Issues in developing RDA
Compatibility
As RDA is being developed, compatibility between existing records and records created under RDA is a major constraint. It will be a major issue for acceptance and implementation if libraries need to convert AACR2 records into RDA records. A simple example of how this acts as a constraint is with Latin abbreviations used in headings – ideally the international standards for representing dates in headings should be used, but to do so would make headings created under AACR and RDA different. Although there won’t be a need to convert AACR2 records into RDA records, if libraries do want to make full use of the RDA’s enhanced capacity for representing the different FRBR levels, and for showing relationships, they may choose to make changes to existing records to make this possible.