The confusion around the Rule of Three and RDA's core elements stems from mixing up two different ideas.
RDA says the first statement of responsibility relating to the title proper is a core element. Subsequent statements of responsibility are not core elements (which approximates AACR2's first level of description). But a single statement of responsibility can include multiple names-there is no change in RDA from AACR2 on that fundamental understanding. RDA's core element instruction does not mean only the first named within the first statement is recorded-it means that ENTIRE first statement with ALL the names is to be recorded. AACR2's Rule of Three says to eliminate all names but the first in any one statement of responsibility, when there are more than three names and when all the names do the same function. Only in AACR2 are catalogers forced to record only one name in a single statement. In RDA, the Rule of Three is only an option for any statement of responsibility, and will generally not be applied according to the LC-PCC PS. What that means is that the first statement of responsibility in RDA will routinely include ALL the names listed, not just the first named. There is no such thing as the "rule of three becoming the rule of one." Examples: RDA - first statement of responsibility with four names (this entire statement of responsibility is a core element; in this case the optional Rule of Three option is not applied); by Tim Jones, Steve Smith, Bob McDonald and Jay Baker AACR2 - first statement of responsibility (Rule of Three is mandatory): by Tim Jones ... [et al.] Consider what happens when multiple statements of responsibility are recorded in both RDA and AACR2: RDA - all statements of responsibility recorded, not just the first statement; no Rule of Three applied by Tim Jones, Steve Smith, Bob McDonald and Jay Baker ; edited by Sue Wilson, Ray Turner, Karen White and Tammy Olsen ; illustrated by Eva Duncan, Darrin Elston, Conrad Murphy, and Cam Guthrie AACR2 - rule of three mandatory across all statements of responsibility by Tim Jones ... [et al.] ; edited by Sue Wilson ... [et al.] ; illustrated by Eva Duncan ... [et al.] RDA - core element only; no Rule of Three applied (note here that MORE author names are recorded than is possible in AACR2, even though editors and illustrators are dropped): by Tim Jones, Steve Smith, Bob McDonald and Jay Baker Since the Rule of Three will generally not be applied in RDA one should expect that all authors (the important names usually found in the first statement of responsibility) will routinely be recorded. RDA only says that subsequent statements of responsibility are not core elements, so that means catalogers may drop subsequent statements that generally name people in secondary roles such as editors or illustrators. This Core Element aspect has nothing whatsoever to do with the Rule of Three which is only about making decisions about the names ** within ** any one statement of responsibility. Thomas Brenndorfer Guelph Public Library From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Stephen Early Sent: January-22-13 12:11 PM To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Subject: Re: [RDA-L] When will RDA truly arrive? Will it truly arrive? I just followed an interesting exchange on this very topic on AUTOCAT and it appears RDA actually _does_ have a rule of three, at least in regards to statement of responsibility: 2.4.1.5 proper says _nothing_ about omitting any names from a statement of responsibility (see also 2.4.1.6). However, it does include an "optional omission" in which only the first three names need be transcribed if there are more than three. The LC-PCC-PS for this option instructs: "Generally do not omit names in a statement of responsibility." Stephen T. Early Cataloger Center for Research Libraries 6050 S. Kenwood Chicago, IL 60637 773-955-4545 sea...@crl.edu<mailto:sea...@crl.edu> CRL website: www.crl.edu<http://www.crl.edu> From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of James Weinheimer Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 7:15 AM To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA<mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA> Subject: Re: [RDA-L] When will RDA truly arrive? Will it truly arrive? The big boys have said they will implement RDA, but it still has never been road-tested. Certain parts will definitely create some controversy when news reaches the public, such as eliminating the rule of three for the rule of one. ... James Weinheimer weinheimer.ji...@gmail.com<mailto:weinheimer.ji...@gmail.com> First Thus http://catalogingmatters.blogspot.com/ Cooperative Cataloging Rules http://sites.google.com/site/opencatalogingrules/ Cataloging Matters Podcasts http://blog.jweinheimer.net/p/cataloging-matters-podcasts.html
