RDA perceptions among Malaysian catalogers

Purpose – This study aims to investigate Malaysian catalogers’ awareness, familiarity and understanding of the new bibliographic content standard, i.e. Resource Description and Access (RDA). Design/methodology/approach – The survey method was adopted in this study. Questionnaires were used to gather data from respondents. The study included catalogers from higher education institutions in the area of Klang Valley, Malaysia. Purposive sampling method was used to identify the respondents. Findings – The results revealed that, in general, though Malaysian catalogers were aware of the RDA, they were only familiar with the basics of RDA and its related topics. They were mainly aware of topics regarding the overview and development of RDA, and indicated low understanding of other topics, such as Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), related to RDA. The study found that respondents acknowledged the inadequacy of their basic understanding of RDA. The study also identified the catalogers’ needs and preference for RDA training. Most of the catalogers favored learning more about RDA context topics which include FRBR, Functional Requirements for Authority Data and International Cataloging Principles. They indicated willingness to undergo a two- to three-day intensive workshop to learn more about RDA. Practical implications – Like in other countries, catalogers in Malaysia may also encounter problems when implementing the new RDA. Findings of this study would be useful in designing RDA trainings for catalogers. Originality/value – No study has been done to investigate Malaysian catalogers’ awareness and understanding of RDA.