Abstract
With effect from 31 March 2013, Resource Description and Access (RDA) has become the cataloguing content standard used by the British Library and the Library of Congress. Concurrent with these institutions, other libraries, principally in the English-speaking world, have also adopted, or are planning to adopt, RDA. This article will discuss what RDA is, how and why it is an innovation in cataloguing, and will then examine its adoption by libraries. It will also address implications for library catalogues. Particular emphasis will be placed on the pattern of adoption, applying Everett Rogers' categorization to libraries as they implement RDA.