Glossary of Common Library Terms

A-E

Acquisitions Department: the Ellis Library department responsible for the actual ordering and purchase of materials being added to the Library's collection, including gifts.

http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/TechSvc/acq/

book: A written or printed narrative or record, or a limited series or set of them; esp., a literary composition. Also see Monograph.

call number: an alphanumeric code which identifies an item in the library collection and indicates its location on the shelves. Call numbers are listed in the catalog and marked on the book's spine label. Most items in Ellis Library have Library of Congress (LC) call numbers; juvenile materials and some older items have Dewey Decimal (DDC) call numbers.

cataloging: the process of making entries for a library's catalog. This includes recording of descriptive information about the work (author, title, physical characteristics, any notes deemed necessary, etc.) as well as assignment of approved subject headings and assignment of call numbers to place the item in the desired order on the shelves.

Catalog Department: the library department responsible for classification and processing of library materials, and maintenance of the library catalog.

http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/TechSvc/catalog/

charge (to patron): The act of checking out a book to a user. The book is charged to the user's patron account (library card).

circulating: library material that may be checked out by patrons.

Circulation Department: the library department responsible for activities connected with the lending and return of library materials, including re-shelving, searching, rush requests for material in process, etc.

Current Periodical Reading Room (CPRR): This department houses the most recent issues of journals and magazines, not yet bound between hard covers; since current periodicals are in high demand, they are non-circulating. Physical Processing delivers the newly bound periodicals back to CPRR for review before they are sent to Ellis General Stacks.

discharge (from patron): When a patron returns a borrowed item, the item is discharged from the patron record. Thus the patron is no longer accountable for the item.

F-J

hold: a request that an item be kept for a patron until they can pick it up. A patron may place a hold on an item currently on loan to another patron, or on an item that is on order or being processed; they will then be in line to use the item as soon as it becomes available. Hold items are kept at the main Circulation Desk.

holdings: a library's collection of materials; in UNIS, this is a command (HOL) to show which volumes of a set or a journal the library actually owns.

K-O

Library Use Only: Also known as non-circulating. library materials which may not be checked out by patrons. Library Use Only items include archival material, rare books, reference material, current periodicals and other items which must remain accessible within the library at all times.

Monograph:

1. A written account of a single thing, or class; a special treatise on a particular subject. It is complete in one, or a finite (definable) number of issues. Also see book.

2. A non-serial work, complete in one part or set, usually on a narrowly defined single topic. For example, a book or pamphlet (as opposed to a periodical).

monographic series: monographs issued as part of a titled series, at either regular or irregular intervals. For example, the Cambridge Nonlinear Science Series. Each item in the series is separately titled, but is also identified by the series title and often a number within the series.

non-circulating: library materials which may not be checked out by patrons. Non-circulating items include archival material, rare books, reference material, current periodicals and other items which must remain accessible within the library at all times.

OPAC: Online Public Access Catalog; a computerized library catalog, or the portion of the catalog available for patron use.

P-T

patron record (patron account): This is a record that contains the borrowing history and personal information of a specific patron (user). The patron record provides a list of items checked out to the the user as well as holds, fines, contact information, etc. When an item is checked out to a patron, the patron becomes accountable for that item until the item is returned and checked in (discharged) from the patron record.

Periodical:

1. An item published with a fixed interval between issues or numbers; --said of magazines, reviews, etc.; also, publishing in, writing for, or connected with, such publications. In short, a periodical is a publication which appears at regular intervals. It is not complete in one, or a finite (definable) number of issues. It does not stand along as does a Monograph.

2. A serial (journal, magazine) which is published at regular intervals, is numbered, contains separate articles, and has no pre-determined end date. See Serial.

Reference Department: A service point in the library, generally staffed by reference librarians, where patrons can obtain assistance in finding materials and information.

rush: to expedite the availability of a new item; patrons may place a rush request for an item that is presently on order or in process, and it will be obtained, processed and held for them as quickly as possible, often within a day or two. Selector librarians may place a rush order for urgently-needed items.

Serial: Any publication issued in successive parts, usually (though not always) at regular intervals, and intended to be continued indefinitely. Serials include: periodicals, newspapers, magazines, annuals, yearbooks, journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, and numbered monographic series.

Set: Two or more separate items which are treated as a single entity in a bibliographic description; for example, a multi-volume encyclopedia, or a textbook with an accompanying CD-ROM.

Technical Services Division: The departments which handle acquisition, cataloging, physical processing, preservation, and maintenance of the materials in the library.

U-Z