Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO) provides guidelines for cataloging physical and digital cultural works. It outlines key elements to include, such as object name, creator, and physical description. CCO recommends using controlled vocabularies from authorities. It was created jointly by museums, libraries, and archives to promote consistent and accessible cataloging of cultural works. CCO can be combined with other metadata standards like VRA Core and CDWA. It provides a flexible yet standardized approach to describing cultural objects and images.

1. CatalogingCultural
Objects (CCO)
Sarah Drye
2014
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2. Introduction
 Definition
 Elements
 Authorities
 CCO vs others
 Examples
 Summary
2
(CatalogingCulturalObjects,2006)

3. Definition
 WHO:
anyone who creates catalog records for works or images
of works (Baca, 2006)
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 Museums
 Visual resource
collections
 Libraries
 Archaeologists
 Cultural heritage centers
(Leslie, 2014)

4. Definition  WHAT:
rules and guidelines that
create standard practices
for
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 selecting
 ordering
 & formatting
content in a catalog record
(Delmas-Glass, 2010)
(Leslie, 2014)

5. Definition
5
WHAT:
(What is CCO?, 2006)

6. Definition
 WHY:
Records information in a way that promotes retrieval.
This maximizes search
results and gives researchers
and teachers better access
to arts, humanities, and
cultural knowledge
(Baca, 2006)
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7. Definition
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HOW:
(Using synonyms for retrieval, 2014)

8. ELEMENTS
• Object name
• Creator information
• Physical characteristics
• Stylistic, cultural, &
chronological information
• Location & geography
• Subject
• Class
• Description
• View information
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(J. Paul Getty Trust, 2014)

9. AUTHORITIES
create controlled
vocabularies for
• Personal & corporate
name
• Geographic place
• Concept
• Subject
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(Using the hierarchy for retrieval, 2014)

10. CCO vs others
CCO is
 A content standard
 A set of cataloging rules
 A format standard:
it is not machine
readable.
 A value standard:
it does not contain
controlled vocabulary.
 It does tell you where to
look for controlled
vocabulary.
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CCO is not
(Baca, 2008)

11. CCO vs others
CCO was created by a joint effort from
• Visual Resources Association [VRA Core standards]
• The Getty [CDWA Catagories for the Description of
Works of Art standards]
• Digital Library Federation
• The Mellon Foundation
“to promote good descriptive cataloguing, shared
documentation, and enhanced end-user access..”
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(Cataloging Cultural Objects, 2006)

12. CCO vs others
12(Dalmau, 2004)

13. CCO vs others
CCO is
 CCO is “schema-agnostic”
 It can be combined with other metadata standards
 It is a simpler approach, compared to other
metadata standards
 It is more flexible and accessible
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(Baca, 2008)

14. EXAMPLE
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(Baca, 2006)

15. EXAMPLE
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(PastPerfect Software, 2014)

16. Summary
CatalogingCultural Objects is used for physical objects as well as
images such as photos, paintings, or movies.
CCO is a set of easy to follow rules to help the cataloger list
information about an object. It lays out a few key elements and
guides you to authorities for controlled vocabulary. CCO can be
combined with other standards, and is sometimes used to combine
VRA and CDWA standards.
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17. Thank
you!
“Historical
objects are by
their very nature
mysterious and
unknowable.
They practically
beg us to try to
understand
them better.”
-Ryan Lintelman,
National Museum of
American History
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(Lintelman, 2013)

18. References
WHO: anyone who
creates catalog records
for works or images of
works
Museums
Archives
Libraries
Archaeologists
Cultural Centers
• Baca, M. (2006). Cataloging cultural objects: CCO; a guide to describing cultural works and their images.
Chicago: American Library Association.
• Baca, M. (2008). Cataloging cultural objects for rare books and manuscripts [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved
from: http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/baca_cco_rbms2008.pdf
• Cataloging Cultural Objects. (2006). Cataloging Cultural Objects. Retrieved 06/24/2014, from
http://www.vraweb.org/ccoweb/cco/execsumm.html
• Cushing, L. (2013). Life cycle of a cultural artifact [presentation graphic]. Retrieved 06/24/2014, from:
http://www.libr.org/srrt/news/srrt186.php
• Dalmau, M. (2004). Categories for the Description ofWorks of Art [CDWA], Core Categories forVisual Resources
[VRA Core], Cataloging Cultural Objects [CCO] [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from:
http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/~mdalmau/michi/academic/cdwaVraCco.pdf
• Delmas-Glass, E. (2010).Implementing cataloging cultural objects inTMS [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved
from:
http://britishart.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2010_GS_CI_Implementing_Cataloging_Cultual_Objects_in_TM
S.pdf
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19. References
WHO: anyone who
creates catalog records
for works or images of
works
Museums
Archives
Libraries
Archaeologists
Cultural Centers
• J. Paul GettyTrust (2014).White-Ground Lekythos [photograph]. Retrieved 06/24/2014, from:
http://search.getty.edu/museum/records/musobject?objectid=12864
• Leslie, J. (2014). [photograph]. Retrieved 06/24/2014, from:
http://www.uchicago.edu/features/preserving_afghanistans_cultural_heritage/
• Lintelman, R. (2013). [photograph & caption]. Retrieved 06/24/14, from:
http://ryanlintelman.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/historical-forensics/
• PastPerfect Software (2014). Objects catalog history screen view [screencapture]. Retrieved 06/24/2014,
from:
• Using synonyms for retrieval [flowchart]. (2014). Retrieved 06/24/2014, from:
http://www.cwhonors.org/viewCaseStudy.asp?NominationID=112
• Using the hierarchy for retrieval [flowchart]. (2014). Retrieved 06/24/2014, from:
http://www.cwhonors.org/viewCaseStudy.asp?NominationID=112
• What is CCO? [screencapture from video]. (2006). Retrieved 06/24/2014, from:
http://cco.vrafoundation.org/index.php/trainingindex/cco_videos/
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