We put out a survey back in mid-December 2013 with the intent to gather our customers’ thoughts regarding RDA Enrichment. Most of our responses came in within a month of the survey posting. We collated those results and I am presenting to you today the findings from that survey. Approximately 90 customers took the time to fill out this survey and we appreciate your comments and participation.
At this time, I have refrained from interpreting these results in any way since presenting them here already adds to the length of this email. We hope you enjoy looking through these results!
Q1 | What type of library do you work in? |
61% | Academic |
23% | Public |
7% | Special |
8% | Other |
Q2 | What is the size of your library’s catalog? |
13% | Fewer than 100,000 records |
23% | 100,000 to 250,000 records |
15% | 250,000 to 500,000 records |
17% | 500,000 to 1 million records |
31% | More than 1 million records |
Q3 | How is your library currently using RDA in new materials? |
49% | Creating RDA catalog records |
93% | Accepting RDA copy records |
27% | Adding RDA elements to AACR2 copy records |
13% | Not actively pursuing RDA |
Q4 | How are you handling hybrid AACR2/RDA in your catalog? |
12% | Creating our own hybrid AACR2/RDA records |
80% | Accepting hybrid AACR2/RDA copy records |
19% | Modifying AACR2 copy records to a hybrid form |
7% | Re-describing hybrid copy records to RDA rules |
30% | Not worrying about hybrid records for now |
Q5 | How is your library currently using RDA in new materials? |
49% | Creating RDA catalog records |
93% | Accepting RDA copy records |
27% | Adding RDA elements to AACR2 copy records |
13% | Not actively pursuing RDA |
Q6 | How do you plan to address existing AACR2 records? |
17% | Enrich AACR2 records with RDA data to create hybrids |
5% | Convert AACR2 records to RDA |
55% | Leave AACR2 records as they are |
33% | Still deciding what to do |
Q7 | How do you plan to manage a mix of record formats? |
77% | Operate in a mixed-records catalog for foreseeable future |
12% | Convert or enrich AACR2 data to RDA rules at some point |
24% | Still deciding what to do |
Q8 | Do you see significant changes in your library’s use of RDA? |
23% | Yes |
52% | No |
25% | Not sure |
Q9 | Are you waiting for particular institutions to transition first? |
14% | Yes |
86% | No |
Q10 | Are any of the following factors holding your library back? |
32% | Gathering consensus on a plan of action |
54% | Time required to train personnel |
35% | Time required to reload records |
44% | Cost of reloading records |
34% | Other costs of implementation |
31% | Waiting to see what other institutions do |
55% | Waiting to see what ILS vendors do |
15% | Other |
Q11 | Are you interested in exploring automated RDA enrichment? |
17% | Very interested |
18% | Moderately interested |
23% | Slightly interested |
14% | Not at all interested |
28% | Not sure yet |
Q12 | What factors would prompt you to move forward with RDA? |
50% | Consensus at my library on what changes need to be made |
54% | Catalog consistency; need to clean up mixed records |
14% | Peer standing (institutional) |
7% | Peer standing (professional) |
47% | Enrichment offered by my ILS vendor |
43% | Enrichment offered by my authority vendor |
34% | Customization of enrichment service to specify changes |
71% | Low cost for enrichment service |
8% | Other |
Q13 | If Backstage offered a discount, would you consider RDA? |
2% | 3 cents per record |
8% | 2 cents per record |
23% | 1 cent per record |
47% | Only if it were free |
30% | Not even if it were free; it’s too much work on my side |
Q14 | What ILS does your library use? |
30% | Innovative |
26% | Sirsi Dynix |
20% | Ex Libris |
24% | Other (OCLC, Polaris, Evergreen, VTLS, CARL, etc) |
Q15 | Is your ILS taking advantage of the features of RDA? |
38% | Yes, our ILS provides a better RDA user experience |
35% | Our ILS vendor is developing RDA capabilities |
16% | Our ILS vendor plans to develop RDA capabilities soon |
18% | No, nothing is happening |
1% | No, our ILS cannot make use of RDA data currently |
Q16 | Do you expect your library to change ILS within 2 years? |
13% | Yes |
51% | No |
36% | Unsure |
Q17 | What follow-up information would you like to receive? |
63% | Survey report |
62% | Updates on development of RDA services |
37% | Promotional offers (may or may not be published on listserv) |
21% | RDA enrichment profile to run free sample of batch records |
24% | No follow-up please; I'll just get my news from the listserv |
3% | Other |
Nate Cothran | Vice President, Automation Services
Backstage Library Works | Provo, Utah & Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
801.342.5697 | nate@bslw.com | bslw.com | ac.bslw.com/mars