Resource Description Services (RDS)
RDS supports the University’s academic programs and research by providing metadata description and processing for physical and digital collections held by the George A. Smathers Libraries.
The department catalogs approximately 20,000 titles per year in compliance with national standards of bibliographic control and in keeping with established cataloging priorities. Original record contributions to OCLC, an international bibliographic database, number around 5,000 annually. The department participates in international cooperative cataloging programs including CONSER, BIBCO, NACO, and SACO. RDS is currently composed of five units: Contributed Cataloging, Copy Cataloging, Serials Cataloging, Government Documents Cataloging, and Metadata. They collaborate to create efficient workflows and apply the latest technologies to meet user needs.