The transition from general material designation (GMD) in AACR to the definition of three new attributes in RDA: Content type, media type and carrier type

Abstract

A study of the attributes content type, media type and carrier type defined in Resource Description and Access (RDA) is presented. These attributes were defined to solve the problem presented by the general material designation (GMD) terms listed in Anglo American Cataloging Rules (AACR). These terms presented ambiguity combining content and format aspects which made them difficult to use. An exhaustive bibliography revision was held in order to carry out this study, including the discussion documents used to elaborate the new code. It is mentioned the collaborative work among Joint Steering Committee (JSC) and Onix Standard in the definition of criteria which allowed the establishment of the new attributes. It is also enhanced the contribution of FRBR model to the definition process. MARC21, ISBD consolidated with the application of 0 area, and Dublin Core examples are presented to show how these three new attributes are recorded. The study finishes remarking the necessity of continuing researching on the subject in order to conclude on the adequacy of these attributes