Library Information Science blog: A brief overview of some of the changes from AACR2 to RDA

Units of measurement
Abbreviations that are regularly used in resources and are commonly understood by users (e.g., "SATB", "op.")
Abbreviations that a resource uses to identify itself (e.g., "BWV" instead of "Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis")

Abbreviations are used only when they appear on the resource. The exceptions are no. and op. (which will be used the same way as they were in AACR2: in the title area, abbreviate only when abbreviated on the item; abbreviate in access points), thematic index numbers, voice range (SATB, etc.), and units of measurements.
Use "in." for inches; however, "cm" is no longer considered to be an abbreviation
Use "stereo" and "mono" (also no longer considered to be abbreviations), but spell out other terms ("quadrophonic," etc.)

AACR2

RDA

pages

ca.

approximately

i.e.

that is

acc.

accompanied

unacc.

unaccompanied

arr.

arranged

ill.

illustrations

col.

color

facsim.

facsimile

ed.

edition

S.l.

[place of publication not identified]

s.n.

[publisher not identified]

n.d.

[date of publication not identified]

Examples of some of changes to abbreviations used in the physical description (extent of item)

AACR2

RDA

3 vol.

3 volumes

ca. 200 p.

approximately 200 pages

48 [i.e. 96] p.

48, that is, 96 pages

[16] p. of plates

16 unnumbered pages of plates

Dimensions:
AACR2: the system of measurement used to record dimensions varies depending on the type of resource.
RDA: metric units are used. (LCPS 3.5.1.3 allows for using inches for discs (RDA 3.5.1.4.4))

Metric units:
AACR2: they are considered abbreviations and are followed by a full stop (e.g., cm.)
RDA: they are treated as symbols and are not followed by a full stop (e.g., cm).

Examples of changes to abbreviations used in dates in authorized access points representing persons (formerly known as name headings)

AACR2

RDA

LC practice (when it varies from RDA)

b. 1825

born 1825

1825-

d. 1859

died 1859

-1859

fl.

flourished

active

ca. 1837

approximately 1837

----

1836 or 7

1836 or 1837

----

18th cent.

18th century

----

16th/17th cent.

active 16th century-17th century

----

Recording and transcribing:
RDA differentiates between recording and transcribing elements.
   ° Recorded elements: the found information is often adjusted
   ° Transcribed elements: the data is accepted as found on the resource
   ° The transcribed elements are:

Element	Associated MARC field
title	245 ‡a, ‡b
statement of responsibility	245 ‡c
edition statement	250 ‡a, ‡b
numbering of serials	490 ‡v
production statement	264 _0 ‡a, ‡b, ‡c
publication statement	264 _1 ‡a, ‡b, ‡c
distribution statement	264 _2 ‡a, ‡b, ‡c
manufacture statement	264 _3 ‡a, ‡b, ‡c
series statement	490 ‡a

New to RDA:
Capitalization: RDA Appendix A: LC policy is to follow the capitalization on the resource or follow the instructions in Appendix A.
Diacritics: Transcribe when they appear; not necessary to add them when they are omitted from the resource.
Abbreviations: RDA Appendix B: Transcribe as found on the RDA preferred source; otherwise do not use abbreviations

Other things:
Parallel titles may be taken from anywhere on the resource, and are not enclosed in brackets
   ° However, other title information must be taken from the same source as the title proper
Statement of responsibility may be taken from anywhere on the resource
   ° Transcribe title, terms of address, etc.
   ° Transcribe all persons named, even when there are four or more
Edition statement:
   ° Abbreviations are used only when they appear on the resource
   ° Use the form of numbering (e.g., Arabic, roman, etc.) that appear on the resource

Inaccuracies, omissions:
AACR2: Inaccuracies are transcribed followed either by [sic] or by "i.e." and the correction in square brackets. Missing letter(s) are supplied in square brackets.
RDA: Inaccuracies are transcribed as they appear on the source of information. If necessary, a note may be made correcting the inaccuracy, and the title as corrected may be recorded as a variant title if it is considered important for access.

Examples
AACR2 1.0F
245 10 ‡a Morton Feldmans Untiteled [sic] composition für Cello und Klavier
246 3 ‡a Morton Feldmans Untitled composition für Cello und Klavier

RDA 1.7.9, 2.3.1.4
245 10 ‡a Morton Feldmans Untiteled composition für Cello und Klavier
246 3 ‡i Title should read: ‡a Morton Feldmans Untitled composition für Cello und Klavier

AACR2 1.0F
245 00 ‡a Horn sonat[a]s
246 3 ‡a Horn sonats

RDA 1.7.9, 2.3.1.4
245 00 ‡a Horn sonats
246 3 ‡i Title should read: ‡a Horn sonatas

Dashes, brackets
AACR2: ... (ellipses) and [ ] square brackets are replace by — and ( ).
RDA: The punctuation is transcribed as it appears on the source.

Example
Title appears on the resource as
...Huésped de las nieblas...
...Guest from the mists...
for flute and piano

AACR2 1.1B1F
245 10 ‡a --Huésped de las nieblas-- = ‡b --Guest from the mists-- : for flute and piano

RDA 1.7.3
245 10 ‡a ...Huésped de las nieblas... = ‡b ...Guest from the mists... : for flute and piano

Chief/preferred source:

Title:

Scores		Sound recordings
AACR2	RDA (2.2.2.2)	AACR2	RDA (2.2.2.4)
caption cover colophon other preliminaries other sources	cover caption masthead colophon		label^* embedded textual material elsewhere on the resource (container, insert, etc.)

^*Use the label:
° even when there is a collective title elsewhere on the resource
° only if the information found there represents the resource as a whole
For multi-disc sets, use the labels collectively

Edition statement: (250 field) will now encompass elements relating to the format of music that were scattered over various areas in AACR2:
° Musical presentation statement (e.g., Score and parts), an AACR2 element tagged in the 254 field
° Statements of responsibility relating to the format of music (e.g., vocal score by [name]), currently tagged in 245/‡c
° Voice range statements (e.g., High voice)

Publication statement: A new, repeatable MARC field (264) is used for production, publication, distribution, printing, and copyright date

1st indicator:	always blank
2nd indicator:
0=	production (for unpublished resources)
1=	publication
2=	distribution
3=	manufacture
4=	copyright notice date (optional)

Abbreviations are not used unless they appear on the resource.

Place of publication: if more than one, only the first is required (2.8.2)
   ° Include all hierarchies of place, e.g., New Haven, CT, USA
   ° No requirement to include place in the US if the publisher is not in the US
Publisher name: if more than one, on the first is required (2.8.4)
   ° Use the full name as found on the resource, e.g., Theodore Presser Company, Hildegarde Publishing Company
   ° Include all corporate hierarchies of the name of publisher
Date of publication: record the date as found on the resource
   ° LCPS 1.8.2 (first alternative) says to transcribe roman numerals and not convert to Arabic

Place, name, and/or date of publication not identified on resource:
   ° AACR2: [S.l.], [s.n.], [n.d.]
   ° RDA: [place of publication not identified], [publisher not identified], [date of publication not identified]
      ° LCPS instruction strongly encourages: supply a place of publication in brackets or date in brackets
      ° Each subfield is separately bracketed: D1.2.1: When adjacent elements within one area are to be enclosed in square brackets, enclose each in its own set of square brackets.

from: RDA Basics (PPT)

Publication dates and copyright (©)/phonogram () dates are different elements in RDA and the copyright date may not be used for the date of publication.

If the date of publication is unknown, use [Date of publication not identified] or an estimated date in brackets, with a question mark, if necessary.
Copyright/phonogram date is not required if a publication date is known. However, for music materials, it is strongly suggested that copyright/phonogram dates are included, even when they are the same as the publication date.
° Record the latest copyright date; for recordings, prefer

dates over © dates.

Extent (RDA 3.4)/Physical description (AACR2):
The number and type of units (a physical or logical constituent of a resource; e.g., a volume, audiocassette, film reel, a map, a digital file) and/or subunit (a physical or logical subdivision of a unit; e.g., a page of a volume, a frame of a microfiche, a record in a digital file)
Give the extent if the resource is complete or if the total extent is known

Use the appropriate term, which may be a term from the carrier type list (3.3.1.3) or a general term (3.4.1.3)

Notated music:
Some terms are no longer used.

AACR2

RDA
(see 7.20.13 or metadata registry for a full list of terms)

v. of music, p. of music, leaves of music

score

close score

condensed score (now used for both vocal and instrumental scores)

miniature score

study score

Examples

AACR2

RDA

16 p. of music

1 score (16 pages)

1 miniature score

1 study score

1 close score

1 condensed score

1 sound disc

1 audio disc

1 sound cassette

1 audiocassette

Physical description of sound recordings:
Most terms for types of carriers used in the extent are modified. The word "sound" is discontinued to avoid confusion with content.

AACR2

RDA

sound cartridge

audio cartridge

sound disc

audio disc

piano, [etc.] roll

audio roll

sound cassette

audiocassette

sound tape reel

audio tape

sound track film reel, [cassette, etc.]

sound-track reel

Additionally, some details are given even if they are standard for the type of resource:
° type of recording: analog, digital (3.16.2.3)
° recording medium (3.16.3.3)
° playing speed (3.16.4.3)
° groove characteristic (3.16.5.3) (e.g., microgroove)
° track configuration (3.16.6.3)
° tape configure (number of tracks on an audiotape) (3.16.7.3) (e.g., 12 track)
° playback (3.16.8.3) (e.g., mono, stereo)
° special playback characteristics (3.16.9.3) (e.g., Dolby, CD audio, DVD audio, MP3, SACD)
° tape configuration (number of tracks on an audiotape)
° dimensions of cartridges and cassettes, including the width of the tape
° metric units are used for dimensions, but RDA allows for the use of another system of measure
(e.g., inches: 4 3/4 in.)

General material designation:

Three new fields (336, 337, 338) collectively replace the General material designation (245 ‡h)
See Content, Media, and Carrier (RDA 6.9, 3.2, 3.3 & MARC 336-338)

Notation: indicating type of notation, even with it is staff notation, is required in RDA (7.13; see also metadata registry) and is given in the 546 field: graphic notation, letter notation, mensural notation, neumatic notation, number notation, solmization, staff notation, tablature, tonic sol-fa.

Uniform titles/Preferred titles (See also A comparison of uniform titles (AACR2) and preferred titles (RDA) In progress)
Two separate steps in RDA
   1. record attributes (6.2-6.26)
   2. determine which attributes to use in the authorized access point (6.27-6.31)

Authorized access points comprise
   ° preferred name of the creator (if applicable)
   ° preferred title of work (6.2.1, 6.14, 6.28.1.1-6.28.1.8)
   ° additional elements to differentiate among other works/expressions (6.28.1.9-6.28.1.11)

Differences from AACR2:
   ° no equivalent to AACR2's "works of mixed responsibility"
   ° "work(s)" in RDA refers to both individual works and compilations
   ° medium of performance in access point can contain more than three elements
   ° standard chamber combinations (e.g., string quartet, piano trio, etc.) are no longer used
   ° use "cello" not "violoncello"
   ° spell out "acc." "arr." and "unacc."
   ° fewer restrictions on recording key
   ° librettos and operas are considered separate works
Source: RDA and Sound Recordings—A Cataloging Workshop: Cataloging with RDA—Sound Recordingswork

___________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Yale University library Website

http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/rdaoverview.htm

RDA and sound recordings—a cataloging workshop by Kathy Glennan
A brief introduction to RDA for scores & sound recordings by Nancy Lorimer
Changes from AACR2 to RDA: a comparison of examples by Adam L. Schiff, Principal Cataloger, University of Washington Libraries
Significant changes for cataloging music: AACR2 vs. RDA by Daniel Paradis, Concordia University