The ORC generally adheres to the IFLA Statement of International Cataloging Principles, with additional emphases (marked with an asterisk) and modifications (in italics).

IFLA’s Statement of International Cataloging Principles (CC BY 4.0 license)

2.1. Convenience of the user.

Convenience means that all efforts should be made to keep all data comprehensible and suitable for the users. The word “user” embraces anyone who searches the catalogue and uses the bibliographic and/or authority data. Decisions taken in the making of descriptions and controlled forms of names for access should be made with the user in mind.

2.2. Common usage.*

Vocabulary used in descriptions and access should be in accord with that of the majority of users.

2.3. Representation.

A description should represent a resource as it appears. Controlled forms of names of persons, corporate bodies and families should be used, with reference to established controlled vocabularies and their rules for creating new headings.

2.4. Accuracy.*

Bibliographic and authority data should be an accurate portrayal of the entity described. Accordingly, ORC generally relies on transcription , i.e. the recording of data supplied on the entity, unless it would hinder access for the user.

2.5. Sufficiency and necessity.

Those data elements that are required to: facilitate access for all types of users, including those with specific needs; fulfil the objectives and functions of the catalogue; and describe or identify entities, should be included.

2.6. Significance.

Data elements should be relevant to the description, noteworthy, and allow for distinctions among entities.

2.7. Economy.

When alternative ways exist to achieve a goal, preference should be given to the way that best furthers overall expediency and practicality (i.e., the least cost or the simplest approach).

2.8. Consistency and standardization.

Descriptions and construction of access points should be standardized as far as possible to enable consistency.

2.9. Integration.

The descriptions for all types of resources and controlled forms of names of all types of entities should be based on a common set of rules to the extent possible. In the ORC, the focus is on bibliographic resources as commonly encountered in public and academic libraries; extant free cataloging guides such as the DCRM suite are available for use in more complex cataloging.

2.10. Interoperability.

All efforts should be made to ensure the sharing and reuse of bibliographic and authority data within and outside the library community. For the exchange of data and discovery tools, the use of vocabularies facilitating automatic translation and disambiguation is highly recommended.

2.11. Openness.

Restrictions on data should be minimal in order to foster transparency and conform to Open Access principles, as declared also in the IFLA Statement on Open Access. Any restriction on data access should be fully stated.

2.12. Accessibility.

The access to bibliographic and authority data, as well as searching device functionalities, should comply with international standards for accessibility as recommended in the IFLA Code of Ethics for Librarians and other Information Workers, as well as the Cataloging Code of Ethics.

2.13. Rationality.

The rules in a cataloguing code should be defensible and not arbitrary. If, in specific situations, it is not possible to respect all the principles, then defensible, practical solutions should be found and the rationale should be explained.