About ACORD
ALIA Community on Resource Description (ACORD) is an ALIA Special Interest Group aimed at supporting the Australian resource description community. ACORD continues the role previously held by the Australian Committee on Cataloguing (ACOC), which dissolved in May 2019 after serving the community for 40 years.
ACORD aims to facilitate, foster, and, where appropriate, lead:
- Information sharing about resource description issues.
- Engagement in resource description from all sectors of the library and cultural heritage communities, including libraries, collecting institutions, and support services such as book vendors, cataloguing agencies, and training providers.
- Cooperation on activities and initiatives within the Australian resource description community.
- Development of frameworks for skills training and education in the field of resource description.
- Development and maintenance of best practices for data exchange.
- Representation of the Australian resource description community in developing international resource description standards, such as representation on the Oceania RDA Committee (ORDAC) and the Dewey Editorial Policy Committee (EPC).
ACORD functions as a Special Interest Group, allowing interested professionals outside the Committee to connect with the group's work and receive information from ACORD.
The ACORD Committee also aims to establish working groups to carry out projects or ongoing activities in key areas of interest within the resource description community, such as standards for resource description, training and professional development, accreditation, and working with Indigenous materials. Suggestions for other areas related to resource description are welcome.
Documents
Terms of Reference
Membership
Membership of the ACORD Special Interest Group is open to all.
Personal ALIA members are eligible to apply for membership of the ACORD Committee, which oversees the Special Interest Group.
Recordings
Access the ACORD - BIBFRAME Downunder webinar (October 2025) here.
Information about past ACOC events (including papers and recordings from ACOC Seminars) can be found here.
Contact
Contact information can be found on the ACORD website.
RDA
ACORD will continue ACOC's involvement with the development of RDA through membership in the Oceania RDA Community (ORDAC) and by serving as a central point for information sharing about RDA in Australia. An ongoing working group will be established within ACORD to continue this work. You can stay in touch about all things RDA via the following channels.
ORDAC website
Visit the ORDAC website to find out more about RDA in Oceania or to contact members of ORDAC.
RSC website
Here you will find all the information about the workings of the RDA Steering Committee (RSC), including links to all presentations given by RSC members and an excellent YouTube channel with videos about RDA.
RDA Oceania Discussion list
The rda-oceania Discussion list (formerly rda-aust) is used as the main tool for directly updating libraries in our region about RDA. It is also a useful forum for the library community, a place where libraries can discuss RDA implementation, share information, and raise issues. Details on how to join rda-oceania are available on the ORDAC website.
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)
DDC is a general knowledge organization tool and the most widely used classification system in the world. Now in its 23rd edition, DDC is primarily accessed through WebDewey, although print-on-demand versions can be specially ordered. DDC is continuously updated to keep pace with knowledge. Some DDC updates are considered significant, while others are minor. Significant proposals for change (known as Exhibits) are negotiated with the Editorial Policy Committee, which advises the DDC editors and OCLC on matters related to changes, innovation, and the general development of the DDC to improve its usability for libraries. Nominated by various regional organizations, EPC members represent libraries' interests worldwide as they guide DDC's ongoing development.
Interested Australian Dewey users can view and provide comments on Exhibits and editorial work plans that identify areas for future development via the Dewey Blog. The Dewey editors welcome comments via the blog or through communication with our regional EPC member.
The Australian representative on the EPC is Melissa Parent. The Australian representative also relays information on updates and enhancements to DDC and WebDewey. This information can also be found on the Dewey blog.
Reparative Description Community of Practice (RDCoP)
The Reparative Description Community of Practice (RDCoP) is an informal group sponsored by ACORD to encourage discussion on technical aspects of reparative description practices in libraries and archives. It focuses on working with Indigenous people and communities on reparative description across Australasia. The group formed after the publication of the Guidelines for First Nations Collection Description and focuses on descriptions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collections. The role of the CoP may eventually expand to include other groups requiring updated description practices.
The CoP coordinates discussions around its focus areas for three main stakeholder groups: Indigenous people and communities, library and archive staff, and library and archive users. Meetings are held monthly on Teams, allowing ample space for general discussion.
To join, email [email protected] with ‘Reparative Description CoP’ in the subject line. Please include your institution and a few words about your interest in joining the group in the body of the email.
Schools Cataloguing Community of Practice (SCCoP)
ALIA and ACORD invite you to join the Schools Cataloguing Community of Practice, a vendor-neutral forum for discussion and sharing on bibliographic metadata and information discoverability in school libraries.
Free, online, and respectful of all voices.
Objectives:
- To identify, gather, and share effective bibliographic metadata practices in school libraries.
- To provide a point of contact for Australasian school library staff to ask questions and discuss issues relevant to bibliographic metadata.
- To report on developments in international bibliographic metadata that could impact the discoverability of resources in Australasian school libraries.
To join, email [email protected] with ‘Schools Cataloguing CoP’ in the subject line. Please include your institution and a few words about your interest in joining the group in the body of the email.