With the implementation of RDA: Resource Description and Access in 2013, catalogers have been faced with the task of learning a new set of rules and guidelines that is complex and unfinished.1 To aid in this effort, several experts have written books dedicated to explaining RDA, clarifying the rules, and interpreting them effectively. However, there have been very few works that both make a concerted effort to guide catalogers to a clear understanding of the rules and the underlying theory, and that offer practical steps in creating RDA records. With The RDA Workbook, Mering and her colleagues have taken the first steps toward rectifying this deficiency, albeit in a very general way.

The book begins as any work on RDA should, with an explanation of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR). This explanation, written by Melissa Moll, takes the wise step of first explaining the Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP) and how FRBR, and its implementation in RDA, conforms to these principles.² By doing this, Moll removes FRBR from the vacuum in which it sometimes seems to exist and makes it more concrete. Where many explanations of FRBR simply describe the varying entities in Groups 1, 2, and 3, Moll orients her description of these entities around a single work, in this case “the bibliographic universe surrounding The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (4). By focusing on a particular work, the reader gets a clear picture of the entities and attributes associated with the work and how they correspond to the FRBR model. The key to this chapter’s success is the wealth of diagrams explaining how FRBR maps to real works. Rather than simply offering explanations, the chapter is peppered with small exercises related to the material at hand. It ends with three larger exercises that both solidify the FRBR model and help the reader navigate the RDA Toolkit, which derives its organization from FRBR. The chapter concludes with diagrams that guide readers through RDA based on whether they are identifying an attribute or a relationship.

Once the theory is explained, the actual application of RDA is addressed in the context of bibliographic and authority records. Rather than immediately describing how to create records, a list of key differences between RDA and the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition (AACR2) is provided, such as the concept of core and core-if, the lack of abbreviations, and the elimination of the rule of three.³ The reader is then guided through the process of creating an original cataloging record for a book using RDA with citations of the applicable rules and associated Library of Congress Program for Cooperative Cataloging Policy Statements (LC-PCCs). Following this is a very helpful table that maps the MARC fields to the RDA elements and instruction numbers. This table reinforces the structure of the RDA Toolkit and further solidifies the reader’s knowledge of how to find rules and guidelines. The chapter concludes with tables giving the various RDA elements and their core status, of what they are attributes, where they are found in RDA, and how they are recorded in MARC. While this chapter offers sample records for formats beyond the book, there are no explanations for the more specialized fields (511 and 518, for example). Although mention is made of specialized guidelines such as the Best Practices for Music Cataloging and the as-yet unpublished OnLine Audiovisual Catalogers DVD best practices, it may have been better to omit the sample records rather than offer them with no explanation.⁴ The potential exists for real confusion, especially if catalogers who are working with an unfamiliar format use these samples as a template instead of seeking out the specialized guidelines or consulting RDA itself. The sample record in Figure 2.36 (70), which describes a book with an accompanying CD, also makes the mistake of placing $3 in the wrong location in the 33X fields. This mistake does not appear serious, but since these fields are new and have the potential to be useful to users, catalogers should not be confused about the proper encoding of these elements. The RDA guidelines for creating authority records are also explained in the book. The reader is taken step-by-step through RDA chapter 9 and is then shown how these elements correspond to the MARC authority format. As in the FRBR chapter, helpful exercises are offered throughout and at the close of each chapter.

A real strength of this volume lies in its final chapter, written by Casey Kralik. The question of how best to implement RDA has been hanging over the heads of librarians for some time, and Kralik outlines a phased process for implementation. Kralik also makes a point of including ILS concerns in her plan. She recognizes the importance of involving public services staff in the implementation process so they can help library users operating in an RDA environment.

Mering and her colleagues have provided a useful introduction to RDA. It is just that, however—an introduction. This book is best viewed as an entry point, and Mering is very clear about this; it is meant for a general audience, and only gives a very basic outline of what RDA is and how it is to be used. The book’s chief values lie in its explanation of FRBR, which is clear rather than obfuscated, and in its suggestions for implementation, which are well thought out and very practical.