Acronyms & Terms

Term:	Definition:
AACR	Anglo-American Cataloging Rules The original 1968 edition of the rules guide.
AACR2	Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd revision The "bible" for catalogers. Revised in 1988 and 1998.
AC	Library of Congress Annotated Card Program A program created to maintain subject terms for juvenile records.
ACRL	Association of College & Research Libraries A division of ALA for academic and research libraries, including large public libraries.
AF	Authority File A database of authority (or authorized established) headings as access points.
ALA	American Library Association The oldest and largest organization of librarians and libraries in the country, with over 30,000 members. ALA provides leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.
ALCTS	Association for Library Collections & Technical Services A division of ALA.
ANSI	American National Standards Institute A private, non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.
ANSI/NISO Z39.50	A protocol that defines a standard method for two computers to communicate for the purpose of information retrieval.
ASCII	American Standard Code for Information Interchange A standard format for computer language.
ASIST	American Society for Information Science & Technology Professional organization for those concerned with the design, management and use of information systems and technology.
Autocat	An electronic forum for the discussion of all questions relating to cataloging and authority control in libraries. Found at: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/autocat/autocats.html
BadgerLink	A resource database supported by DPI to provide Wisconsin residents access to quality online information in cooperation with the state’s library community.
BIBCO	Cooperative monographic cataloging program and component of PCC, through which participants create cataloging records using mutually agreed upon standards.
CC	Colon Classification A completely faceted (colon) classification scheme developed by Shiyali Ranganathan.
CD-ROM	Compact Disc - Read Only Memory An almost indestructible disc which is read by a laser and can store the equivalent of 1500 floppy disks or 270,000 pages of information.
CDS	Cataloging Distribution Service A service providing guideline documentation for librarians.
CE	Continuing Education Advanced training in a profession (not leading to a degree) to learn new skills or keep abreast of developments in the field.
CEU	Continuing Education Unit One CEU is equal to one hour of instruction or contact time. CEUs are required for public school educators, including Library Media Specialists.
CIP	Cataloging in Publication Cataloging information located on the verso of the title page of a book (or other type of material). Provides call number, main entry, subject headings, etc.
CONSER	An international cooperative serials cataloging program, now a component of PCC.
DDC	Dewey Decimal Classification The main hierarchical (decimal) classification system used by almost all public libraries.
DC	Dublin Core A minimal set of metadata elements that creators or catalogers can assign to information resources, regardless of the form of those resources, which can then be used for network resource discovery, especially on the World Wide Web.
DLTCL	Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning Maintained by three teams, DLTCL is one of five divisions of DPI dedicated to serving the life-long learning and information needs of all Wisconsin citizens from preschoolers to senior citizens.
DPI	Department of Public Instruction A Wisconsin state agency formed of five divisions and maintained under the direction of the Office of the State Superintendent.
DSL	Digital Subscriber Line A high-speed telecommunications line.
DTD	Document Type Definition A formal specification of the structural elements and markup definitions to be used in encoding certain types of documents in SGML. Instances of DTDs include EAD, HTML, and TEI.
EAD	Encoded Archival Description An SGML DTD that represents a highly structured way to create digital finding aids for a grouping of archival or manuscript materials.
e-book	An electronic (or digital) version of a book.
FAQ	Frequently Asked Questions Many computer sites and discussion lists have FAQs to provide answers to common questions.
FRBR	Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records A conceptual model for how bibliographic databases might be structured.
FTP	File Transfer Protocol (Internet) A protocol that defines how one computer transfers files to another computer.
GUI	Graphical User Interface Allows computer users to "point and click" with a mouse to navigate on a PC.
HTML	Hypertext Mark-up Language Programming code applied to text and graphics to create a hyperlinked WWW document.
HTTP	Hypertext transfer protocol The portion of a WWW address that signifies that a document was created in HTML.
IFLA	International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions "The leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users."
ILL	Interlibrary Loan The process by which a library requests material from, or supplies material to, another library upon the request of a library user.
ILS	Integrated Library System
IMLS	Institute of Museum and Library Services Federal grant-making agency that promotes leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's museums and libraries. It administers LSTA funds.
IP	Internet Protocol
IP Address	A computer's unique numeric Internet address.
ISBD	International Standard Bibliographic Description An established standardization of the form and content of bibliographic description.
ISBN	International Standard Book Number A unique number assigned to every book published in this country, and many in other countries; recognized internationally. An ISBN has nine or ten digits; the first digit denotes country of publication, the next several the publisher, the remainder identify the item.
ISDN	Integrated Services Digital Network High-speed digital telecommunications lines that can transmit both voice and data.
ISO	International Organization for Standardization "A network of national standards institutes from 147 countries working in partnership with international organizations, governments, industry, business and consumer representatives."
ISP	Internet Service Provider
ISSN	International Standard Serial Number A unique eight-digit number, in two groups of four, assigned to a periodical by the International Serials Data System.
LAN	Local Area Network A network of computers within an institution.
LC	Library of Congress The Library of the U.S. Congress, which also serves as our National Library.
LCC	Library of Congress Classification The classification system used by most larger libraries.
LCCN	Library of Congress Catalog Number The number assigned to an item by the Library of Congress, which is also a depository library.
LCRI	Library of Congress Rule Interpretations Rules applied to the construction of LC subject terms.
LCSH	Library of Congress Subject Headings The subject headings list used by most libraries in the United States.
LITA	Library and Information Technology Association A division of the American Library Association.
LITAC	Library Information Technology Advisory Committee Established by DPI as a replacement for other division technology-related committees. Purposes include reviewing technology strategic plans, advising the use of LSTA funds, and develop proposals for state technology funding.
LSTA	Library Services and Technology Act Federal funding for libraries in several areas - technology, interlibrary cooperation, literacy, etc. - and for state library agencies. Replaces LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act).
LT	Library Technician
LTA	Library Technical Assistant A two-year academic degree in library subjects.
MARBI	Machine Readable Bibliographic Information committee The body within ALA responsible for developing official ALA positions on standards for the representation in machine-readable form of bibliographic information.
MARC	MAchine Readable Cataloging MARC records contain data in standardized format and allow conversion to automated cataloging and circulation systems.
MEDLINE	The online database of the National Library of Medicine. Available online and on CD-ROM from several vendors.
MERLIN	The shared online catalog of the NWLS area.
MeSH	Medical Subject Headings Subject headings for the MEDLINE service.
metadata	Literally, "data about data," metadata includes data associated with either an information system or an information object for purposes of description, administration, legal requirements, technical functionality, use and usage, and preservation.
MLS	Master's Degree in Library Science ALA accredits MLS programs in the U.S.
NACO	Name Authority Cooperative Program Component of PCC and responsible for NAF
NAF	Name (or National) Authority File
NCIP	NISO Circulation Interchange Protocol A standard that defines the various transactions needed to support circulation activities among independent library systems.
NCLIS	National Commission on Libraries and Information Science A federal advisory group composed of representatives from various library groups and distinguished librarians.
netLibrary	World’s premier provider of electronic books (eBooks).
NISO	National Information Standards Organization
NUC	National Union Catalog A national bibliography published by the Library of Congress.
NWLS	Northern Waters Library Service One of seventeen library systems in the state of Wisconsin, organized under Wisconsin Statute 43, and governed by a 19-member board. NWLS was established in 1964 and serves Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Sawyer, Vilas, and Washburn counties.
OCLC	Online Computer Library Center A bibliographic utility based in Ohio, which provides online cataloging, interlibrary loan, serials control and other services to libraries worldwide. Proprietor of WorldCat.
OPAC	Online Public Access Catalog A computer workstation for use by the public which is connected to a library's circulation system; can be searched by author, title, etc., and shows an item's status (on-shelf, overdue, etc.)
PAC	Public Access Catalog May be used interchangeably with the term OPAC. May also mean a catalog of library holdings that is not online.
PC	Personal Computer
PCC	Program for Cooperative Cataloging Bibliographic database of Research Libraries Group (RLG). It’s components, are BIBCO, CONSER, NACO, and SACO.
PLA	Public Library Association A division of the American Library Association.
RFP	Request for Proposal
SACO	Subject Authority Cooperative Program A component of PCC, a conduit for submitting changes and additions to LCSH.
SGML	Standard Generalized Markup Language ISO standard first used by the publishing industry, for defining, specifying, and creating digital documents that can be delivered, displayed, linked, and manipulated in a system-independent manner.
SUDOC	Superintendent of Documents (U.S.) The administrator and the number assigned to government documents and depository libraries.
T-1	A digital telephone line connection that can handle 24 voice or data channels; usually used to link computer networks to the Internet.
TCP/IP	Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Allows different types of computers to communicate with each other; uses packet-switching to move data among computer networks.
TEI	Text Encoding Initiative An international cooperative effort to develop generic guidelines for a standard encoding schemes (i.e., the TEI and TEI Lite DTDs) for scholarly text.
TELNET	A "terminal emulation" protocol or application program that allows users to log in to another computer on the Internet.
UDC	Universal Decimal Classification A European scheme which allows number building to express relationships between subjects.
URL	Uniform Resource Locator The address of a WWW site.
USF	Universal Service Fund Provides for discounts of 20-90% on a variety of telecommunications services and equipment for schools and libraries.
USMARC	The United States MARC format, now MARC 21.
WAN	Wide Area Network Electronically links computers at remote locations and allows them to exchange data.
WAPL	Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries A division of WLA specifically devoted to public libraries.
WebPAC	A public access catalog that is Web-accessible.
WISCAT	The statewide union catalog of Wisconsin. Created and maintained as a project under DLTCL, WISCAT serves as a resource-sharing tool encompassing both cataloging and ILL functionality. The current edition of WISCAT, one of the largest physical statewide union catalogs in the country, contains 7 million titles and more than 32 million holdings from over 1200 contributing libraries.
WISPUBLIB	The Wisconsin public library e-mail discussion list.
WLA	Wisconsin Library Association An association for all Wisconsin librarians. Sponsors workshops and an annual conference; provides support for librarians in various areas such as minimum salary guidelines and censorship challenges. WLA's annual Legislative Agenda lobbies for support for library legislation and funding.
WPLC	Wisconsin Public Library Consortium A cooperative group whose members include public library systems and public libraries throughout Wisconsin, and was created and exists to pool the resources of libraries throughout the state and use them to cooperatively undertake projects that may otherwise be unavailable to single libraries and library systems.
WWW	World Wide Web
XML	eXtensible Markup Language A simplified subset of SGML that is designed specifically for use with the World Wide Web and that provides for more sophisticated data structuring and validation than HTML. XML is widely held to be the successor to HTML as the language of the Web.
YA	Young Adult Common term for library users between the ages of 12 and 18.
Z39.50	An ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard for telecommunications.