CCO Descriptive Titles Analysis

CCO Descriptive Titles Analysis

The example I chose that complies with the Cataloging Cultural Objects guidelines is “[Ships in Harbor, Sete]” by Gustave Le Gray from The J. Paul Getty Museum.

Source: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/61918/gustave-le-gray-ships-in-harbor-sete-french-1857/

CCO rules for descriptive titles states in section 1.2.2.3 that a descriptive title is a “concise title in the language of the catalog record (that is, in English) that indicates what the work is or what is depicted in it” and that they refer to the “iconographic content of the work. (that is, the figures, stories, or scenes portrayed in it).” (pg 62) The title for this Le Gray photo not only describes what is depicted in the image, ships in a harbor, but also the location of the image, Sete, France. By focusing on the ships in the title, the topic of the photo (the ships) is emphasized as opposed to if the title was simply “harbor in Sete”.

 The title can be distinguished as a constructed descriptive title because of the brackets placed around it. The use of these brackets conform to CCO because in sections 1.1.1 and 1.2.2.3, CCO states that different title types should be labeled or distinguished in the record (pg 50, 69). In section I, the CCO General Guidelines state that it can be used to supplement AACR (pg 2), which requires that any information not original to the source in the record should be placed inside brackets. The Paul Getty Museum’s decision to construct the title also conforms to CCO guidelines. The guidelines state in section 1.2.2.2.3 that “if no descriptive title is available in an authoritative source, construct a descriptive title.” (pg 60) I spent some time searching for this photo and could not find another title given to it from a reputable source. Because of this lack of an existing authoritative descriptive, it was right of Getty to construct one.  

The example I found that does not comply with the Cataloging Cultural guidelines is “Negative” by Frederick Johnson from the Smithsonian Institute. 

Source: http://collections.si.edu/search/tag/tagDoc.htm?recordID=NMAI_347666

The catalog record for this image has several problems. The title of “Negative” is very vague and generic. In the format field the record states that the image is an acetate negative. The title is descriptive in that the image is a negative, but the image cannot be located by this title. I searched the Smithsonian’s photographic collections for the image title “negative” and it returned 2600 pages of results. I scrolled through the first 30 pages of results. Every single image was titled “negative” and they were from several different collections. This is at odds with CCO which states in section 1.1.1 that titles should “facilitate identification by users.” (49). No one would be able to identify this image from its title.

Another factor about this catalog record I found interesting is that it includes a lot of information about the image in the other fields such as the subject, a detailed description, the medium of the image, history of the collection, the location, and the date. Despite having all this information; however, the cataloger still chose to title the image “negative”. This does not make sense to me.

New Title: [Portrait of Mi’kmaq (Micmac) woman Mary Josephine Morris in front of a birch bark wigwam, Eskasoni Reserve, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1930]

My first step in creating this title for this image was to attempt to search for an authority for it using some the other information provided in the record, which I was unable to find. As mentioned earlier, in section 1.2.2.2.2 CCO states that if a descriptive title cannot be found from an authoritative source then one should be constructed. (pg 60)

I tried to make the title as descriptive and searchable as possible while still being concise. Including information about what Marry Josephine Morris was doing, the location, and the date all conform with CCO guidelines. In section 1.2.2.2.3 of Object Naming states that titles should “refer to named anonymous figures, other works, or places depicted in the work. Include proper names if they are known.” (pg63) Because all that information was available to me in the catalog record for the image, I included it in the title. I also followed the CCO’s recommendations for grammar found in section 1.2.2.1 which included avoiding articles at the beginning of the title and capitalizing important words. (pg 58-59)

Bartha, Martha. Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006.