A REPORT ON THE STATUS OF RESOURCE DESCRIPTION AND ACCESS (RDA) IMPLEMENTATION IN PHILIPPINE ACADEMIC LIBRARIES

Abstract

Since the arrival of Resource Description and Access (RDA) in the Philippines in 2011, various library organizations in the country have spearheaded training programs and workshops aimed at helping librarians understand the new code with the end goal of eventually adopting RDA. This paper is part of a longer study on RDA in the Philippines conducted by Santos (2015). It presents the current state of RDA in Philippine academic libraries in terms of their level of implementation to incorporate RDA in their cataloging practice. Questionnaires were distributed to academic librarians during a two-month period. Respondents were asked to identify the extent of implementation their respective libraries have undergone. This research used Hart’s (2010) list of steps libraries can do in order to transition from AACR to RDA. A total of 85 academic librarians representing different institutions from all over the Philippines responded to the study. Responses revealed that librarians coming from institutions within or near Metro Manila have undergone more advanced steps in the implementation of RDA while respondents from farther areas such as in the Visayas and Mindanao, indicated a slower transition to RDA. After the extent of implementation of RDA in Philippine academic libraries was examined, it was revealed that a majority of the librarians are still in the stage of learning and being trained on the new code. A small number of participants, particularly the ones coming from larger libraries within Metro Manila, however, have indicated that they have move past undergoing trainings and have created their own cataloging policies adopting RDA.