The actual importance of RDA (Resource Description and Access) elements in supporting key user tasks

The Resource Description & Access (RDA) cataloguing standard stipulates sets of core elements for cataloguers to include in their description of information resources and in the resources' associated content and agents. The elements RDA deems core were selected according to their relative utility in meeting key user tasks, such as finding, selecting and identifying items and works, and finding and identifying persons and bodies associated with items and works. However, this selection was not based on empirical evidence, but on expert opinion.A study by Hider and Tan (2008) which investigated the relative value of various elements in catalogue records suggests that the RDA core elements may require revision. This new study examines the validity of the RDA core sets in more depth, employing think-aloud usability testing techniques and sets of typical bibliographic tasks, to gauge which of all the RDA elements are the most critical in a university library context.The results provide guidance on the adoption of the RDA standard and its elements, and on the value of fully implementing the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) and Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD) models on which RDA is based.