The paper discusses challenges in the development of UNIMARC as an encoding standard for metadata content that conforms to the stipulations of ISBD for Manifestation, an implementation of the IFLA Library Reference Model. UNIMARC already encodes metadata controlled by ISBD: International Standard Bibliographic Description, the precursor of ISBD for Manifestation.
The article presents results of the research into state of the art of theoretical foundations and use of cataloguing rules, putting them in relation to the contemporary trends in the field of bibliographic control. The research that was conducted in national libraries and library associations of countries of South-East Europe showed that in spite of the claimed use of Eva Verona’s Code and Manual for the Compilation of Alphabetical Catalogues as national cataloguing rules in the majority of interviewed countries, the practice shows a conscious decline from the rules due to new types of resources, national implementations of MARC formats, and use of specific library software.
