In their preface, Anne Welsh and Sue Batley, both cataloging instructors, write that Practical Cataloguing was commissioned to bridge a gap between cataloging textbooks meant for the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2)/MARC21 environment and textbooks focused on the new standard, RDA: Resource Description and Access.1 Given that many libraries will delay implementing RDA until after the Library of Congress’s planned implementation date of March 31, 2013, and that AACR2 records, like pre–AACR2 records, will be in library catalogs for years to come, this book indeed fills a gap that will be present for some time. Perhaps in recognition of the fact that nobody could write a definitive print cataloging manual in 2012 that would not be obsolete six months later, Practical Cataloguing is neither a how-to-catalog text nor a workbook. Rather, Practical Cataloguing provides a “map to the gap” between AACR2/MARC21 and RDA by combining a discussion of cataloging theory, history, and the issues (and controversies) created by current and future standards, augmented with practical advice for working catalogers in any environment.

The book begins by discussing cataloging codes from Charles Cutter’s Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalogue through RDA.² Additional chapters address related issues such as the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD), and access points and headings.³ The language avoids jargon and is accessible to both novice and experienced librarians. The text takes on a narrative quality as it discusses the evolution of ISBD, AACR2, and MARC21, why and how RDA (with its FRBR underpinnings) has come to replace AACR2, and navigating a workflow where both codes must coexist in an environment with many unknowns. Each chapter contains detailed explanations and copious examples of descriptive data and access points in ISBD, MARC21, RDA, and AACR2. Particularly valuable are the bolded “Practice Notes” in each chapter that give advice on the local interpretations, shortcuts, and compromises catalogers make in their local library systems. Readers in the United States will quickly recognize that the authors are based in the United Kingdom, both from the British spellings of “cataloguing” and “colour,” and from the wry humor that slips into the text. For example, a practice note tells us that “this rule is often ignored or forgotten by cataloguers, as we can see in this example from a real catalogue” (29); access points are introduced with, “When confronted for the first time with the phrase ‘access points’ you might think that you are being faced with a piece of modern cataloguing jargon. And you might be right” (49).

Chapter 10 contains a number of sample records illustrating level 1 and level 2 AACR2 and RDA descriptions. The examples are in ISBD (AACR2 and RDA) and MARC 21 (AACR2 only) format. The examples are all for print monographs; given the ready availability of copy cataloging for print monographs, some examples of serial, nonprint, and nontextual materials would have been more helpful to new catalogers. Even more unfortunate, some of the information about RDA has become outdated only five months after Practical Cataloguing was published. Several URLs point to now-moved or obsolete websites, and in table 6.1 (107–109) the authors illustrate an RDA record in MARC21 by using an example from appendix M in the original RDA draft. While the example includes data for the content, media, and carrier elements, it lacks the mapping to the correct 33X field, a startling omission. Finally, although Practical Cataloguing was published in March 2012, it makes no mention of the Library of Congress’s RDA implementation date. Those seeking information on how to catalog using RDA should visit the Library of Congress’s RDA training materials website at www.loc.gov/aba/rda/training_modules.html. Those seeking the most current version of RDA and RDA-to-MARC21 mappings should consult the RDA toolkit at http://access.rdatoolkit.org.

Practical Cataloguing concludes its narrative with suggestions for key activities that cataloging managers and catalogers both new and experienced can undertake to familiarize themselves with a constantly changing environment. Also included in this section is a guide to resources for keeping current with the latest developments in cataloging codes. Because the authors, like most people, are unable to foretell the future, Practical Cataloguing is not the final word on RDA. However, because it gives the practice of cataloging—both AACR2 and RDA—a solid grounding in theory, it is likely to remain relevant even when the definitive RDA textbooks are published and more libraries implement RDA in their catalogs. Especially for librarians who lack a solid classroom education in cataloging, Practical Cataloguing is a useful guide to the gap between AACR2 and RDA, as well as the gap between a theoretical cataloging education and the actual work of cataloging.