AACR has been revised and maintained as a standard over many years. But by 1997 it was proving difficult to revise AACR2 to keep up with changes in the information world, and it was clear that there were some inherent problems in the code. At the International Conference on the Principles & Future Development of AACR held in Toronto in 1997, experts were invited to share in developing an action plan for the future of AACR. Issues discussed at that meeting included Content vs. Carrier, and What is a work?
From the recommendations of that meeting, a program of work was implemented, and in 2002 a new Strategic Plan was developed which built on AACR2’s existing strengths. This plan took AACR2 through a range of revisions until around 2003-2004. Important changes, for example in the treatment of seriality, were implemented over this time.