“The RDA Day is programmed by the UK Committee on RDA. Using activities and games throughout informative presentations, the RDA Day will inform and engage metadata practitioners and managers on a content standard which integrates well with the metadata needs of the 21st century” Paper presented on the UKCoR RDA Day during the Metadata & Discovery Group Conference (6th - 8th Sept 2023 at IET Austin Court, Birmingham)

1. The Official RDA Toolkit:
Opportunities for Efficiency
Presented to RDA Day 2023
Birmingham, England, 8th September 2023
Thurstan Young,
British Library

2. Overview (1)
What does RDA say about efficiency?

3. Overview (2)
Purpose and scope
RDA is designed to take advantage of the efficiencies and flexibility in data capture, storage, retrieval, and
display made possible with new database technologies. RDA is also designed to be compatible with the
legacy technologies still used in many resource discovery applications.
Guidance > Introduction to RDA
Cost efficiency
The metadata should meet functional requirements of an application in a cost-efficient manner to produce
standardized data allowing for broad data exchange.
Guidance > Introduction to RDA > Objectives and principles governing RDA

4. Overview (3)
The Official RDA Toolkit supports efficient resource discovery by:
• Meeting fundamental user needs
• Reducing the requirement for manual intervention
• Increasing the scope programmed intervention
• Increasing the scope for reuse of bibliographic metadata

5. Overview (4)
The Official RDA Toolkit offers a means of achieving efficient
resource discovery by:
• Minimum Description
• Shortcut Elements
• Basic Transcription
• Manifestation Statements

6. Minimum Description (Background 1)
minimum description
A description that is the least data required for a well-formed metadata description set.
Resources > Glossary
Minimum description of a resource entity
A minimum metadata description set of a resource entity must conform to the requirements and constraints given in
Guidance: Resource description. Coherent description of an information resource.
Guidance > Resource description > Minimum description of a resource entity
Minimum coherent description
A coherent description of an information resource must include a description of at least one of its entities. An entity is
described by recording a value for at least one appellation element of the entity using the recording method appropriate
for the element. An entity is related to another entity by recording a value for a relationship element using any of the
recording methods.
Guidance > Resource description > Coherent description of an information resource

7. Minimum Description (Background 2)
Minimum description of a manifestation
A minimum description of a manifestation must include one of the following elements:
•Manifestation: appellation of manifestation
• or Manifestation: title of manifestation
• or Manifestation: title proper
• or Manifestation: access point for manifestation
• or Manifestation: authorized access point for manifestation
• or Manifestation: identifier for manifestation
Guidance > Resource description > Minimum description of a resource entity

8. Minimum Description (Background 3)
Minimum description of a manifestation
A minimum description of a manifestation must also include one of the following elements:
•Manifestation: expression manifested with a value of:
• Expression: appellation of expression
• or Expression: title of expression
• or Expression: preferred title of expression
• or Expression: access point for expression
• or Expression: authorized access point for expression
• or Expression: identifier for expression
• or IRI for an expression
•or Manifestation: work manifested with a value of:
• Work: appellation of work
• or Work: title of work
• or Work: preferred title of work
• or Work: access point for work
• or Work: authorized access point for work
• or Work: identifier for work
• or IRI for a work

9. Minimum Description: Example (1)
Cover Title Page (Preferred Source) Title Page Verso

10. Minimum Description (Example 2)
Minimum description of a manifestation
A minimum description of a manifestation must include one of the following elements:
•Manifestation: appellation of manifestation
• or Manifestation: title of manifestation
• or Manifestation: title proper
• or Manifestation: access point for manifestation
• or Manifestation: authorized access point for manifestation
• or Manifestation: identifier for manifestation
Guidance > Resource description > Minimum description of a resource entity

11. Minimum Description (Example 3)
Minimum description of a manifestation
A minimum description of a manifestation must also include one of the following elements:
•Manifestation: expression manifested with a value of:
• Expression: appellation of expression
• or Expression: title of expression
• or Expression: preferred title of expression
• or Expression: access point for expression
• or Expression: authorized access point for expression
• or Expression: identifier for expression
• or IRI for an expression
•or Manifestation: work manifested with a value of:
• Work: appellation of work
• or Work: title of work
• or Work: preferred title of work
• or Work: access point for work
• or Work: authorized access point for work
• or Work: identifier for work
• or IRI for a work

12. Minimum Description: Example (4)
Relationship View:
Manifestation:
access point for expression (expression manifested)
Benim adım Kırmızı. English
Manifestation:
title proper
My name is Red

13. Minimum Description: Example (5)
MARC 21 View: 24010 $a Benim adım Kırmızı. $l English
24510 $a My name is red.

14. Minimum Description: not the same as “Core” (1)
Relationship View:
Manifestation:
access point for expression (expression manifested)
Benim adım Kırmızı. English
Manifestation:
title proper
My name is Red
statement of responsibility
Orhan Pamuk ; translated from the Turkish by Erdağ M. Göknar
place of publication
New York
name of publisher
Alfred A. Knopf
date of publication
2001
extent
xv, 417 pages
carrier type
volume
identifier for manifestation
0375406956 (alk. paper)

15. Minimum Description: not the same as “Core” (2)
MARC 21 View: 020 ## $a 0375406956 (alk. paper)
24010 $a Benim adım Kırmızı. $l English
24510 $a My name is Red / $c Orhan Pamuk ; translated from the Turkish by Erdağ M. Göknar.
264 1# $a New York : $b Alfred A. Knopf, $c 2001.
300 ## $a xv, 417 pages.
338 ## $a volume $2 rdacontent

16. Shortcut Relationships (Background 1)
Shortcut
An element that relates two RDA entities that are indirectly associated through one or more other RDA entities.
Resources > Glossary
Relationship shortcuts
A shortcut is a relationship element that directly relates two RDA entities that are indirectly related through one or
more intermediary entities.
This allows the two entities to be associated without recording any of the intermediary entities or relationships.
Information about an intermediary entity cannot be inferred from the value of a shortcut.
For example, Manifestation: work manifested relates a manifestation and a work. It is a shortcut for:
1.Manifestation: expression manifested
2.Expression: work expressed
Guidance > Introduction to RDA > Data elements

17. Shortcut Relationships (Background 2)
work manifested
Definition and Scope
A work that is embodied by a manifestation
Prerecording
This element is a shortcut for the following chain of relationships:
Manifestation: expression manifested for an expression that is embodied by the manifestation
Expression: work expressed for a work that is realized by the expression
The element does not identify any expression that realizes the work.
For general guidance on shortcuts, see Guidance: Introduction to RDA. Data elements. Relationship shortcuts.
Entities > Manifestation > work manifested

18. Shortcut Relationships : Example (1)

19. Shortcut Relationships : Example (2)
Minimum description of a manifestation
A minimum description of a manifestation must include one of the following elements:
•Manifestation: appellation of manifestation
• or Manifestation: title of manifestation
• or Manifestation: title proper
• or Manifestation: access point for manifestation
• or Manifestation: authorized access point for manifestation
• or Manifestation: identifier for manifestation
Guidance > Resource description > Minimum description of a resource entity

20. Shortcut Relationships : Example (3)
Minimum description of a manifestation
A minimum description of a manifestation must also include one of the following elements:
•Manifestation: expression manifested with a value of:
• Expression: appellation of expression
• or Expression: title of expression
• or Expression: preferred title of expression
• or Expression: access point for expression
• or Expression: authorized access point for expression
• or Expression: identifier for expression
• or IRI for an expression
•or Manifestation: work manifested with a value of:
• Work: appellation of work
• or Work: title of work
• or Work: preferred title of work
• or Work: access point for work
• or Work: authorized access point for work
• or Work: identifier for work
• or IRI for a work

21. Shortcut Relationships: Example (4)
Relationship View:
Expression:
access point for work (work expressed)
Benim adım Kırmızı.
Manifestation:
access point for expression (expression manifested)
Benim adım Kırmızı. English
Manifestation:
title proper
My name is Red

22. Shortcut Relationships: Example (5)
MARC 21 View: 24010 $a Benim adım Kırmızı.
24510 $a My name is Red.

23. Shortcut Relationships: Alternative to “Direct” (1)
Relationship View:
Expression:
access point for work (work expressed)
Benim adım Kırmızı.
Manifestation:
access point for expression (expression manifested)
Benim adım Kırmızı. English
Manifestation:
title proper
My name is Red

24. Shortcut Relationships: Alternative to “Direct” (2)
MARC 21 View: 24010 $a Benim adım Kırmızı. $l English
24510 $a My name is Red.

25. Basic Transcription (Background 1)
Guidelines on basic transcription
These guidelines may be applied when transcribing unstructured descriptions of manifestation elements
and elements of other RDA entities where the option to use transcription guidelines is specified.
Preserve the capitalization, punctuation, numerals, abbreviations, and diacritics as they appear on the
manifestation.
Omit symbols or other images intended to be interpreted as text that are not available in the character set
used by the agent who creates the transcription.
Transcribe the components of a manifestation statement in the order in which they appear on the
manifestation.
Guidance > Transcription guidelines > Guidelines on basic transcription

26. Basic Transcription (Background 2)
Guidance > Transcription guidelines

27. Basic Transcription (Background 3)
Guidelines on basic transcription
Guidance > Transcription guidelines > Guidelines on basic transcription

28. Basic Transcription: Example (1)

29. Basic Transcription: Example (2)
Guidelines on basic transcription
These guidelines may be applied when transcribing unstructured descriptions of manifestation elements
and elements of other RDA entities where the option to use transcription guidelines is specified.
Preserve the capitalization, punctuation, numerals, abbreviations, and diacritics as they appear on the
manifestation.
Omit symbols or other images intended to be interpreted as text that are not available in the character set
used by the agent who creates the transcription.
Transcribe the components of a manifestation statement in the order in which they appear on the
manifestation.
Guidance > Transcription guidelines > Guidelines on basic transcription

30. Basic Transcription (Example 3)
Guidelines on basic transcription

31. Basic Transcription: Example (4)
Relationship View:
Manifestation:
access point for expression (expression manifested)
Benim adım Kırmızı. English
Manifestation:
title proper
MY NAME IS RED
statement of responsibility
Orhan Pamuk ; translated from the Turkish by Erdağ M. Göknar
place of publication
NEW YORK :
name of publisher
ALFRED A. KNOPF,
date of publication
2001

32. Basic Transcription: Example (5)
MARC 21 View: 24010 $a Benim adım Kırmızı. $l English
24510 $a MY NAME IS RED / $c Orhan Pamuk ; translated from the Turkish by Erdağ M. Göknar.
264 1# $a NEW YORK : $b ALFRED A. KNOPF, $c 2001.

33. Manifestation Statements: Background (1)
manifestation statement
A statement appearing in a manifestation and deemed to be significant for users to understand how the
manifestation represents itself.
RDA Toolkit > Resources > Glossary
Principle of representation
A manifestation may carry information that describes the manifestation itself.
This information is recorded to follow the principle of representation.
A manifestation statement supports the user tasks identify and find.
Although some manifestation statements are presented in a standard layout in some publishing traditions, there are
no common approaches at global level and across all kinds of manifestation. A manifestation statement is therefore
recorded only as an unstructured description.
Guidance > Manifestation statements

34. Manifestation Statements: Background (2)
manifestation statement
Entities > Manifestation > manifestation statement

35. Manifestation Statements: Example (1)

36. Manifestation Statements: Example (2)
Guidelines on basic transcription
These guidelines may be applied when transcribing unstructured descriptions of manifestation elements
and elements of other RDA entities where the option to use transcription guidelines is specified.
Preserve the capitalization, punctuation, numerals, abbreviations, and diacritics as they appear on the
manifestation.
Omit symbols or other images intended to be interpreted as text that are not available in the character set
used by the agent who creates the transcription.
Transcribe the components of a manifestation statement in the order in which they appear on the
manifestation.
Guidance > Transcription guidelines > Guidelines on basic transcription

37. Manifestation Statements: Example (3)
manifestation statement
Entities > Manifestation > manifestation statement

38. Manifestation Statements: Example (4)
Guidelines on basic transcription

39. Manifestation Statements: Example (5)
Relationship View:
Manifestation:
access point for expression (expression manifested)
Benim adım Kırmızı. English
Manifestation:
title proper
My name is Red.
Manifestation statement
MY NAME IS RED Orhan Pamuk translated from the Turkish by Erdağ M. Göknar ALFRED A. KNOPF NEW YORK 2001.

40. Manifestation Statements: Example (6)
MARC 21 View: 24010 $a Benim adım Kırmızı. $l English
24510 $a My name is Red.
881 ##$a MY NAME IS RED Orhan Pamuk translated from the Turkish by Erdağ M. Göknar
ALFRED A. KNOPF NEW YORK 2001.

41. Opportunities for Efficiency: Analysis
The Official RDA Toolkit’s options for more efficient resource discovery
support:
• the end user in finding and identifying bibliographic resources (e.g. title indexing, free text
searching)
• the freeing up of staff time (e.g. for backlog reduction, targeted metadata enhancements)
• the increased application of machine driven processes as a means of capturing bibliographic
metadata (e.g. object character recognition).
• the interoperability of metadata which has been created using different RDA implementation
scenarios (e.g. relational / object-oriented vs. flat file).

42. Questions?