COLLECTION MANAGEMENT - Definition of Terms

Accession Number

Numbers assigned to a book or item as it is received by the library, through continuous numbering or a coded system

Acid-free paper

A paper that has a neutral or basic pH (7 or slightly greater). It can be made from any cellulose fiber as long as the active acid pulp is eliminated during processing; it is also lignin and sulfur-free and addresses the problem of preserving documents for long periods.

Analog

Representations of information or data by some physically measurable quantity. This cannot be processed by computers unless they are first translated into digital format.

Antiquarian dealer

A dealer who handles older, frequently out-of-print books, which probably have had one or more owners; also called second hand-dealer

Appropriated funds

These are funds that have been allocated to specific subject areas for the current fiscal year as part of the library budget

Approval plan

An agreement between a library and a supplier that allows the supplier to automatically send the library one copy of each item on a specified subject or in a particular format

Audiovisual Materials

Non-book materials such as film strips, recordings, films, records, video and audiocassettes, CDs, etc. Sometimes these are just called AV

Authentication

A process that verifies the identity of a person or process, usually through a username and password. In security systems, authentication is distinct from authorization. It confirms that the individual is who he or she claims to be.

Author

Creator of an idea; one who is intellectually responsible for a written work

Authorization

A process that gives or denies an individual access rights to a network resource based on his or her identity, which often is matched against a directory with various profiles granting various types of access. Most computer security systems are based on a two-step process.

Back File

Issues of a periodical that precede the current issue

Back Run

Other term for back file.

Best books

A selection of recently published books considered by reviewers to be superior in the field or the type of publication they represent. Most library review publications publish annual lists of highly recommended titles in the various categories reviewed

Bibliographic information

Details needed for ordering or requesting library material; also termed as trade information

Trade Information

Other term for “bibliographic information“

Bibliographic utility

An online service that provides a shared database of cataloging records created by member libraries. The database may be used for copy cataloging, interlibrary loan, selection, and bibliographic verification.

Bibliometrics

The use of mathematical and statistical methods to study and identify patterns in the usage of materials and services within a library, or to analyze the historical development of a specific body of literature, especially its authorship, publication, and use.

Statistical Bibliography

Prior to the mid-20th century, the quantitative study of bibliographic data and usage was known as…

Bibliopegy

The fine art of binding books by hand.

Bibliopegist

Another term for bookbinder, someone who binds books by hand.

Biennial

Issued every two years. Also refers to a serial publication issued every two years.

Bill

Similar to invoice.

Blanket order

An agreement between a library and a dealer/vendor for the automatic supply of one or more copies of all titles issued by a publisher or of all titles within certain subject areas.

Book lease plan

An acquisitions plan offered by some book jobbers which allows a library or library system to lease an agreed upon number of popular fiction and nonfiction titles, usually for a fixed monthly fee. After a prescribed period of time, or a decline in demand, titles are returned for credit toward new books usually selected from a monthly list provided by the jobber.

McNaughton Plan

A type of book lease plan.

Book plate

A label pasted in a book to mark its ownership and sometimes to indicate its location in a library

Born digital

Originally created in digital format

Bound

A term referring to pages, sheets or issues of periodicals which have been covered by a binding, usually hardback, to create a single volume. This process is used in libraries to preserve items for long-term use.

Bundling

The practice of providing a group of serial titles to a library and access to an online version packaged with a subscription to the print version, or vice versa

Caldecott Medal

A literary award given annually since 1938 under the auspices of the American Library Association to the illustrator of the most distinguished children's picture book published in the United States during the preceding year

Carry forward

The amount of encumbered funds, which have not been disbursed at the end of the fiscal year and are carried forward into the following fiscal year's allocation.

Circulation analysis

Examination of statistics compiled on the circulation of library materials, usually broken down by classification, material type, category of borrower, time of year, and so on to determine patterns of usage.

Citation analysis

A bibliometrics technique that examines the works cited in publications to determine patterns

Claim

Any communication directed to an agent or source to hasten delivery of overdue material

Clearinghouse

An organization or unit within an organization that functions as a central agency for collecting, organizing, storing, and disseminating documents, usually within a specific academic discipline or field. It assists the research process by maintaining records of information resources for referral.

ERIC and LOEX

Examples of clearinghouses

Education Resources Information Center

Meaning of ERIC

Library Orientation Exhcnage

Meaning of LOEX

Collate

To physically examine the material to determine whether it is a good and complete copy

Collection development (1)

The process of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a library's information resources with respect to patron needs and community resources, and of attempting to correct the weaknesses.

Collection development (2)

It requires a continual examination and evaluation of the library's resources. Further, it requires a constant study of patron needs and changes in the community the library serves.

Collection management

Proposed in the 1980s as a term under which collection development was to be subsumed. It is collection development PLUS an expanded suite of decisions about de-selection, cancellation of serials, storage and preservation.

Collection Management and Collection Development

Tend to be used synonymously or in tandem.

Collection mapping

Technique for graphically representing the strengths and weaknesses of a library collection used primarily in school library media centers.

Commercial publisher (1)

A publisher in the business of producing and selling books and/or other publications for profit, as opposed to a university press or the publishing arm of a scholarly society, professional association, or other nonprofit organization that operates on a cost-recovery basis.

Commercial publisher (2)

The term includes trade publishers and popular presses. In this type of publishing, the decision to publish is influenced by sales potential, sometimes at the expense of originality and quality.

Conservation

Noninvasive physical or chemical methods employed to ensure the survival of manuscripts, books and other documents.

Consortium

Two or more libraries that have formally agreed to coordinate, cooperate in, or consolidate certain functions; may be formed on a geographic, function, type, format, or subject basis.

Conspectus

A method of uniform collection assessment developed in North America in 1979 to facilitate resource sharing. The system uses codes to survey strengths, levels of difficulty, linguistic and geographical coverage, etc. recorded on worksheets.

RLG Conspectus Online

Initiated by the Research Libraries Group to provide electronic access to data on the collections of research libraries in the United States

Contingency planning

The process of preparing a plan of action to be put into effect when prior arrangements become impossible or certain pre-established conditions arise.

Cooperative acquisition

A system whereby two or more libraries coordinate their collection and purchase of new materials so as to avoid unneeded duplication.

Copyright

The exclusive right granted by a government to publish a work for a specified number of years. It protects the author and publisher by preventing others from copying the work or a significant part of it without permission.

Core collection (1)

A collection representative of the basic information needs of a library's primary user group

Core collection (2)

Initial collection developed for a new library, usually with the aid of standard lists and other selection aids.

Core collection in public libraries

Selected in anticipation of popular demand and maintained on the basis of usage

Core collection in academic libraries

Selection is based on curriculum need and collections are maintained to meet the research interests of students and faculty

Books for College Libraries: A Core Collection

Published by the American Library Association as a selection aid for new libraries who are beginning to build their library collection.

Credit memo

A note issued by a vendor in place of cash refund on orders unfilled or returned, to be deducted from the total charge on the invoice

Cumulation

The progressive inter-filing of items arranged in a predetermined order and usually published in periodical form, the same order of arrangement being maintained

Desiderata

A list of wanted items which should be added to the collection upon availability

Differential pricing

The controversial practice of charging libraries a substantially higher price for periodical subscriptions than the amount an individual subscriber is required to pay, which some journal publishers claim is justified because a library subscription makes the publication available to more readers, an effect known in the publishing trade as pass-along

Digital

Of, pertaining to, or using digits, that is, numbers. Computers are this type of machines because, at their most basic level, they distinguish between two values 0 and 1, or off and on.

Digital materials

Both digital surrogates created by converting analog materials to digital format and “born digital” materials for which there is no analog equivalent

Digital Rights Management (DRM)

A term for access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to limit the use of digital content and devices; any technology that inhibits the use of digital content intended by the content provider.

Digitization

Disbursing

A bookkeeping procedure that pays for an item from encumbered funds

Document Delivery Service (DDS)

The provision of documents upon request, usually charges a fee to provide libraries or individuals with the requested item

E-book

A literary work in the form of a digital object consisting of one or more unique identifiers, metadata, and a monographic body of content, intended to be published and accessed electronically

E-Journal

A periodical that is available in an electronic or computerized form such as on the Web or on CD-ROM

Encumbering

A bookkeeping procedure that commits a given amount of money to the payment of an order. Each time an order is placed an amount of money equal to the total price of all items in that order is deducted from the free balance.

Endowment

A permanent fund accumulated by an institution over an extended period of time, consisting of gifts and bequests invested to provide an ongoing return, all or a portion of which is expended, sometimes for purposes specified by the donor(s), leaving the principal intact to generate further income.

Escapist literature

Fiction written as light entertainment, intended mainly to divert the mind of the reader into a world of imagination and fantasy. Popular genres include romance, science fiction, thrillers, etc.

Facsimile edition

An exact copy of a book made photographically, by photocopy or by an offset press

Fair use

Conditions under which copying a work, or a portion of it, does NOT constitute infringement of copyright, including copying for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research

Farmington Plan

Its objective, since its operation began in January 1948, has been to ensure that the presence and availability of one copy of each book of research value published in foreign countries is maintained in some library of the United States. A plan drawn up at Farmington, Connecticut by K. D. Metcalf, J.P. Boyd and Achibald McLeish.

Firm order

The most common method for acquiring materials that the library knows it wants; used when ordering on a per title basis

Forthcoming books

Provides author, price, publication date and publishers for very new American books, and for books that will be published in the near future. Information is often given for books that BIP does not list or which are listed as not yet published.

Government documents

Monographs, serial publications, reports, or official communication published by any public governing body--federal, state, county, or municipal.

Government press

Has the largest amount of publications in the world; producing new publications constantly.

Gray literature

Printed works such as reports, internal documents, PhD dissertations, master's theses, and conference proceedings, not usually available through regular market channels because they were never commercially published, listed, or priced.

Greenaway Plan (1)

A form of blanket order plan in which a large library or library system agrees to receive from a publisher for a nominal price one advance copy of all the trade books it publishes, to encourage acquisitions librarians to order selected titles in advance of publication.

Greenaway Plan (2)

The publisher relies on the probability that enough titles will be ordered in multiple copies to cover its costs. The plan is named after Emerson Greenaway, the librarian at the Philadelphia Free Library who conceived the idea in 1958.

In-process file

A file of bibliographic items which have been received but for which cataloging and physical processing have not been completed

Intellectual property

Tangible products of the human mind and intelligence, entitled to the legal status of personal property, especially works protected by copyright, inventions which have been patented, and registered trademarks. An idea is considered the intellectual property of its creator only after it has been recorded or made manifest in a specific form.

Interlibrary loan

A service to obtain from other libraries, books and journals which the library does not own and which patrons have requested

Invoice

A commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer

ISBD

Acronym for International Standard Bibliographic Description; a standardized format for descriptive bibliographic information compatible for computer input

ISBN

Acronym for International Standard Book Number. A unique 10-digit or 13-digit number divided into parts, which must be printed on the verso of the title page, or any other prominent position.

ISO

Acronym for International Organization for Standardization

International Organization for Standardization

A network of national standards institutes from 140 countries working in partnership with international organizations, governments, industry, and business and consumer representatives.

ISSN

Acronym for International Standard Serial Number. A unique eight-digit number assigned to each serial title published.

ISMN

Acronym for International Standard Music Number. A unique nine-digit or 13-digit number assigned to each printed music such as music sheets, or music publications.

Jobber

A wholesale bookseller/dealer who serves as middleman between the publisher and library or retail bookseller

Journals consortium

An organization that handles the production and distribution of a number of journals, but does not necessarily exercise editorial control over them if they are owned by other organizations.

JSTOR

Nonprofit organization that provides searchable bibliographic databases containing the complete full-text back files of core scholarly journals in a wide range of disciplines, current to two to five years; this was Andrew W. Mellon Foundation aim at providing libraries with back issues of important journals in electronic form.

Lease

A contract by which one party grants access to or the use of real estate, equipment, or a resource for the specified term and for a specified amount to another party.

License / licensing agreement

A contract that presents the terms under which a vendor grants the library the rights to use one or more proprietary bibliographic databases or online resources, usually for a fixed period of time in exchange for payment. Permission to do something that, without such permission, would be illegal.

Line-item budget

A method of budgeting used in some libraries and library systems in which anticipated expenditures are divided into discrete functional categories called "lines" (salaries and wages, materials, equipment, etc.) for the purpose of systematically allocating resources and tracking operating expenditures

List price

The publisher’s price for materials being sold before discounts are applied