About ACORD
The ALIA Community on Resource Description (ACORD) is an ALIA Advisory and Special Interest Group which aims to support the Australian resource description community. ACORD carries forward the role previously played by the Australian Committee on Cataloguing (ACOC), which dissolved in May 2019, after 40 years of serving the Australian cataloguing and resource description community.
ACORD aims to facilitate, foster and, where appropriate, lead:
- Information sharing about resource description issues.
- Engagement in resource description issues from all sectors of the library and cultural heritage communities that are involved resource description (including libraries, collecting institutions, and support services such as book vendors, cataloguing agencies and training providers).
- Co-operation on activities and initiatives within the Australian resource description community.
- Development of frameworks for skills training and education in the field of resource description.
- Development and maintenance of best practice for data exchange.
- The representation of the Australian resource description community in the development of international resource description standards (e.g. representation on ORDAC and the EPC).
ACORD will function both as an Advisory Committee (with a formal committee reporting to the ALIA Board) and Special Interest Group, allowing interested professionals not on the Advisory Committee to connect with the work of the group and receive information from and through ACORD.
The ACORD Committee also hopes establish working groups to carry out projects or ongoing activities in key areas of interest in the resource description community, such as standards for resource description, training and professional development, accreditation, and working with Indigenous materials. ACORD will welcome suggestions for any other areas of work related to resource description.
Documents
Terms of Reference
Membership
Membership of the Advisory Committee is open to anyone involved in resource description and metadata creation activities who is keen to share their knowledge and expertise. While ALIA membership is preferred (and is required for office holders), non-ALIA members will also be considered.
Membership of the Special Interest Group is open to anyone interested in resource description and metadata creation activities. ACORD will be promoting the Special Interest Group soon. Keep an eye out in ALIA Weekly or watch this page for further information.
Events
No events are planned for ACORD as yet.
Information about past ACOC events (including papers and recordings from ACOC Seminars) can be accessed here.
Staying in touch
We'll be adding more information about staying in touch here soon, but in the meantime, If you have any questions about ACORD, please contact the Chair.
RDA
ACORD will continue ACOC's involvement with the development of RDA via membership on the Oceania RDA Community (ORDAC), and by being a central point for information sharing about RDA in Australia. An ongoing working group will be formed as part of ACORD to continue this work. While we get ourselves organised, you can stay in touch about all things RDA via the following channels.
ORDAC website
Visit the ORDAC website to find out more about RDA in Oceania or to contact members of ORDAC.
RSC website
Here you will find all the information about the workings of the RDA Steering Committee (RSC), including links to all presentations given by members of the RSC and an excellent YouTube channel with videos about RDA.
RDA Oceania Discussion list
The rda-oceania Discussion list (formerly rda-aust) is used as the main tool for directly updating libraries in our region about RDA. It is also a useful forum for the library community, a place where libraries can discuss RDA implementation, share information and raise issues. Details on how to join rda-oceania are available on the ORDAC website.
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)
DDC is a general knowledge organisation tool, and the most widely used classification system in the world. Now in its 23rd edition DDC is primarily accessed through WebDewey, although print-on-demand versions can be specially ordered. DDC is continuously updated to keep pace with knowledge. Some DDC updates are considered significant, and others are minor. Significant proposals for change (known as Exhibits) are negotiated with the Editorial Policy Committee, a ten-member international board whose main function is to advise the DDC editors and OCLC on matters relating to changes, innovation and the general development of the DDC to make it work better for you and your library users. Nominated by various regional organizations, such as ACORD, EPC members represent the interests of libraries around the world as they guide the ongoing development of the DDC.
Interested Australian Dewey users can view and provide comments on Exhibits and editorial work plans that identify areas for future development via the Dewey Blog. The Dewey editors welcome comments via the blog, or through communication with our regional EPC member.
The Australian representative on the EPC is Melissa Parent. The Australian representative also relays information on updates and enhancements to DDC and WebDewey. This information can also be found on the Dewey blog.
This page is accurate as of 11 January 2024