Towards AACR3: A Review of the Implications of OPACs for Cataloguing Codes and Practices Available to Purchase

The increasing availability of on‐line public access catalogues(OPACs) offers a new mode of access to all types of library and information sources. The changing role of the catalogue merits a reassessment of the role of cataloguing codes. A wholesale revision of AACR is required. The basic purpose of a cataloguing code is standardisation of description, headings and punctuation. The essential nature of retrieval in OPACs is that retrieval can be based on words anywhere in a record. This has implications for the contents of the record, and merits a complete reassessment of the role of access points in catalogues.