AACR2

AACR2:

AACR2 stands for the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition. It is published jointly by the American Library Association, the Canadian Library Association, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (in the UK). AACR2 is designed for use in the construction of catalogues and other lists in general libraries of all sizes. The rules cover the description of, and the provision of access points for, all library materials commonly collected at the present time.

Brief history of AACR2

Despite the claim to be ‘Anglo-American’, the first edition of AACR was published in 1967 in somewhat distinct North American and British texts. The second edition of 1978 unified the two sets of rules (adopting the British spelling ‘cataloguing’) and brought them in line with the International Standard Bibliographic Description. Libraries wishing to migrate from the previous North American text were obliged to implement ‘superimposition’, a substantial change in the form of headings for corporate bodies.

·         1908: Cataloguing rules; author and title entries

·         1949: Anglo American entries (ALA, LOC)

·         1967: AACR

·         1978: AACR2, ALA (USA), CLA (Canada) and the chartered institute of library and information professionals (UK)

·         1988: AACR2R

·         2002: AACE2R

·         2003: A schedule of annual updates began and ceased with 2005

·         2010: AACR2 has been succeeded by Resources Description and Access (RDA)

Structure of AACR2

In International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD), upon which AACR2R is based, there are eight AREAS of description as follows:

·         Title and statement of responsibility area

·         Edition area

·         Material (or type of publication) specific details area

·         Publication, distribution, etc., area

·         Physical description area

·         Series area

·         Note area

·         Standard number and terms of availability area