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About the Committee

The Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access (CC:DA) is the body within the American Library Association responsible for developing official ALA positions on additions to and revisions to RDA: Resource Description and Access.

A thorough introduction to CC:DA and its work is available in the pamphlet, Building International Descriptive Cataloging Standards: The Role of the American Library Association’s Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access.

The Committee consists of nine voting members (including the Chair), one webmaster, two interns, five ex-officio representatives, and approximately 30 non-voting liaisons from ALA units and from non-ALA organizations with an interest in issues of descriptive cataloging.

CC:DA Roster

Charge of the Committee

  • To make a continuing assessment of the state of the art and suggest the direction of change in the field of descriptive cataloging;
  • To recommend solutions to problems relating not only to bibliographic description but also to choice and form of access points, other than subject access;
  • To initiate proposals for additions to and revisions of the cataloging code currently adopted by ALA and to review proposals initiated by other groups or individuals;
  • To develop official ALA positions on such proposals in consultation with other appropriate ALA units and organizations in the U.S.A.;
  • To instruct the ALA Representative to the RDA Steering Committee (RSC) regarding the official ALA position and to suggest acceptable bases for negotiations;
  • To develop official ALA positions on proposed international cataloging policies and standards pertaining to the committee’s area of responsibility and to advise the official ALA representative; or, if there is no official ALA representative, to act as the clearinghouse within ALA for review of these policies and standards and to serve as the formal liaison between ALA and the originating organizations;
  • To encourage the U.S. library and information services community to express opinions on issues under consideration through timely publication of agenda items in the community’s press;
  • To keep the profession informed by reporting committee actions promptly through appropriate communication channels.

See also:

Orientation Document for New Members and Liaisons
Committee Procedures
CCS Policy on Eligibility of CC:DA Representatives
How to Submit a Revision Proposal to CC:DA

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