contention, but in cataloguing, this is not the case.

Design/methodology/approach — The main method used for the research was an in-depth literature review. To gauge the current state of European interest in RDA, an email survey was performed in August 2011, of all the European members of the Standing Committee of the Cataloguing Section of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and all the European speakers at the ‘RDA in Europe: making it happen!’ conference. This sample was chosen as being those individuals who would be most able to give a view from Europe on current cataloguing developments.

Findings — There is considerable interest throughout Europe regarding RDA and harmonising cataloguing codes, but there may be conceptual problems in that some European national cultures may diverge significantly from a core of rules based on English-speaking countries.

Originality/value — This chapter combines in-depth analysis of the proposed new cataloguing code Resource Description and Access (RDA), which will be adopted by English-speaking countries with a novel perspective relating to its adoption in non-English-speaking countries in Europe.

Citation

Poulter, A. (2012), "The ‘Europeanisation’ of Cataloguing Codes: An Analysis of the Evolution of RDA", Spink, A. and Heinström, J. (Ed.) Library and Information Science Trends and Research: Europe (Library and Information Science, Vol. 6), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 67-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1876-0562(2012)0000006007