Implementation of resource description and access in the Gauteng Province, South Africa.

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Title: Implementation of resource description and access in the Gauteng Province, South Africa.
Authors: Xaba, Sihle Golden1 goldenxaba@gmail.com, Shongwe, Mzwandile2 mzwandile.shongwe@uct.ac.za
Source: South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science. 2025, Vol. 91 Issue 2, p1-10. 10p.
Subject Terms: *Cataloging, *Access to information, *Information technology, Provinces, South Africans, Knowledge management, Information organization, Library software
Geographic Terms: Gauteng (South Africa), South Africa
Reviews & Products: Resource description & access
Abstract: Resource description (cataloguing) and the organisation of knowledge (classification) have evolved over the past decade due to the shifting online landscape. Currently, there are more electronic resources than there were a decade ago. The utilisation of such resources has also escalated due to the continual advancements in information technology (IT). Consequently, the resource description environment has had to reevaluate its approach to resource description. A new resource description standard, termed Resource Description and Access (RDA) has been developed to accommodate these changes. This standard was intended to be implemented in South Africa in 2013. Nonetheless, the extent of progress in the implementation phase within libraries and other resource description contexts remains uncertain. This study sought to examine the current implementation status of RDA in Gauteng Province, South Africa. This study involved eight heads of cataloguing library departments and 15 cataloguers. They originated from four academic libraries and four public libraries. The results demonstrate that RDA has been partially executed in six out of the eight libraries. The implementation period spans from 2013 to 2016. The rationale for adopting RDA is that libraries aspire to integrate into the global cataloguing community. Individuals who had not yet implemented RDA attributed their decision to its complexity and insufficient IT infrastructure. The RDA is disseminated through the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) interest group known as the Interest Group for Bibliographic Standards (IGBIS), the National Library of South Africa (NLSA), and various other organisations. The study advises libraries to fully implement RDA to ensure interoperability of bibliographic records and to allocate resources for this endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science is the property of Library & Information Association of South Africa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Implementation of resource description and access in the Gauteng Province, South Africa.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xaba%2C+Sihle+Golden%22">Xaba, Sihle Golden</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> goldenxaba@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shongwe%2C+Mzwandile%22">Shongwe, Mzwandile</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><i> mzwandile.shongwe@uct.ac.za</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22South+African+Journal+of+Libraries+%26+Information+Science%22">South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science</searchLink>. 2025, Vol. 91 Issue 2, p1-10. 10p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cataloging%22">Cataloging</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Access+to+information%22">Access to information</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+technology%22">Information technology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Provinces%22">Provinces</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Africans%22">South Africans</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Knowledge+management%22">Knowledge management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+organization%22">Information organization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Library+software%22">Library software</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gauteng+%28South+Africa%29%22">Gauteng (South Africa)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Africa%22">South Africa</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="PS" term="%22Resource+description+%26+access%22">Resource description & access</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Resource description (cataloguing) and the organisation of knowledge (classification) have evolved over the past decade due to the shifting online landscape. Currently, there are more electronic resources than there were a decade ago. The utilisation of such resources has also escalated due to the continual advancements in information technology (IT). Consequently, the resource description environment has had to reevaluate its approach to resource description. A new resource description standard, termed Resource Description and Access (RDA) has been developed to accommodate these changes. This standard was intended to be implemented in South Africa in 2013. Nonetheless, the extent of progress in the implementation phase within libraries and other resource description contexts remains uncertain. This study sought to examine the current implementation status of RDA in Gauteng Province, South Africa. This study involved eight heads of cataloguing library departments and 15 cataloguers. They originated from four academic libraries and four public libraries. The results demonstrate that RDA has been partially executed in six out of the eight libraries. The implementation period spans from 2013 to 2016. The rationale for adopting RDA is that libraries aspire to integrate into the global cataloguing community. Individuals who had not yet implemented RDA attributed their decision to its complexity and insufficient IT infrastructure. The RDA is disseminated through the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) interest group known as the Interest Group for Bibliographic Standards (IGBIS), the National Library of South Africa (NLSA), and various other organisations. The study advises libraries to fully implement RDA to ensure interoperability of bibliographic records and to allocate resources for this endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of South African Journal of Libraries & Information Science is the property of Library & Information Association of South Africa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.7553/91-2-2383
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Cataloging
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Access to information
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information technology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Provinces
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: South Africans
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Knowledge management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information organization
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Library software
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gauteng (South Africa)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: South Africa
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Resource description & access
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Implementation of resource description and access in the Gauteng Province, South Africa.
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            NameFull: Xaba, Sihle Golden
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            NameFull: Shongwe, Mzwandile
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            – D: 01
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              Text: 2025
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              Y: 2025
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