ODLIS: Online Dictionary - University of Ljubljana

ODLIS: Online Dictionary

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

About the Dictionary Copyright 2002 by Joan M. Reitz. All Rights

Reserved.

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | JK | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ |

A

AACR See: Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.

AACR2 See: Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.

AACR2-e See: Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.

AACR2R See: Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.

AAHSL See: Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries.

AALL See: American Association of Law Libraries.

AAP See: Association of American Publishers.

AAS See: American Antiquarian Society.

AASL See: American Association of School Librarians.

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AAUP See: American Association of University Professors and Association of American University Presses.

ABA See: American Booksellers Association.

ABAA See: Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America.

AB Bookman's Weekly A trade publication used mainly by antiquarian booksellers to locate rare, out of print, and difficult to find titles, AB Bookman's Weekly began as a section of Publisher's Weekly under the title Antiquarian Bookman. In 1948 it became an independent weekly of the same title published by R. R. Bowker. Publication under the current title began in 1967.

abbreviation A shortened form of a word or phrase used for brevity in place of the whole, consisting of the first letter, or the first few letters, followed by a period (full stop), for example, assoc. for association or P.O. for post office. Some terms have more than one abbreviation (v. or vol. for volume). Abbreviated abbr.

Also used as an umbrella term for any shortened form of a word or phrase, not an acronym, initialism, or contraction, for example, the postal code CT for Connecticut. The rules governing the use of abbreviations in library catalog entries are given in Appendix B of AACR2.

ABC book See: abecedarium and alphabet book.

abecedarium A book containing the letters of the alphabet and basic rules of spelling and grammar, used in Europe as a primer before the invention of the printing press. Early printed examples (sometimes in the form of a broadsheet) displayed the alphabet in uppercase and lowercase letters in both roman and gothic type, with separate lists of vowels, dipthongs, and consonants. By 1700, some ABC books included children's rhymes. Synonymous with abecedary. See also: horn book.

abecedarius See: acrostic.

aberrant copy A copy of a book containing obvious printing and/or binding errors which are more serious than minor defects.

ABF See: Association des bibliothecaires francais.

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aboutness The totality of subjects explicitly or implicitly addressed in the text of a document, including but not limited to the meaning(s) of the title, the stated and unstated intentions of the author, and the ways in which the information may be used by readers. Levels of specificity must be considered in ascertaining the subject(s) of a work. In the case of the hypothetical title The Japanese Teamwork Approach to Improving High School Effectiveness, is the work about:

1. education? 2. educational effectiveness? 3. high school effectiveness? 4. teamwork? 5. a Japanese approach to teamwork?

As a general rule, catalogers and indexers assign the most specific subject headings that describe the significant content of the item. In a post-coordinate indexing system such as the one used in ERIC, the descriptors "Educational effectiveness," "High schools," "Japan," and "Teamwork" would probably be assigned to the example given above, but in a pre-coordinate system, such as the Library of Congress subject headings list, the appropriate headings might be "High schools--Japan," "Teacher effectiveness--Japan," and "Teaching teams--Japan." See also: summarization.

above the fold The half of a broadsheet newspaper that appears above the horizontal fold. Articles printed near the top have greater prominence because most languages are read from top to bottom of page.

abridged See: abridgment.

Abridged Decimal Classification (ADC) A shortened version of Dewey Decimal Classification developed for use in small libraries.

abridgment A shortened version or edition of a written work, which preserves the overall meaning and manner of presentation of the original but omits the less important passages of text, and usually the illustrations, notes, and appendices. Often prepared by a person other than the original author or editor, an abridged edition is generally intended for readers unlikely to purchase the unabridged version because of its length, complexity, or price (example: The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary). Also spelled abridgement. Abbreviated abr. Synonymous with condensation. Compare with simplified edition. See also: abstract, brief, digest, epitome, summary, and synopsis.

absenteeism The failure of an employee to report for work, usually due to illness, accident, family responsibilities, or personal business. A persistently high rate of absenteeism may be a sign of low morale among the staff of a library or library system. See also: burnout.

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absolute humidity See: humidity.

absorbency The capacity of paper to absorb and retain moisture, which varies with type of paper, and is of particular importance in printing processes that use liquid ink. See also: water-damaged.

absorption The assimilation of one serial by another. The note Absorbed: followed by the title of the assimilated serial is added to the bibliographic record representing the assimilating publication, and the corresponding note Absorbed by: giving the title of the assimilating serial is added to the record for the assimilated publication. Compare with merger.

abstract A brief, objective summary of the essential content of a book, article, speech, report, dissertation, or other work, which presents the main points in the same order as the original, but has no independent literary value. An abstract can be indicative, informative, critical, or written from a particular point of view (slanted). In a scholarly journal article, the abstract follows the title and the name(s) of the author(s), and precedes the text. In an entry in a printed indexing and abstracting service or bibliographic database, the abstract accompanies the citation. Compare with summary. See also: author abstract and abstracting journal.

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 is usually limited to the literature of a specific discipline or group of related disciplines, and is performed by an individual or commercial entity, such as an indexing and abstracting service, that provides abstracts regularly to a list of subscribers.

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). Compare with abstracting service.

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 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 subdiscipline. Compare with abstracting journal.

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academic freedom The principle that faculty members employed at institutions of higher education (including librarians with faculty status) should remain free to express their views and teach in the manner of their own choosing, without interference from administration, government, or outside organizations which may have an axe to grind.

academic library A library that is an integral part of a college, university, or other institution of post-secondary 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 Research Libraries (ACRL). Click here to connect to the Libweb list of academic libraries in the United States. Compare with research library. See also: college library, departmental library, graduate library, undergraduate library, and university library.

academic press See: university press.

academic status Recognition given by an institution of higher education that the librarians in its employ are considered members of the teaching or research staff, but are not entitled to ranks, titles, rights, and benefits equivalent to those of faculty. Compare with faculty status.

acanthus A representation of the elegant leaf-form of Acanthus spinosus, a species of herbaceous plant native to the Mediterranean region, used by the ancient Greeks to ornament Corinthian capitals, and as a decorative motif in the illuminated initial letters and borders of medieval manuscripts, where it is often found painted in a unrealistic colors (red, yellow, purple, blue).

acceptable use policy Guidelines established by a library or library system concerning the manner in which its computer systems and equipment may be used, for example, most public libraries forbid the use of public workstations for commercial or unlawful activities. In most libraries, a printed copy of acceptable use policy is posted near the workstations to which the restrictions apply. Some libraries also make the statement available on their Web site.

access The right of entry to a library or its collections. All public libraries and most academic libraries in the United States are open to the general public, but access to certain areas such as closed stacks, rare books, and special collections may be restricted. In a more general sense, the right or opportunity to use a resource which may not be openly and freely available to everyone. See also: accessibility.

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

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