Important LIS term ( Begin with A)

Important LIS term beginning with A

Abstract
An abstract is a brief, objective representation of the essential content of a book, article, speech, report, dissertation, patent, standard, or other work, presenting the main points in the same order as the original but having no independent literary value.
Length depends on the type of document abstracted and the intended use of the abstract. As a general rule, abstracts of long documents, such as monographs and theses, are limited to a single page (about 300 words); abstracts of papers, articles, and portions of monographs are no longer than 250 words; abstracts of notes and other brief communications are limited to 100 words; and abstracts of very short documents, such as editorials and letters to the editor, are about 30 words long
A well-prepared abstract enables the reader to
1) Quickly identify the basic content of the document,
2) Determine its relevance to their interests, and
3) Decide whether it is worth their time to read the entire document.
An abstract can be informative, indicative, critical, or written from a particular point of view (slanted). Examples of the various types of abstracts can be seen in the Appendix of the ANSI/NISO Z39.14 Guidelines for Abstracts.

Abstracting
The preparation of a brief, objective statement (abstract) of the content of a written work to enable the researcher to quickly determine whether reading the entire text might satisfy the specific information need.

Abstracting journal
A journal that specializes in providing summaries (called abstracts) of articles and other documents published within the scope of a specific academic discipline or field of study (example: Peace Research Abstracts Journal).

Abstracting service
A commercial indexing service that provides both a citation and a brief summary or abstract of the content of each document indexed (example: Information Science & Technology Abstracts). Numbered consecutively in order of addition, entries are issued serially in print, usually in monthly or quarterly supplements, or in a regularly updated bibliographic database available by subscription. Abstracting services can be comprehensive or selective within a specific academic discipline or sub discipline.

Academic library
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.

Access
The right of entry to a library or its collections.
In computing, the privilege of using a computer system or online resource, usually controlled by the issuance of access codes to authorized users. In a more general sense, the ability of a user to reach data stored on a computer or computer system.

Access code
An identification code, such as a username, password, or PIN, which a user must enter correctly to gain access to a computer system or network. In most proprietary systems, access codes are tightly controlled to exclude unauthorized users.

Access copy
A copy of a motion picture on film, videotape, DVD, or some other medium, used for public service, as opposed to a copy used for preservation or a master used for duplication. Similarly, a copy of a photograph or other document made in any format for normal daily use, to protect the original from wear and accidental damage.

Accessibility
The ease with which a person may enter a library, gain access to its online systems, use its resources, and obtain needed information regardless of format.

Accession
To record in an accession list the addition of a bibliographic item to a library collection, whether acquired by purchase or exchange or as a gift.. The process of making additions to a collection is known as accessions.

Accession number
A unique number assigned to a bibliographic item in the order in which it is added to a library collection, recorded in an accession record maintained by the technical services department. Most libraries assign accession numbers in continuous numerical sequence, but some use a code system to indicate type of material and/or year of accession in addition to order of accession.

Accession record
A list of the bibliographic items added to a library collection in the order of their addition. Normally such a list includes the accession number, brief bibliographic identification, source, and price paid for each item.

Accuracy
The quality of correctness as to fact and of precision as to detail in information resources and in the delivery of information services.

Acquisitions
The process of selecting, ordering, and receiving materials for library or archival collections by purchase, exchange, or gift, which may include budgeting and negotiating with outside agencies, such as publishers, dealers, and vendors, to obtain resources to meet the needs of the institution's clientele in the most economical and expeditious manner.

Adjunct
A librarian employed part-time in an academic library at an institution that grants librarians faculty status. At some institutions, an adjunct employed less than half-time may not be eligible for benefits.

Administration
The range of activities normally associated with the management of a government agency, organization, or institution, such as a library or library system. Also refers collectively to the persons responsible for such activity, from director to secretary.

Adopt a book
A library program in which a person, often a library patron, agrees to donate a modest sum (usually a fixed amount) to help cover the cost of conserving a book or other bibliographic item that is deteriorating from age or overuse.

Adult learner
A person older than traditional college age who pursues an independent, organized course of study, usually without the benefit of formal instruction at an established educational institution.

Advance copy
A copy of a book or other publication bound in advance of the normal press run to enable the publisher to check that all is in order before binding of the edition proceeds. Advance copies are also sent to booksellers, book club selection committees, and reviewers before the announced publication date, sometimes unbound or in a binding other than the publisher's binding, often with a review slip laid in.

Advice book
A form of literature for women that provided practical and philosophical guidance on the domestic skills required in everyday life, such as etiquette, household management, cooking, gardening, childcare, family health and recreation, and female employment, often written from the perspective of a parent, Christian minister, or other authority, rather than from a feminist point of view.

Advisory service
A periodical publication, usually issued weekly, biweekly, or monthly in print or online, providing research, statistical analysis, and guidance on financial investments (stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, etc.).

Affiliated library
A library that is, by formal agreement, part of a larger library system but administered independently by its own board or management structure.

Aggregator
A bibliographic service that provides online access to the digital full-text of periodicals published by different publishers.

Almanac
Originally, a book introduced by the Moors to Spain, listing the days, weeks, and months of the year and providing information about festivals, holidays, astronomical phenomena, etc. In modern usage, an annual compendium of practical dates, facts, and statistics, current and/or retrospective, often arranged in tables to facilitate comparison. Almanacs can be general (example: World Almanac and Book of Facts) or related to a specific subject or academic discipline. Information Please is an example of a modern online almanac.

Alphabet book
A picture book for preschool children with illustrations designed to teach the letters and sequence of the alphabet by showing on each page, or double spread, one or more objects, animals, etc., belonging to a class whose name begins with the letter displayed (A for Apple, B for Book, etc.).

American Library Association (ALA)
The leading professional association of public and academic libraries and librarians in the United States, the ALA was founded in Philadelphia in October 1876 by a group of library leaders (90 men and 13 women) that included Melvil Dewey. An "association of associations," the ALA is organized in divisions, each with its own officers, budget, and programs, and is closely tied to over 50 state and regional chapters. The Association also sponsors round tables on specific issues and topics and is affiliated with other independent library-related organizations.

Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR)
A detailed set of standardized rules for cataloging various types of library materials that had its origin in Catalog Rules: Author and Title Entries, published in 1908 under the auspices of the American Library Association and the Library Association (UK), and the A.L.A. Cataloging Rules for Author and Title Entries (1949), with its companion volume Rules for Descriptive Cataloging in the Library of Congress. Cooperation between the ALA, the Library Association, and the Canadian Library Association resumed with the joint publication in 1967 of Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, which is divided into two parts: rules for creating the bibliographic description of an item of any type and rules governing the choice and form of entry of headings (access points) in the catalog.

Annotated bibliography
A bibliography in which a brief explanatory or evaluative note is added to each reference or citation. An annotation can be helpful to the researcher in evaluating whether the source is relevant to a given topic or line of inquiry.

Annotation
A brief note, usually no longer than two or three sentences, added after a citation in a bibliography to describe or explain the content or message of the work cited or to comment on it.

Annual review
A serial publication that surveys the most important works of original research and creative thought published in a specific discipline or sub discipline during a given calendar year (example: Annual Review of Information Science and Technology

Anthology
A collection of extracts or complete works by various authors, selected by an editor for publication in a single volume or multivolume set. Anthologies are often limited to a specific literary form or genre (short stories, poetry, plays) or to a national literature, theme, time period, or category of author. The works anthologized are listed in the table of contents by title in order of appearance in the text.

Antiquarian book
An old, used out of print book, more valuable than most secondhand books because of its rarity and/or condition, usually sold by an antiquarian bookseller.

APA style
A guide for typing research papers in the social sciences, developed by the American Psychological Association, which includes the proper format for typing notes and bibliographic citations.

Archival copy
A copy of a document specifically created or designated for archival storage by the company, government, organization, or institution that wishes to preserve it, usually for legal, evidential, or historical purposes.

Archival database
An organized collection of records in digital format, containing information to be retained for an indefinite period of time, usually for future reference.

Archives
An organized collection of the noncurrent records of the activities of a business, government, organization, institution, or other corporate body, or the personal papers of one or more individuals, families, or groups, retained permanently (or for a designated or indeterminate period of time) by their originator or a successor for their permanent historical, informational, evidential, legal, administrative, or monetary value, usually in a repository managed and maintained by a trained archivist.

Archivist
The person responsible for managing and maintaining an archival collection, usually a librarian with special training in archival practices and methods, including the identification and appraisal of records of archival value, authentication, accessioning, description and documentation, facilitation of access and use, preservation and conservation, and exhibition and publication to benefit scholarship and satisfy public interest.

Atlas
A bound or boxed collection of maps, usually related in subject or theme, with an index of place names usually printed at the end.
Audio book
A book read aloud and recorded on audiotape or compact disc (CD), usually by a professional actor or reader or by the author.

Audiocassette
An audiotape permanently enclosed in a hard plastic case containing two take-up reels to which the ends of the tape are attached for playback and rewinding.

Audiotape
A continuous strip of thin magnetic tape on which sounds can be recorded as electrical signals and converted back into sound with the proper playback equipment.

Audiovisual (AV)
A work in a medium that combines sound and visual images, for example, a motion picture or video recording with a sound track, or a slide presentation synchronized with audiotape.

Author
The person or corporate entity responsible for producing a written work (essay, monograph, novel, play, poem, screenplay, short story, etc.) whose name is printed on the title page of a book or given elsewhere in or on a manuscript or other item and in whose name the work is copyrighted. A work may have two or more joint authors. In library cataloging, the term is used in its broadest sense to include editor, compiler, composer, creator, etc.

Author bibliography
A bibliography of works written by or about a specific author, which can vary in detail and extent from an unannotated list of selected titles to a comprehensive, in-depth descriptive bibliography.
Author entry
The entry in a catalog, index, or bibliography under the authorized heading for the first-named author of a work, whether it be a person or corporate body. In most library catalogs, the author entry is the main entry.

Author index
An alphabetically arranged index in which the headings are the names of the individuals and corporate bodies responsible for creating the works indexed. Author entries may be combined with the subject index or title index, rather than listed separately.

Author’s copy
One of six or more complimentary copies of a published work normally provided to the author free of charge by the publisher at the time of first publication.. In a more general sense, an association copy that is known, usually on the basis of documentary evidence, to have belonged to the author of the work. Faculty members sometimes donate complimentary copies of their works to the academic library at the college or university with which they are affiliated

Authorship
The origin of a manuscript, book, or other written work, with reference to its author(s). In a more general sense, the source of an idea or creative work in any form, with reference to its creator or originator, for example, the composer of a musical work. When authorship of an anonymous work cannot be determined with a reasonable degree of certainty, it is said to be of unknown authorship.

Autobiography
An account of a person's life written by its subject, usually in the form of a continuous narrative of events considered by the author to be the most important or interesting, selected from those he or she is willing to reveal (example: The Autobiography of Rabindranath Thagor). An autobiography differs from a diary or journal in being written for others rather than for purely private reasons

Autograph book
A book with blank pages intended for the collection of signatures of friends and/or famous people, with or without accompanying inscriptions. The value of an autograph book in the collectors' market depends on the rarity of the signatures it contains.

Automatic indexing
A method of indexing in which an algorithm is applied by a computer to the title and/or text of a work to identify and extract words and phrases representing subjects, for use as headings under which entries are made in the index.

Auxiliary schedule
In library classification, a separate list of classes (with their notations) that serves only to subdivide the classes listed in the main schedules, for example, the standard subdivisions listed in Table 1 of Dewey Decimal Classification.

Credit given to http://lu.com/odlis/index.cfm

Important LIS term ( Begin with B)

Back issue
Any issue of a periodical that precedes the current issue. Back issues are usually retained in a back file, which may be stored in a different location in the periodicals section of a library, sometimes converted to a more compact format, such as microfilm or microfiche.

Backlist
All the publications on a publisher's active list that are no longer new, having been published prior to the current season.

Back page
The last page of an issue of a periodical, facing the inside of the back cover.

Backup
In data processing, to make a second copy of an important data file in case the original is lost, damaged, or destroyed.

Banned book
A book, the publication and/or sale of which has been prohibited or suppressed by ecclesiastical or secular authority because its content is considered objectionable or dangerous, usually for political and/or social reasons.

Barcode
A printed label containing machine-readable data encoded in vertical lines of equal length but variable thickness, which can be read into an attached computer by an optical scanner. In libraries barcodes are used to identify books and other materials for circulation and inventory and to link the borrower's library card to the appropriate patron record in automated circulation systems.

Best books
A selection of recently published books considered by reviewers to be superior in the field or type of publication they represent. Most library review publications publish annual lists of highly recommended titles in the various categories reviewed (reference, fiction, nonfiction, young adult, children's books, etc.).

Biannual
Issued twice each year. Also refers to a publication issued twice a year.

Bibliographer
A person who describes and lists books and other publications, with particular attention to such characteristics as authorship, publication date, edition, typography, etc.

Bibliographic control
A broad term encompassing all the activities involved in creating, organizing, managing, and maintaining the file of bibliographic records representing the items held in a library or archival collection, or the sources listed in an index or database, to facilitate access to the information contained in them. Bibliographic control includes the standardization of bibliographic description and subject access by means of uniform catalog code, classification systems, name authorities, and preferred headings; the creation and maintenance of catalogs, union lists, and finding aids; and the provision of physical access to the items in the collection.
In other words, bibliographic control means the adequate listing of all bibliographic data and resources to manage and use them properly.

Bibliographic coupling
The idea that two scholarly papers containing a citation in common are bibliographically related in a way that is likely to be of interest to researchers. A similar relationship, called co-citation coupling, is established between two or more documents when they are both cited in a third. Citation indexing is based on the principle of bibliographic coupling.

Bibliographic database
A computer file consisting of electronic entries called records, each containing a uniform description of a specific document or bibliographic item, usually retrievable by author, title, subject heading (descriptor), or keyword(s).

Bibliographic description
In library cataloging, the detailed description of a copy of a specific edition of a work intended to identify and distinguish it from other works by the same author, of the same title, or on the same subject.

Bibliographic essay
A critical essay in which the bibliographer identifies and evaluates the core literature of a sub discipline or field of study, providing guidance to students, researchers, and collection development librarians.

Bibliographic format
The standardized sequence and manner of presentation of the data elements constituting the full description of an item in a specific cataloging or indexing system.

Bibliographic record
An entry representing a specific item in a library catalog or bibliographic database, containing all the data elements necessary for a full description, presented in a specific bibliographic format.

Bibliography
A systematic list or enumeration of written works by a specific author or on a given subject, or that share one or more common characteristics (language, form, period, place of publication, etc.). When a bibliography is about a person, the subject is the bibliographee. A bibliography may be comprehensive or selective. Long bibliographies may be published serially or in book form.

Bilingual edition
A book or periodical published in two languages.

Bio-bibliography
A reference work combining biographical information with bibliography, either in the form of brief biographical entries with a list of works written by the biographies or longer biographical essays with a list of works written by and about the biographee at the end of each entry .

Biographical note
A brief sketch of the life of the author (composer, performer, etc.) of a work, printed at the end of a book, on the dust jacket, on the container, or elsewhere in or on the bibliographic item.

Biography
A carefully researched, relatively full narrative account of the life of a specific person or closely related group of people, written by another.

Book
A collection of leaves of paper, parchment, vellum, cloth, or other material (written, printed, or blank) fastened together along one edge, with or without a protective case or cover.

Book announcement
A brief statement by the publisher announcing the availability of a new book or blacklisted title, published as an advertisement in a book trade journal or review publication or in an advertising section included in another book published under the same imprint.

Book card
A piece of stiff card stock of standard size (three inches wide and five inches high), with space at the top for the call number, name of author, and title of item, and blank lines below for recording the due date and the library card number or name of the borrower, used in manual circulation systems to maintain a card file of items currently checked out.

Book catalog
A library catalog in the form of a bound or loose-leaf book, whether handwritten, printed, or computer-generated, practical only for small collections.

Book culture
The habits, skills, institutions, etc., of a given people concerning books in all forms, including their manufacture (publishing, printing, and binding), marketing and promotion, bookselling and collecting, book clubs and reading groups, bibliography and conservation, activities of libraries and archives, and the writing, illustrating, reviewing, and reading of books.

Book fair
A trade exhibition usually held annually, at which book publishers and distributors display their products in spaces called booths leased for that purpose.

Bookmark
A narrow strip of paper, leather, ribbon, or other thin, flexible material placed between the pages of a book to mark a place.

Book number
The portion of the call number following the class notation, added to distinguish a specific item within its class. A book number is composed of an author mark appended by the cataloger to sub-arrange works of the same class by name of author, followed by a work mark added to sub-arrange works of the same author by title or edition.

Book pocket
A three-inch-wide strip of stiff paper with a small pocket folded and glued across the bottom third of its height to hold a book card, used in libraries with manual circulation systems.

Bookseller
A person in the business of selling new books and related materials to the retail trade at the full net published price, especially one who owns a bookstore.

Book trade journal
A periodical issued by publishers, booksellers, and others engaged in the book trade for the purpose of announcing and promoting newly published titles. Book trade journals also include trade news, bestseller lists, author interviews, book reviews, feature articles, regular columns, analysis of current trends and issues, and information about book production/distribution, book fairs, and book signings.

Boolean
A system of logic developed by the English mathematician George Boole (1815-64) that allows the user to combine words or phrases representing significant concepts when searching an online catalog or bibliographic database by keywords. Three logical commands (sometimes called "operators") are: OR, AND and NOT.

Borrower
A person who checks out books and other materials from a library.

Borrowing library
A library or institution that requests and receives materials from another library, usually on interlibrary loan.

Borrowing privileges
The rights to which a library borrower is entitled, usually established by registering to receive a library card. Such privileges normally include the right to check out books and other materials from the circulating collection for a designated period of time, interlibrary loan, use of special collections, etc.

Bradford's Law
The bibliometric principle that a disproportionate share of the significant research results on a given subject are published in a relatively small number of the scholarly journals in the field, a pattern of exponentially diminishing returns first noted by Samuel C. Bradford in 1934, who proposed the formula 1:n:n² to describe the phenomenon, based on his examination of a bibliography of geophysics. He found that a few core journals provide 1/3 of the articles on a given subject, a moderate number of less-than-core journals provide a further 1/3 of the articles on the subject, and a large number peripheral journals provide the remaining 1/3 of the articles. The pattern exists in the literature of the natural sciences but not in the humanities and social sciences. Identification of the core journals in a scientific specialization can therefore facilitate not only the research process, but also serials collection development

Branch library
An auxiliary service outlet in a library system, housed in a facility separate from the central library, which has at least a basic collection of materials, a regular staff, and established hours, with a budget and policies determined by the central library. A branch library is usually managed by a branch librarian who may have responsibility for more than one branch.

British National Bibliography (BNB)
The most comprehensive record of books and first issues of serials published since 1950 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland, the BNB has been the responsibility of the British Library since the library's inception in 1973. Since 1990, bibliographic records created in accordance with international cataloging standards have been contributed by all the legal depository libraries in the UK, provided by the Bibliographic Data Services. Coverage is selective, with emphasis on mainstream monographs available through regular book-buying channels. Research reports and non-trade monographs are recorded separately in the British National Bibliography for Report Literature. The BNB is available weekly in print, monthly on CD-ROM, and online.

Broad classification
A classification system in which the main classes are not extensively subdivided, for use in small libraries that do not require close classification to organize their collections effectively.
In Dewey Decimal Classification, the classification of works in general categories by logical abridgment, even when more specific class numbers are available, for example, use of the class 641.5 Cooking instead of the subclass 641.5945 Italian cooking for a cookbook consisting of recipes for Italian food.

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Important LIS term ( Begin with C)

Call number
A unique code printed on a label affixed to the outside of an item in a library collection, usually to the lower spine of a book or videocassette, also printed or handwritten on a label inside the item to identify the specific copy of the work and give its relative location on the shelf.
In most collections, a call number is composed of a classification number followed by additional notation to make the call number unique. Generally, the class number is followed by an author mark to distinguish the work from others of the same class, followed by a work mark to distinguish the title from other works of the same class by the same author, and sometimes other information such as publication date, volume number, copy number, and location symbol.

Call slip
A brief form that the user must fill out to request an item from the closed stacks of a library or archives, or from some other nonpublic storage area, usually retrieved by hand by a staff member called a page, although automated and semi-automated retrieval systems are used in some large libraries

Carbon copy
A copy of a document made at the same time as the original by the use of thin paper coated on one side with a mixture of dark waxy pigment (initially carbon) easily transferred to a second blank sheet under the pressure of pen or typewriter.

Card catalog
A list of the holdings of a library, printed, typed, or handwritten on catalog cards, each representing a single bibliographic item in the collection. Catalog cards are normally filed in a single alphabetical sequence, or in separate sections by author, title, and subject, in the long narrow drawers of a specially designed filing cabinet, usually constructed of wood.

Cartography
The art and science of making maps, charts, and other cartographic materials.

Casebook
A book containing records or descriptions of actual cases that have occurred in a professional discipline, selected to illustrate important principles and concepts, for the use of students as a textbook and practitioners for reference.

Catalog
A comprehensive list of the books, periodicals, maps, and other materials in a given collection, arranged in systematic order to facilitate retrieval (usually alphabetically by author, title, and/or subject).

Catalog card
In manual cataloging systems, a paper card used to make a handwritten, typed, or printed entry in a card catalog, usually of standard size (3”X5” card), plain or ruled

Catalog code
A detailed set of rules for preparing bibliographic records to represent items added to a library collection, established to maintain consistency within the catalog and between the catalogs of libraries using the same code

Cataloger
A librarian primarily responsible for preparing bibliographic records to represent the items acquired by a library, including bibliographic description, subject analysis, and classification.

Cataloging
The process of creating entries for a catalog.

CD-ROM
Compact Disc-Read Only Memory, 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.
Each disc has the capacity to store 650 megabytes of data, the equivalent of 250,000 to 300,000 pages of text or approximately 1,000 books of average length. CD-ROMs can be used to store sound tracks, still or moving images, and computer files, as well as text. In libraries, CD-ROMs are used primarily as a storage medium for bibliographic databases and full-text resources, mostly dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works.

Chained book
A book with a strong metal chain firmly attached to the binding, usually at its head, to secure the volume to the shelf on which it is stored, or to the desk or lectern where it is to be read, as a means of preventing unauthorized removal.

Chapter
One of two ore more major divisions of a book or other work, each complete in itself but related in theme or plot to the division preceding and/or following it

Chronology
A book or section of a book that lists events and their dates in the order of their occurrence

Circulation
The process of checking books and other materials in and out of a library. Also refers to the total number of items checked out by library borrowers over a designated period of time and to the number of times a given item is checked out during a fixed period of time, usually one year.

Circulation desk
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.

Circulation history
A record that a patron borrowed a specific item, retained for a significant length of time after the item is returned to the library.

Circulation system
The methods used to record the loan of items from a library collection by linking data in the patron record to the item record for each item loaned.

Citation
In the literary sense, any written or spoken reference to an authority or precedent or to the verbatim words of another speaker or writer. In library usage, a written reference to a specific work or portion of a work (book, article, dissertation, report, musical composition, etc.) produced by a particular author, editor, composer, etc., clearly identifying the document in which the work is to be found.

Citation analysis
A bibliometric technique in which works cited in publications are examined to determine patterns of scholarly communication, in one or more academic disciplines.

Citation index
A three-part index in which works cited during a given year are listed alphabetically by name of author cited, followed by the names of the citing authors in a "Citation Index”.

Classification
The process of dividing objects or concepts into logically hierarchical classes, subclasses, and sub-subclasses based on the characteristics they have in common and those that distinguish them.

Classification schedule
The names assigned to the classes and subdivisions of a classification system, listed in the order of their symbolic notation.

Classification system
A list of classes arranged according to a set of pre-established principles for the purpose of organizing items in a collection, or entries in an index, bibliography, or catalog, into groups based on their similarities and differences, to facilitate access and retrieval

Classified catalog
A subject catalog in which entries are filed in the notational order of a pre-established classification system, with bibliographic records under as many subject headings as apply to the content of each item. An alphabetical subject index facilitates the use of a classified catalog, which is usually maintained alongside an author and/or title catalog.

Classified index
An index in which entries are arranged under headings and subheadings indicating hierarchical divisions and subdivisions within classes based on the subject matter indexed, rather than in alphabetical or numerical sequence.

Class number
The specific notation used in Dewey Decimal Classification to designate a class, for example, 943.085 assigned to works on the history of the Weimar Republic in Germany.

Close classification
A classification system in which the main classes and divisions are minutely subdivided, allowing very specific characteristics of each subject to be differentiated.

Closed catalog
A library catalog to which new bibliographic records are no longer added or in which additions are restricted to certain categories, although existing records continue to be removed as they are revised, corrected, and/or converted to machine-readable format.

Collection development
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. Collection development includes the formulation of selection criteria, planning for resource sharing, and replacement of lost and damaged items, as well as routine selection and deselection decisions.

Collective biography
A work in one or more volumes containing separate accounts of the lives of two or more individuals who lived within a specific time period, distinguished themselves in the same field or activity, or have some other characteristic in common .

Colon Classification
A classification system in which subjects are analyzed into facets based on their uses and relations, then represented by synthetically constructed classes with the parts separated by the colon (:). Developed by S.R. Ranganathan in the 1930s, Colon Classification is used in libraries in India and in research libraries throughout the world.

Comic book
A booklet, usually printed in color on paper made from wood pulp, containing one or more stories told pictorially in a continuous strip of panels drawn in cartoon style, with dialogue or monologue enclosed in balloons or given in captions

Copyright
The exclusive legal rights granted by a government to an author, editor, compiler, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to publish, produce, sell, or distribute copies of a literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, or other work, within certain limitations. Copyright law also governs the right to prepare derivative works, reproduce a work or portions of it, and display or perform a work in public.

Copyright fee
The payment required by a national copyright depository to register copyright of a creative work, which must be submitted with the completed application form and a deposit copy of the work

Cumulative index
An index designed to save the user's time by combining in a single sequence the entries listed in two or more previously published indexes, providing integrated access to a larger body of material.

Current awareness service
A service or publication designed to alert scholars, researchers, readers, customers, or employees to recently published literature in their field(s) of specialization, usually available in special libraries serving companies, organizations, and institutions in which access to current information is essential.

Current bibliography
A bibliography that includes only references to recently published sources on a subject or in a specific field or discipline.
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Important LIS term ( Begin with D)

Important LIS term (Beginning with D)

Data
The plural of the Latin word datum, meaning "what is given," often used as a singular collective noun. Facts, figures, or instructions presented in a form that can be comprehended, interpreted, and communicated by a human being or processed by a computer.

Database
A large, regularly updated file of digitized information (bibliographic records, abstracts, full-text documents, directory entries, images, statistics, etc.) related to a specific subject or field, consisting of records of uniform format organized for ease and speed of search and retrieval and managed with the aid of database management system (DBMS) software.
Database management system (DBMS)
A computer application designed to control the storage, retrieval, security, integrity, and reporting of data in the form of uniform records organized in a large searchable file called a database.

Data dictionary
A set of data descriptions documenting the fields (columns) in the tables of a database system. A data dictionary may describe the data type and other physical characteristics of fields, enumerate allowed values, and specify appropriate usage.

Date due slip
A card or slip of paper inserted in an item charged from a library collection or a small printed form attached to the inside of the front or back cover or to one of the free endpapers, on which is stamped the date the item is due back in the library.

Departmental library
A type of academic library that serves the information and research needs of the faculty members of a department within an institution of higher learning, usually a large university.

Deposit copy
A copy of a new publication sent without charge to a copyright depository or other designated library by the author or publisher in compliance with national copyright law

Descriptive bibliography
The close study and description of the physical and bibliographic characteristics of books and other materials, including detailed information about author, title, publication history, format, pagination, illustration, printing, binding, appearance, etc., as opposed to an examination of content. Also refers to a work that is the result of such study

Descriptive cataloging
The part of the library cataloging process concerned with identifying and describing the physical and bibliographic characteristics of the item, and with determining the name(s) and title(s) to be used as access points in the catalog, but not with the assignment of subject and form headings.

Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)
A hierarchical system for classifying books and other library materials by subject, first published in 1876 by the librarian and educator Melvil Dewey, who divided human knowledge into 10 main classes, each of which is divided into 10 divisions, and so on.

Diary
A private written record of day-to-day thoughts, feelings, and experiences kept by a person who does not expect them to be published.

Dictionary
A single-volume or multivolume reference work containing brief explanatory entries for terms and topics related to a specific subject or field of inquiry, usually arranged alphabetically.

Dictionary catalog
A type of catalog, in which all the entries (main, added, subject) and cross-references are interfiled in a single alphabetic sequence.

Digital archives
Archival materials that have been converted to machine-readable format, usually for the sake of preservation or to make them more accessible to users.

Digital collection
A collection of library or archival materials converted to machine-readable format for preservation or to provide electronic access.

Digital library
A library in which a significant proportion of the resources are available in machine-readable format, accessible by means of computers. The digital content may be locally held or accessed remotely via computer networks.

Digital preservation
The process of maintaining, in a condition suitable for use, materials produced in digital formats, including preservation of the bit stream and the continued ability to render or display the content represented by the bit stream.

Digital reference
Reference services requested and provided over the Internet, usually via e-mail, instant messaging ("chat"), or Web-based submission forms, usually answered by librarians in the reference department of a library, sometimes by the participants in a collaborative reference system serving more than one institution.

Digitization
The process of converting data to digital format for processing by a computer.

Directory
A list of people, companies, institutions, organizations, etc., in alphabetical or classified order, providing contact information (names, addresses, phone/fax numbers, etc.) and other pertinent details (affiliations, conferences, publications, membership, etc.) in brief format, often published serially.

Document
A generic term for a physical entity consisting of any substance on which is recorded all or a portion of one or more works for the purpose of conveying or preserving knowledge.

Documentation
The process of systematically collecting, organizing, storing, retrieving, and disseminating specialized documents, especially of a scientific, technical, or legal nature, usually to facilitate research or preserve institutional memory.

Documentation center
An organization or agency that specializes in receiving, processing, preserving, abstracting, and indexing publications, usually within a scholarly discipline or field of research and study. Documentation centers also issue bulletins on the progress of such work for distribution to interested parties and may also prepare bibliographies on special topics, make copies or translations, and engage in bibliographic research.

Dublin Core (DC)
A standard set of 15 interoperable metadata elements designed to facilitate the description and recovery of document-like resources in a networked environment.
Dublin Core is the result of an international cross-disciplinary consensus achieved through the ongoing efforts of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI), aimed at providing a foundation for standardized bibliographic description of information resources available via the Internet.

Dust jacket
The removable paper wrapper on the outside of a hardcover book, usually printed in color and given a glossy finish to market the work to retail customers and protect it from wear and tear. The front of the dust jacket bears the title, the author's full name, and a graphic design. The title also appears on the spine of the jacket, with the author's last name and the publisher's name or symbol.

DVD
An abbreviation of digital videodisc, a type of optical disk of the same size as a compact disc but with significantly greater recording capacity, partly because it is double-sided.

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Important LIS term ( E, F, G, H & I)

Important LIS term beginning with E

Electronic book
A digital version of a traditional print book designed to be read on a personal computer or an e-book reader.

Electronic document delivery
The transfer of information traditionally recorded in a physical medium to the user electronically, usually via e-mail or the World Wide Web.

Electronic journal
A digital version of a print journal, or a journal-like electronic publication with no print counterpart, made available via the Web, e-mail, or other means of Internet access.

Electronic magazine
A digital version of a print magazine, or a magazine-like electronic publication with no print counterpart, made available via the Web, e-mail, or other means of Internet access.

Electronic newsletter
A newsletter published online, usually via the Internet, with or without a print counterpart.

Electronic records
Bibliographic or archival records stored on a medium, such as magnetic tape/disk or optical disk, that requires computer equipment for retrieval and processing.

Electronic resource
Material consisting of data and/or computer program(s) encoded for reading and manipulation by a computer, by the use of a peripheral device directly connected to the computer, such as a CD-ROM drive, or remotely via a network.

E-mail
An abbreviation of electronic mail, an Internet protocol that allows computer users to exchange messages and data files in real time with other users, locally and across networks.

E-mail address
A string of characters used to route messages from one computer to another over a network governed by the Internet protocol for electronic mail (SMTP).

Encyclopedia
A book or numbered set of books containing authoritative summary information about a variety of topics in the form of short essays, usually arranged alphabetically by headword or classified in some manner.

Ex-library copy
A copy of a book or other item once owned by a library and subsequently acquired by a used book dealer, usually identified by an ownership mark, library binding, and/or spine label.

Extensible Markup Language (XML)
A subset of the SGML markup language in which the tags define the kind of information contained in a data element rather than how it is displayed.

Important LIS term begining with "F"

Facsimile catalog
A catalog that includes in each entry a small reproduction of the picture, slide, map, or other item it represents, usually affixed to or printed on cards larger than standard size or on sheets of heavy paper filed in a loose-leaf or other type of binder.

Faculty status
Official recognition by a college or university that the librarians in its employ are considered members of the faculty, with ranks, titles, rights, and benefits equivalent to those of teaching faculty, including tenure, promotion, and the right to participate in governance.

Fiber optics
The high-speed transmission of data encoded in pulses of laser light via cable constructed of optical fiber made of pure silicon dioxide, a technology that revolutionized the telecommunication industry in the late 20th century, making it possible to interconnect computers large and small in a worldwide network.

Fiction
Literary works in prose, portraying characters and events created in the imagination of the writer, intended to entertain, enlighten, and vicariously expand the reader's experience of life.

File
A collection of documents usually related in some way, stored together, and arranged in a systematic order. In computing, a collection of structured data elements stored as a single entity or a collection of records related by source and/or purpose, stored on a magnetic medium.

Film
A thin strip or sheet of flexible, transparent or translucent material coated with a light-sensitive emulsion that, when exposed to light, can be used to develop photographic images.

Film library
A type of special library containing a collection of 8, 16, 35, or 70mm motion pictures, video recordings, DVDs, and other materials related to cinematography and film studies, classified for ease of access and retrieval.

First-line index
An index in which the opening lines of poems are listed in alphabetical order, each entry giving the title of the work and the name of the poet, usually shelved in the reference section of a library.

Floppy disk
A 3.5” external metallic magnetic disk encased in a rigid plastic envelope designed for use in a personal computer as a portable storage medium for data in digital format.
Full-text search
A search of a bibliographic database in which the entire text of each record or document is searched and the entry retrieved if the terms included in the search statement are present.

Important LIS term beginning with "G"
Gazette
A news sheet in which current events, legal notices, public appointments, etc., are recorded on a regular basis.

General encyclopedia
An encyclopedia that provides basic information on a broad range of subjects but treats no single subject in depth, as distinct from a subject encyclopedia that provides greater depth of coverage within a more limited scope.

Google Scholar
A free service launched by Google in November 2004 that allows users to search the Internet for scholarly literature across many disciplines using the company's proprietary search software.

Guidebook
A handbook that provides useful current information for travelers to a city, state, region, country, or other geographic area or for visitors to a museum, park, historical site, etc.

Gutter
The blank space formed by the inner margins of facing pages in an open book, from the binding edge to the area bearing printed matter. The width of the gutter margin is an important factor in determining whether a book can be rebound.


Important LIS term beginning with “H”
Handbook
A single-volume reference book of compact size that provides concise factual information on a specific subject, organized systematically for quick and easy access.

Handout
A printed sheet or group of sheets, usually stapled together at one corner, intended for distribution during an oral presentation or instruction session to give the attendees a record of content covered (summary, outline, hard copy of PowerPoint slides, etc.) or to provide supplementary or complementary information (supporting data, examples, suggestions for further reading, contact information, etc.).

Hardcover
A book bound in an inflexible board case or cover, usually covered in cloth, paper, plastic, leather, or some other durable material, as distinct from a book bound in a cover made of flexible material.

Hard disk
A magnetic medium capable of storing a large quantity of data, which resides permanently within a computer, as opposed to a portable disk that can be inserted in a disk drive by the user whenever a data file needs to be opened or saved, then removed once the operation is completed.

Hardware
Mechanical, electrical, electronic, or other physical equipment and machinery associated with a computer system or necessary for the playback or projection of nonprint media. Basic microcomputer hardware includes a central processing unit (CPU), keyboard, and monitor.

Harvesting
The process of gathering data from Web pages and other Internet sources and sending it back to a central site for indexing. An Internet crawler harvests Web pages for indexing in Internet search engines Google, AltaVista, HotBot, etc.

Hierarchical classification
A classification system in which the classes are subdivided on the principle of logical subordination, from the most general subjects to the most specific. Hierarchical classification can be broad or close.

Hierarchy
The arrangement of classes in a classification system, from the most general to the most specific.

Hieroglyphics
A writing system in which pictures or symbols, rather than letters of a phonetic alphabet, are used to represent words, syllables, and sounds

Hits
In information retrieval, the number of records retrieved from a database that are relevant to the query.
On the Internet, the number of times a given site is visited during a designated period of time, which can be recorded by an automatic counter supported by the software running the site.

Holdings record
In cataloging, a separate record attached to the bibliographic record for a serial title or multivolume item to track issues, parts, volumes, etc., as they are acquired by the library.

Homepage
The first or main page of a site on the World Wide Web, displayed whenever a user logs on to a Web browser and opens the site address (URL).

Hospital library
A medical library maintained within the walls of a hospital, containing a collection of print and online resources on medicine and allied health to serve the information and research needs of doctors, nurses, patients, and staff, usually managed by a medical librarian.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Used to create the hypertext documents accessible via the World Wide Web and intranets, HTML script is a cross-platform presentation markup language that allows the author to incorporate into a Web page text, frames, graphics, audio, video, and links to other documents and applications. Formatting is controlled by "tags" embedded in the text.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
The communications protocol used in Web browser software to establish the connection between a client computer and a remote Web server, making it possible for data files in HTML format to be transmitted over the Internet from the server to the client machine on which the browser is installed.

Important LIS term beginning with “I”
Illustration
A picture, plate, diagram, plan, chart, map, design, or other graphic image printed with or inserted in the text of a book or other publication as an embellishment or to complement or elucidate the text. Also refers to the fine art of creating such visual works.

Indention
A space between the margin on a page and the beginning of a line of type, as at the beginning of a paragraph of text.

Index
An alphabetically arranged list of headings consisting of the personal names, places, and subjects treated in a written work, with page numbers to refer the reader to the point in the text at which information pertaining to the heading is found.

Indexing
The process of compiling one or more indexes for a single publication, such as a monograph or multivolume reference work, or adding entries for new documents to an open-end index covering a particular publication format, works of a specific literary form, or the literature of an academic field, discipline, or group of disciplines.

Indicative abstract
An abstract that describes the type and form of a document, indicating its purpose and/or scope and providing a brief description of the treatment, without summarizing the content or evaluating the work.

Information
Data or facts, conclusions, ideas, and creative works of the human intellect and imagination that have been communicated, formally or informally, in any form.

Information and referral (I&R)
A service available at no charge, usually from a public library or other public service agency, providing contact information about other organizations, agencies, and individuals qualified to offer specific information and services, both free and fee-based, usually within the local community.

Information desk
A desk in a large public or academic library, usually located near the main entrance, staffed by a nonprofessional trained to screen questions, provide basic information about library services and collections, and direct users to the reference desk or some other public service point, when further assistance is needed.

Information ethics
The branch of ethics that focuses on the relationship between the creation, organization, dissemination, and use of information, and the ethical standards and moral codes governing human conduct in society.

Information literacy (IL)
The concept includes the skills required to critically evaluate information content and employ it effectively, as well as an understanding of the technological infrastructure on which information transmission is based, including its social, political, and cultural context and impact.

Information management
The skillful exercise of control over the acquisition, organization, storage, security, retrieval, and dissemination of the information resources essential to the successful operation of a business, agency, organization, or institution, including documentation, records management, and technical infrastructure.

Information need
Information need is an individual or group's desire to locate and obtain information to satisfy a conscious or unconscious need.

Information overload
A condition in which too much information is available on a topic, a common occurrence in online searching, particularly when the query is expressed in terms that are too general.

Information Retrieval (IR)
The process, methods, and procedures used to selectively recall recorded information from a file of data. In other words Information Retrieval (IR) is the science of searching for documents, for information within documents and for metadata about documents, as well as that of searching relational databases and the World Wide Web.

Information Technology (IT)
A very broad term encompassing all aspects of the management and processing of information by computer, including the hardware and software required to access it. In other word, IT is broad area of collecting, processing, storing and retrieving data or information by computer and other related technologies.

Informative abstract
An abstract that summarizes the essential content of a document, usually within the limitations of a single paragraph, reflecting its tone and mode of presentation.

Informatics
The use of mathematical and statistical methods in research related to libraries, documentation, and information.
Intellectual freedom
The right of any person to read or express views that may be unpopular or offensive to some people, within certain limitations.

Intellectual property
Tangible products of the human mind and intelligence entitled to the legal status of personal property, especially works protected by copyright, inventions that have been patented and registered trademarks.

Inter-library loan (ILL)
Interlibrary loan is a service whereby a user of one library can borrow books, videos, DVDs, sound recordings, microfilms, or receive photocopies of articles in magazines that are owned by another library.

International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD)
A set of standards adopted in 1971 by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), governing the bibliographic description of items collected by libraries.

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
A unique 10-digit standard number assigned to identify a specific edition of a book or other monographic publication issued by a given publisher, under a system recommended for international use by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1969.

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
A unique eight-digit standard number assigned by the International Serials Data System (ISDS) to identify a specific serial title. The ISSN is usually given in the masthead of each issue or on the copyright page of each volume or part of a series.

Internet
The high-speed fiber-optic network of networks that uses TCP/IP protocols to interconnect computer networks around the world, enabling users to communicate via e-mail, transfer data and program files via FTP, find information on the World Wide Web, and access remote computer systems such as online catalogs and electronic databases easily and effortlessly, using an innovative technique called packet switching.

Intra-library loan
The loan of an item by a library to another library within the same library system, or directly to a patron of another library in the same system, on request, usually faster than interlibrary loan if the system has its own delivery service.

Intranet
An in-house Web site designed to be used only by the staff or employees of an organization, institution, or commercial enterprise. Intranets use the same TCP/IP and hypertext protocols as the Internet, but access by unauthorized users is usually blocked by a firewall. Also used in a more general sense to refer to any in-house LAN or client-server system.

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