The IRIS Consortium (Florence, Italy) and RDA: Perspectives and Possibilities from a Loyal (Non!) Opposition

Abstract

The IRIS consortium of Florentine area art history and humanities libraries with its American, Dutch and Italian partners accommodates in its union catalogue RDA records currently arriving from the Berenson Library (Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies) and the Library of Congress via the Z39.50 protocol. This brief paper will describe what steps the consortium is taking to assure that our rich specialized bibliographic patrimony does not find its end in a bibliographic “silo”. With reference to the evolving situation in Italy regarding the transition to RDA: the decision taken by the Vatican Apostolic Library and URBE (Unione Romana Biblioteche Ecclesiastiche) to move to RDA in 2017 could be for IRIS consortium a precious source of guidance based on shared experience.