Mike Tribby
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:16:15 -0700
>From Laurence Creider: > Would someone explain to me why we are rushing to implement something > that > is not even finished? Yes, a first version is available, but > there are > still major pieces missing. >From Bernhard Eversberg: >Who is rushing? Everyone who writes here has expressed their lack of >intentions of rushing into it. And of course it makes no sense to do >*anything* at all before LC have made up their mind. Remember it is still >possible they decide against it! A recurring phenomenon that may make people question whether or not RDA is a "done deal," and thus being rushed into, is the frequent public reference to "when" rather than "if" RDA is adopted. Granted a lot of these references seem to be phrased as if RDA is an inevitability because the announcements and pronouncements to which they are attached are specifically involved with the "how" of implemenation. But given that these references keep coming, often emanating from places and people who should know what they're talking about, plus the not infrequently invoked observation from some in the cataloging community that change is good no matter what the change is, or that change is inevitable so get used to it, it's not surprising that there is some question as to RDA being rushed, not to say crammed down our collective throat. What Bernhard says is definitely true. The fact that some pronouncements of LC (among others) don't emphasize the obligatory nod to the tentative nature of adoption underlines the suspicions being expressed. Of course one probably needs to have a "suspicious mind" [ref. the Elvis Presley song Suspicious Minds] to have these suspicions. I defintiely qualify, some days more than others. Mike Tribby Senior Cataloger Quality Books Inc. The Best of America's Independent Presses mailto:mike.tri...@quality-books.com