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Why was a new namespace, http://rdaregistry.info, used for the RDA element sets instead of the original http://rdvocab.info?
The rdvocab.info namespace was set up in 2008 following the Data Model Meeting in London in 2007. The domain used was intended to reflect, but not fully brand, the namespace as "RDA", because it could not be assumed that the developments agreed at the meeting would be successful. For various reasons associated with the ongoing development of RDA: Resource Description and Access, the representation of the basic RDA elements in RDF was not approved until 2012. By then, there was a much clearer understanding of the issues of elements for aggregated statements, and elements unconstrained by RDA semantics for use in non-RDA applications. There were also significant differences between the data used to develop the RDA element sets and the elements published in the current version of RDA. It would have taken longer to update the old element sets, with many deprecations, than to republish them using current, approved data.
Did this change in the namespace break things for applications using the old IRIs and elements that have not made the transition?
Yes, but every effort was made to bridge the gap between the old and the new. These include redirection from the old element sets to the new namespace, the development of maps between the old and new URIs, and the provision of alternate URIs using the English label of the element as the local part, similar to the construction of the old URIs. A map from the old URIs known to be in use is available. The old element sets had the status of "New-Proposed" and were never officially published.
Are there any plans to move the RDA value vocabularies that are still in the original rdvocab.info namespace?
The RDA value vocabularies were moved to rdaregistry.info namespace in 2015. The old URIs in "Published" status were redirected to the new ones. From August 2016, all the RDA value vocabularies have "Published" or "Deprecated" status. The published value vocabularies are updated as required so that they remain in synchronization with RDA.