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A group of libraries administered in common, for example, a central libraryy and its branchhes or auxiliary outlets. Also, a group of independently administered libraries joined by formal or informal agreement to achieve a common purpose. Under such an arrangement, each library is considered an affiliate. Compare with consortium.
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| A library or library system that provides unrestricted access to library resources and services free of charge to all the residents of a given community, district, or geographic region, supported wholly or in part by public funds. Because public libraries have a broader mandate than academic libraries and most special libraries, they must develop their collections to reflect diversity. The largest public library system in the United States is the New York Public Library. |
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| A library that is an integral part of a college, university, or other institution of postsecondary education, administered to meet the information and research needs of its students, faculty, and staff. In the United States, the professional association for academic libraries and librarians is the Association of College and Researc Libraries (ACRL), which publishes Standards for Librarie in Higher Education. |
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| A library in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves the information needs of its students and the curriculum needs of its teachers and staff, usually managed by a school librarian or media specialist. A school library collection usually contains books, periodicals, and educational media suitable for the grade levels served. |
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| A library established and funded by a commercial firm, private association, government agency, nonprofit organization, or special interest group to meet the information needs of its employees, members, or staff in accordance with the organization's mission and goals. The scope of the collection is usually limited to the interests of the host organization. |
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Library Media Teacher
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| A librarian trained to deliver library services to students in a school library media center on a walk-in basis or at the request of the classroom teacher. In addition to managing daily operations, the library media specialist supports the curriculum through collection development, teaches research and library skills appropriate to grade level, assists students with reading selections appropriate to reading level, helps classroom teachers integrate library services and multimedia materials into instructional programs, establishes standards of behavior for the library, and assists students in developing information-seeking skills and habits needed for lifelong learning. Certification is required in many states. Synonymous with school librarian. |
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| A member of the library support staff, usually someone who holds at least the baccalaureate degree, trained to understand specific procedures and apply them according to pre-established rules under normal circumstances without exercising professional judgment. Library paraprofessionals are usually assigned high-level technical support duties, for example, in copy cataloging and serials control. In smaller public library systems in the United States, branch librarians are sometimes paraprofessionals. |
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| Established by Congress in 1800 to function as a research library for the legislative branch of the federal government, the Library of Congress eventually became the unofficial national library of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., LC houses a collection of over 120 million items and administers the U.S. copyright system, serving as the nation's copyright depository. LC is also the primary source of original cataloging in the United States. The machine-readable cataloging (MARC) and cataloging-in-publication (CIP) programs originated at the Library of Congress. |
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| Library shelving designed to maximize the storage capacity of a given space by incorporating movable elements such as shelf ranges on tracks (see this example at the University of Connecticut). Because it is considerably heavier than normal shelving when filled, compact shelving requires more structural support, an important design consideration in the construction and renovation of a library facilities. |
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| The area of a library where the main body of the collection (usually books and periodicals) is stored when not in use, usually on rows of free-standing double-faced shelving. In some libraries, the stacks are closed to the public, but most libraries in the United States allow patrons to browse all or part of their primary collections in open stacks. |
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| Library operations concerned with the acquisition, organization (bibliographic control), physical processing, and maintenance of library collections, as opposed to the delivery of public services. Technical processing is performed "behind the scenes," usually in a technical services department. |
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| The service point at which books and other materials are checked in and out of a library, usually a long counter located near the entrance or exit, which may include a built-in book drop for returning borrowed materials. In small and medium-sized libraries, items on hold or reserve are usually available at the circulation desk, which is normally staffed by one or more persons trained to operate the circulation system and handle patron accounts. |
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| When a person has a question about how to find specific information or how to use library services and resources, assistance can be obtained by contacting the public service point, usually located near the library's reference collection, in person, by telephone, or in some libraries via e-mail. A professionally trained reference librarian scheduled to work at the reference desk will provide an answer or refer the inquirer to a knowledgeable source. |
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United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act
Signed on October 26, 2001, by President George W. Bush
passed the Senate by a vote of 98 to 1 and the House by 356 to 66, six weeks after the September 11 attacks
law enforcement agencies can compel libraries to produce circulation records, patron registration information, Internet usage records, etc., stored in or on any medium
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Children's Internet Protection Act
(CIPA) |
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| funds and discounts provided to libraries and schools from theTelecommunications Reform Act of 1996 and eligibility for Library Services and Technology Act are contingent on certification that certain "Internet safety policies" have been put in place, most notably technology designed to block all users from accessing visual materials that depict child pornography or are considered obscene or harmful to minors. |
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| Guidelines established by a library or library system concerning the manner in which its computer systems and equipment may be used by patrons and staff; for example, most public and academic libraries prohibit the use of library computers for private commercial or unlawful activities. |
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| An abbreviation of education rate. A federal program established under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA) and implemented in 1998, with oversight by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC), E-rate allows schools, public libraries, and rural health care institutions to apply for substantial discounts on rates paid fortelecommunication services, including Internet access, communications equipment, and internal wiring. |
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| Prohibition of the production, distribution, circulation, or display of a work by a governing authority on grounds that it contains objectionable or dangerous material. The person who decides what is to be prohibited is called a censor. Commonly used methods include decree and confiscation, legislation, repressive taxation, and licensing to grant or restrict the right to publish. |
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| The right under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution of any person to read or express views that may be unpopular or offensive to some people, within certain limitations (libel, slander, etc.). Legal cases concerning free speech issues are heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. |
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| A formal statement adopted by the American Library Association in 1948 and amended in 1961, 1990, and 1996, affirming the right of libraries in the United States to provide, to all members of the communities they serve, materials expressing diverse points of view and to remain free of censorship. Implementation of the Library Bill of Rights is the work of the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the ALA. |
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| A set of standards governing the conduct and judgment of librarians, library staff, and other information professionals in their work. The ALA Code of Ethics sets standards for equitable access, intellectual freedom, confidentiality, respect for intellectual property rights, excellence, accuracy, integrity, impartiality, courtesy, and respect for colleagues and library patrons. |
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| A new work or reprint of a title previously published in hardcover or trade paperback, produced and distributed in paperback for sale at newsstands and in supermarkets, drugstores, chain stores, etc., rather than trade bookstores. Copies are usually of standard rack size (4 x 7 inches), printed on poor-quality paper, bound with hot-meltadhesive in covers designed for sales appeal, and priced to sell to the widest possible audience. |
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| A digital version of a traditional print book designed to be read on a personal computer or e-book reader. Although the first hypertext novel was published in 1987 (Afternoon, A Story by Michael Joyce), electronic books did not capture public attention until the online publication of Stephen King's novella Riding the Bullet in March 2000. Within 24 hours, the text had been downloaded by 400,000 computer users. |
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| A general term encompassing quality fiction and nonfiction published in hardcover for adults, trade paperbacks, and children's books issued by a commercial publisher for sale to the general public, as distinct from mass-market paperbacks, reference books, scholarly books, textbooks, and other books intended for a limited market segment. The standard publisher's discount on trade books is 40 percent. |
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| A serial publication with its own distinctive title, containing a mix of articles, editorials, reviews, columns, short stories, poems, or other short works written by more than one contributor, issued in softcover more than once, generally at regular stated intervals of less than a year, without prior decision as to when the final issue will appear. Although each issue is complete in itself, its relationship to preceding issues is indicated by enumeration, usually issue number and volume number printed on the frontcover. Content is controlled by an editor or editorial board. |
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| A generic term for nonprint library materials (films, filmstrips, slides, videorecordings, audiorecordings, CD-ROMs, machine-readable data files, computer software, etc.). |
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| A generic term for a highly reduced photographic copy of text and/or images stored on a translucent medium (microfiche or microfilm) or on an opaque medium such as card stock (microopaque or aperture card). Microforms can be original editions or reproductions. Reader-printer machines are required to view and make hard copies. |
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| Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (pronounced "see dee rahm"), a small plastic optical disk similar to an audio compact disc, measuring 4.72 inches (12 centimeters) in diameter, used as a publishing medium and for storing information in digital format. Stamped by the producer on the metallic surface, the data encoded on a CD-ROM can be searched and displayed on a computer screen but not changed or erased. |
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| All copies of a book, pamphlet, fascicle, single sheet, etc., printed from the same typographic image and issued by the same entity in the same format at one time or at intervals without alteration. An edition may consist of several impressions in which the text and other matter are not substantially changed. |
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| A work in a medium that combines sound and visual images, for example, a motion picture or videorecording with a sound track, or a slide presentation synchronized withaudiotape. |
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| A digital version of a print journal, or a journal-like electronic publication with no print counterpart (example: EJournal), made available via the Web, e-mail, or other means of Internet access. Some Web-based electronic journals are graphically modeled on the print version. |
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| A computer file consisting of electronic entries called records, each containing a uniform description of a specific document or bibliographic item, usually retrievable byauthor, title, subject heading (descriptor), or keyword(s). Some bibliographic databases are general in scope and coverage; others provide access to the literature of a specific discipline or group of disciplines. |
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| The process of planning and building a useful and balanced collection of library materials over a period of years, based on an ongoing assessment of the information needs of the library's clientele, analysis of usage statistics, and demographic projections, normally constrained by budgetary limitations. |
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| The process of examining items in a library collection title by title to identify for permanent withdrawal those that meet pre-established weeding criteria, especially when space in the stacks is limited. Public libraries usually weed routinely on the basis of circulation. In academic libraries, weeding is done less frequently, usually only when the shelves become overcrowded, in anticipation of a move or an accreditation review, or when a significant change occurs in curriculum, such as the elimination of a major. |
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