CCO Compliancy Examples

CCO Compliant Example

University of Cincinnati. Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions

 

Title: 25th General Hospital in Tents

Analysis and Reasoning:

I think this tile is a good example of CCO compliance. Firstly, the title has been given a title type, which is a recommended element of CCO guidelines.[1] These guidelines tell me that if no descriptive title is available, an inscribed or repository type is too long or does not describe the work in an authoritative source, a descriptive title must be constructed.[2]

I could not find any authority for the 25^th General Hospital in the Library of Congress authorities so the title is likely derived from local guidelines, which the CCO guidelines specify sources to be used as   “published scholarship or culling title information from documents accompanying the works.”[3] I presume this is the case, because the 25^th General Hospital is the name of the collection that this photograph is part of and which contains a variety of materials documenting the activity reflected in the photograph, including correspondence, memoirs, and video of a lecture on the topic recorded in 2011.[4] It is also the name of an online digital exhibit showcasing these materials.[5] 

Analysis of the title for what CCO calls “brief rules for titles” confirms that this title is concise, in the language of the repository (English), and avoids initial articles (The). [6]

Non CCO Compliant Example

Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Old Title: Jackson, Mississippi [graphic].

New Title: Two unidentified individuals at Ivy Cottage

Analysis and Reasoning:

I think this tile is an example that does not comply with CCO guidelines. It is very vague. This title also appears on several other works in this collection, but does not seem to be part of a deliberate grouping. Some duplicate stereographs have this title and some do not. I found the city and state used as a title unhelpful, and likely to produce unwieldy search results, especially given that this is in a state run repository. In fact a search for Jackson, Mississippi comes up with 16243 results. 

In coming up with a new title, I began by designated this as an image. An image is defined by CCO as, a visual representation of a work and its’ designation is an important first step when starting to catalog.[7]  According to CCO guidelines, “If an inscribed or repository title is overly long, in a foreign language, or does not describe the work, construct a concise descriptive title in the language of the catalog record.”[8] Despite being tempted to use stereoscopic photographs in the title for specificity and to use an authority, I decided against it.  Using a work type is not consistent with the language of the catalog records that exist and inhibits a concise title. Descriptive title guidelines provide guidelines for using “named or anonymous figures, other works, or places depicted in the work” when appropriate.[9] It also provides guidelines for including architecture which suggests using,” a descriptive name, a name that refers to the owner, a dedication (for example, for a church), or a street address, as appropriate.”[10] These two guideline informed my final title choice, which acknowledges that there are individuals in the work and a specific building. Ivy Cottage does not have an authority that I could find, but the name is used repeatedly in the collection and given context within the E. von Seutter Photograph Collection description. The information documents the name of the home featured in the image, it’s historical importance, and owner. The title now describes a specific building and the presence of people, rather than the city and state is was located in.

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[1] Murtha Baca, Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images (Chicago: American Library Association, 2006), 51.

[2] Ibid., 60.

[3] Ibid., 52.

[4] Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, “Browse Twenty-Fifth General Hospital, accessed November 8, 2015, http://digproj.libraries.uc.edu:8180/luna/servlet/univcincin~37~37

[5] Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, “25^th General Hospital,” accessed November 8, 2015, http://digitalprojects.libraries.uc.edu/exhibits/25thGeneralHospital/

[6] Murtha Baca, Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images (Chicago: American Library Association, 2006), 58-59.

[7] Ibid., 4-5.

[8] Ibid., 60.

[9] Ibid., 63.

[10] Ibid., 64.