AACR2 in RDA Toolkit

An online version of AACR2 has been included in the RDA Toolkit subscription since its launch in July 2010. As catalogers and other metadata professionals prepare to implement RDA, having access to both RDA and AACR2 through the same subscription should increase efficiency and productivity. 

RDA Toolkit recognizes that AACR2 is an important tool for catalogers during the transition to RDA and for the foreseeable future, and in December 2013 RDA Toolkit enhanced the AACR2 display with links to the following cataloging-related documents:

- Cartographic Materials [source: Cataloger's Desktop]
- Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) [source: Cataloger's Desktop]
- Library of Congress Rule Interpretations [source: Cataloger's Desktop]
- MARC 21 [source: Cataloger's Desktop]
- Library and Archives Canada Rule Interpretations [source: LAC website]

This addition brought RDA Toolkit in line with the AACR2 experience found on Cataloger's Desktop and built upon the direct links to RDA instructions already available on RDA Toolkit. Of course, RDA Toolkit also includes links from AACR2 to corresponding RDA instructions. In the AACR2 display, non-AACR2 cross reference links appear after the rule number and are ordered as follows--RDA, CM, DCRMB, LCRI, LAC RI.

Below is a sample of a typical AACR2 display in RDA Toolkit.

After April 1, 2013, online access to RDA Toolkit became exclusive to RDA Toolkit. Previously AACR2 rules were also published in Cataloger's Desktop. The AACR2 table of contents and links continue to be available in Cataloger's Desktop, and  those who subscribe to both RDA Toolkit and Cataloger's Desktop can benefit from bidirectional links in both products. Your subscriptions allow for seamless access from Cataloger's Desktop to content found in RDA Toolkit (RDA and AACR2) and from RDA Toolkit to content hosted in Cataloger's Desktop (CM, DCRMB, and LCRI). 

For more information about RDA Toolkit, please email us at rdatoolkit@ala.org or click here to subscribe.

For information about Cataloger’s Desktop and to subscribe, please visit http://www.loc.gov/cds/desktop/ or email to desktop-info@loc.gov.