Redefining Bibliographical Standards - Changes & Practical Implications

Abstract

This paper can best be described as a report “from the trenches”. Standards for bibliographical data have changed significantly through unprecedented change processes since the turn of the century; change processes that are on-going. The new rules and standards were developed through a far reaching dialogue process. A new data model, new cataloguing principles and rules were developed as a response to the then new digital environment. The aim was to provide standards that transcend any specific data format and could be applied globally not only in libraries but in any context where bibliographic data is of relevance. Such adaptability entails that each community that im-plements these new rules and guidelines has to decide how to correlate them with what has been tradition thus far. Much has been written about the defi-ciencies and benefits of, for example, RDA. Yet, not only the results of the changes provide crucial insights but equally the continuing processes associ-ated with them. The Austrian Library Network will implement RDA by 2016 and is in the middle of a change process in the form of training the trainers; thus receiving immediate feedback on contradictions and unresolved issues. This paper, in a first section, traces the change processes that brought about new standards. It does not purport to be a concise history but aims at delinea-ting the dynamics of change. The second section focuses on issues and ques-tions that arose from the dialogue process in train the trainer sessions orga-nised by the Austrian Library Network when practitioners responded and In: Session 2: Object Description and Metadata Standards questioned the new rules and standards. These issues are reflected in regard to the respective differences in cataloguing rules, standards and traditions. This paper applies two methodologies for a critical appraisal of recent developments regarding standards for bibliographical data. A first section traces the history of the change processes by highlighting key moments and decisions to delineate the context from which these new standards originated. Furthermore, it will be possible to highlight key challenges and problems that had to be resolved. The second section, based on discussions in train the trainer sessions, evaluates datasets which followed different standards. The analysis will outline the changes and differences as well as possible redundancies. This is of interest as change entails both gains and losses in bibliographic accuracy. The question is if this is an inevitable by-product of moving across diverse standards, even more so if the new rules aimed at being compatible with a variety of different existing standards.