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CHICAGO - 91´«Ã½ Publishing's Digital Reference is introducing two new ways to learn about RDA Toolkit and prepare for implementation of RDA: Resource Description and Access. These free and open virtual events are designed to help introduce users to RDA Toolkit, keep up to date with changes and enhancements and share ideas and best practices as they get up and running.

The introductory RDA Toolkit Virtual User Group takes place from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. (CDT, GMT -5) on Wed., Oct. 5. Attendees can participate in live discussions with their peers and with publishers of RDA Toolkit about its improvements and development. These virtual sessions are designed to be like town hall meetings for the community of RDA Toolkit users and will be held three to four times per year. This first Virtual User Group meeting will include a demonstration of the latest enhancements to RDA Toolkit, a presentation of changes in the pipeline, and open discussion about priorities going forward. Questions, follow-ups and comments will be encouraged throughout. and .

The other new regular virtual event is RDA Toolkit Essentials, a bimonthly webinar dedicated to the needs of new users, facilitating efficient and effective use of RDA Toolkit, covering subscription options, logging in, navigating, creating Workflows and setting bookmarks. The webinars will also cover the variety of content available, offer tips for getting more from your account and answer questions. The first session takes place from 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. (CST, GMT-6) Nov. 16, 2011. and register here.

In other RDA Toolkit News for October, Managing Editor James Hennelly will interview participants of the U.S. National RDA Test to find out what they are doing now that it is a year since the test, including whether they’re cataloging in RDA and their views on how the test went. Hennelly is inviting RDA users and prospective users to let him know what they would like him to ask. . Hennelly recently concluded a series of interviews with leading cataloging vendors, asking eight questions about the future of RDA cataloging and how ready they are for it, to 12 of the leading ILS vendors, including Ex Libris, OCLC and SirsiDynix. .

About RDA: Resource Description and Access

RDA: Resource Description and Access is the new, unified standard for resource description and access designed for the digital world. Built on the foundations established by AACR2, RDA provides a comprehensive set of guidelines and instructions on resource description and access covering all types of content and media. The content of RDA has been developed in a collaborative process led by the Joint Steering Committee.

The online is the most effective way to interact with the new standard. RDA Toolkit highlights include searchable and browseable RDA instructions; user-created Workflows, Maps and other tools; two views of RDA content—Table of Contents and RDA Element Set; full text of AACR2 with links to RDA; Library of Congress Policy Statements. RDA Toolkit is co-published by 91´«Ã½ Digital Reference, and , the publishing arm of .