Why is RDA needed?
RDA has many of the strengths of AACR2 but its new features will make it more useful for description in the digital environment. • RDA has been developed with the end-user in mind. • RDA provides a consistent, flexible and extensible framework for the description of all types of resources, including digital resources and those with multiple characteristics. • RDA is compatible with internationally established principles, models and standards. • RDA is compatible with a range of encoding schemas, such as MODS, Dublin Core, ONIX and MARC, which will allow library bibliographic records to be integrated with those produced by other metadata communities, and to move into the digital environment beyond library catalogues. • RDA will enable, with systems support, the grouping together of bibliographic records for different editions, translations or formats of a work, for a more meaningful display of data for users. • RDA will be a web-based product, which will enable cataloguers to move betwe
