The publication of RDA: Resource Description and Access in 2010 and its subsequent implementation has caused a great amount of angst in the cataloging community, giving rise to a need for resources to help libraries implement this new standard.1RDA: Strategies for Implementation will prove to be a valuable guide to libraries that have not yet implemented RDA while serving as a useful reference for those that have. As a cataloger, manager, and library science educator, author Magda El-Sherbini is well qualified to write this book. She has served on the American Library Association’s RDA Advisory Committee and led the Ohio State University Libraries in their participation in the RDA Test Partnership. Ohio State also served as a beta test site for the RDA Toolkit, and her knowledge of that resource is also comprehensive.

RDA: Strategies for Implementation is organized into nine chapters. It begins with a short chapter that describes the need for a new cataloging code, RDA’s undelying principles and objectives, and RDA’s impact on cataloging. Chapter 2 addresses the differences between RDA and the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2).² This is highly useful, and the differences are presented in chart form so that the AACR2 and RDA practices are side-by-side and can be easily compared. El-Sherbini breaks these differences into categories such as scope, description, use of square brackets, recording inaccuracies, abbreviations, capitalization, and many descriptive elements of the cataloging record.

In the third chapter, El-Sherbini provides good advice for implementing RDA. She shares tips for catalogers and cataloging managers on becoming familiar with the resources needed to work with RDA, including the RDA Toolkit. She refers catalogers to the many webinars that are freely available on the Internet, and provides advice for conducting in-house training. Part of the intention of RDA was to allow online catalog interfaces to display records in a more meaningful way. This third chapter includes a section that demonstrates how RDA can affect interface displays in a positive way. RDA has required the establishment of new MARC fields, and those are described in this chapter along with suggestions for implementation.

With chapter 4, El-Sherbini changes gear somewhat to present the theoretical underpinnings of RDA. The Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) conceptual model was presented at an International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference in 1997 and has been used as the basis for development of RDA. El-Sherbini does an excellent job of explaining the FRBR model of entities, attributes, and relationships, and demonstrating its application through illustrations in this chapter.

Chapters 5 and 6 contain the meat of the cataloging instruction. Chapter 5 addresses manifestations and items, and chapter 6 addresses works and expressions. Each chapter provides a robust set of instructions, referencing the RDA rule and MARC tag as appropriate. Chapter 6 includes a thorough discussion on relationships, a key concept in RDA.

The RDA Toolkit is an online resource that many, if not most, catalogers will use to access RDA and many accompanying resources. In chapter 7, El-Sherbini provides instructions for using the Toolkit, including logging in, using its FAQ and help features, browsing the Toolkit using its tabs, and the quick and advanced search options. Many screenshots illustrate each section discussed. This chapter should prove immensely useful to catalogers, managers, and trainers.

El-Sherbini devotes chapter 8 to dozens of examples of RDA records. These examples illustrate types of resources that catalogers would likely face, including print monographs, serials, visual materials, maps, globes, sound recordings, scores, integrating resources, computer files, and more. Each sample record has an accompanying notes section in which El-Sherbini points out significant issues. For instance, with the print monograph example, she notes the differences in transcription practice, abbreviation, source of cataloging information, and the new MARC fields for content, media, and carrier type. These notes are very useful and will be an excellent resource for trainers.

Chapter 9 includes a brief selection of checklists that catalogers, managers, and trainers will find very helpful. It includes checklists for copy and original catalogers, and one for authority control.

RDA: Strategies for Implementation is well organized, with many illustrations, tables, and screenshots that demonstrate the rules, the theory behind the rules, and the Toolkit developed to support use of RDA. Each chapter includes a list of references and additional resources that readers can use to investigate topics further. The book also includes a bibliography and index.

RDA: Strategies for Implementation will be an excellent resource for catalogers who are in the midst of implementing RDA. It will also be useful for managers and trainers, who can use the many tips for implementation and the checklists. Libraries that have already implemented RDA would also find this book useful to have in their cataloging reference collections. There are a few flaws in the book, including typos and other errors. Since the book was completed in January 2012, subsequent changes to RDA and policy decisions that occurred since then are not represented. One example is the Program for Cooperative Cataloging’s (PCC) decision about the use of MARC field 264 for publication data, which this book does not address. This book would be an excellent addition to personal or professional collections in any library.