Cataloging Resources

Descriptive cataloging involves using a standardized set of rules—currently RDA: Resource Description and Access—to record information such as a work’s title, authorship, and publication details. It also includes describing the physical characteristics of the item, adding bibliographic notes as needed, and creating access points for individuals or organizations associated with the work’s creation.

The foundation for standardized cataloging began in 1841, when Antonio Panizzi developed his 91 Rules for Compilation of the Catalogue for the British Museum (now the British Library). These rules represented the first major effort to formalize bibliographic description for what was then intended to be a printed book catalog.

In 1876, Charles Ammi Cutter, librarian of the Boston Athenæum and later the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, published Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalogue. The U.S. Bureau of Education commissioned this influential work as part of a broader survey of American libraries.

By 1908, the American Library Association and the Library Association (UK) collaborated to produce the first international cataloging code, published in the U.S. as Catalog Rules: Author and Title Entries.

Throughout the 20th century, cataloging rules were periodically revised by ALA committees, culminating in the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR). AACR had two versions published in 1967—one for North America and one for the UK—and was later unified and updated in 1978, with further revisions in 1988, 1998, and 2002.

In 2004, a major revision effort known as the 3R Project (RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign) began, leading to the development of RDA: Resource Description and Access. Designed for the digital age and to align with the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM), RDA was first released in 2010 and significantly overhauled in the Official RDA, launched in December 2020.

The Official RDA introduces a more flexible, modular structure, better accommodates linked data environments, and supports more inclusive and international cataloging practices. It is available through the redesigned RDA Toolkit, and continues to evolve as cataloging needs and technologies change.