RDA refreshers / improver course

A one-day online training event building on LAICMG's 2026 introduction to Resource Description and Access (RDA) training

In this RDA improvers / refreshers course, Anne Welsh will look at some examples of more complex publications, such as related works (films of books and soundtracks from films, for example). She will also look at versioning and the way that some works are combined and recombined with others. In old money (AACR2) these were often dealt with these using a combination of contents notes (MARC 505), added entries (700 author / title / 730 added uniform title / 246 alternative title) and analytical entries (MARC 740). The good news continues to be that if we are working in a MARC environment or a non-MARC LMS that is not BIBFRAME, we can still use these solutions.

However, in response to community needs, RDA provides a different way to consider this issue conceptually, which once we are eventually working in a BIBFRAME or other Linked Data cataloguing environment should allow us to reap new rewards. The course will also discuss where your institutions are with the move to Official RDA and look at some of the things to consider if you are moving towards implementation.

This training is suitable for those who attended LAI CMG's 2026 training or earlier trainings, or for those already familiar with the basics of RDA (how to catalogue monographs with straightforward titles, authors and edition statements). You do not need to know MARC or AACR2 since we will be working in MARC on paper / a Word document, but where there is a process that relates to older Anglo-American procedures, the trainer will refer to them in passing for the benefit of those who have catalogued in AACR2.

This training event is organised by the LAI Cataloguing and Metadata Group for the benefit of the Irish cataloguing community.

The trainer

With three decades of experience documenting special collections and over a decade as the author of bestselling books on Cataloguing (Facet; Neal Schuman; Routledge), today Anne Welsh provides cataloguing and metadata services, training and consultancy for libraries, publishers and a few select individuals. Further details are available at beginningcataloguing

Anne is an editorial consultant to ALA Digital Reference, Secretary of the RDA Steering Committee (RSC) and Honorary Secretary of CILIP Metdata and Discovery Group. She is also a co-opted member of the BIC Library Metadata Group and the UK Committee on RDA (UKCoR).

See here for further details of LAI membership