Glossary of Library & Information Science is a glossary of terms and acronyms of librarianship, library science, information science, information technology, and knowledge organization & management. Consider the glossary as a free Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science. The entries of the glossary are given an encyclopedic treatment, they are far more exhaustive than a typical glossary or dictionary entry which in many cases are equivalent to an article in an Encyclopedia of Library of Information Science. The glossary will include everything from traditional library terms to a vocabulary of modern avenues in information science and technology. Glossary entries will include anything and everything required for an advanced study and reference on the Library and Information Science (LIS) topics, including biographies of famous librarians. Glossary of Library and Information Science is expected to become an essential part of every library’s and librarian’s reference collection and will also be helpful to librarians, LIS i-School Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) & Ph.D. students, scholars, researchers, and IT professionals.
"Your Study and Research in the Library and Information Science Starts Here with the Glossary of Library and Information Science."
BACKGROUNDWe wished to give the readers of the Librarianship Studies & Information Technology blog definition and description of important terms and concepts used in its articles. This led to the creation of the Glossary of Library and Information Science. The Glossary of Library and Information Science serves as the primary ready-reference tool for Library and Information Science studies and research.
AIMS & PURPOSEGlossary of Library & Information Science aims to support the purpose of Librarianship Studies & Information Technology blog, which is: To provide 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.
HOW TO USE THIS GLOSSARYIndividual entries of the Glossary of Library and Information Science appear in the form of an article in the blog. These are compiled here with a link to the original article and an abstract. In many cases, the abstract itself will satisfy your information needs about the subject. For an advanced study, you must see the most revised and updated version of the original article by clicking on the provided hyperlink.
The word-by-word method of filing is used; acronyms and abbreviations, whether pronounceable or not, are treated as words and filed in alphabetical sequence in their appropriate place. Words separated by a hyphen are treated as a single word. Where there is a choice between a full term and an acronym, the entry appears under whichever is likely to be more commonly found in the literature, with a reference from alternative expression.
QUALITY CONTROL AND UPDATESGlossary of Library and Information Science articles are revised from time to time, as required, to present the most up-to-date information on the subject. At the same time, new articles are continuously being added to the Glossary.
THE FUTUREGLOSSARY OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
AACR - See Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR, AACR2, AACR2R)
AAP - See Authorized Access Point
Aboutness - The subject of a work contained in a resource, which is translated into controlled subject languages (e.g., classification schemes, subject headings lists); includes topical aspects and also genre and form.⁽
Access - See Resource Access
Access Point - Access Point refers to a name, term, code, heading, word, phrase etc., a unit of information representing a specific entity that can serve as a search key in information retrieval, under which a library catalog or bibliographic database may be searched and library materials may be identified and retrieved. In a catalog, index, or other organized systems some examples of access points are, author, title, name (person, family, corporate body, etc.), subjects (topical, geographical, etc.), classification or call number, and codes such as ISBN, etc. which are chosen by the cataloger or indexer, when creating a bibliographic, authority, or metadata record (a surrogate), to enable the retrieval of the record. In modern cataloging using advanced Integrated Library Systems (ILS), the machine-readable cataloging, almost any portion of the catalog record can serve as an access point. The advanced search of the Online Public Access Catalogs provides many options as access points.
Acquisitions - Acquisitions or Library Acquisitions is the process of selecting and acquiring selected materials for library and information centers in all formats including digital items and maintaining the necessary records related to acquisitions. First, the selections of materials are done according to the collection development policy of the library. It involves pre-order bibliographic searching of the library catalog to avoid duplication of materials. Then the selected materials are acquired by ordering them for purchase, exchange, or gift. This is followed by receiving the materials, checking their quality, processing invoices, making payment to vendors or individuals, and maintaining the necessary records related to acquisitions. Acquisitions is the first function of Library Technical Services (other two functions being cataloging and collections management). Acquisitions is also used to refer to the functional department (Acquisitions Department) responsible for all aspects of obtaining materials for libraries. Historically the acquisitions decisions were done by the chief librarian and the actual ordering done by the clerical staff and this is still true for small libraries. Now for large libraries with big collections as well as sufficient budgets, acquisitions functions are performed by a separate unit known as Acquisitions Unit or Acquisitions Department.
Alternatives in RDA - See RDA Alternatives
Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR, AACR2, AACR2R) - Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR) is the essential international cataloguing code used for descriptive cataloging of various types of information resources by libraries in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia as well as in many other countries. It was first developed in 1967 and updated regularly until 2005. The revisions and updates of the standard are referred to as AACR2. The second edition of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) is the most widely used cataloging code, designed for use in the construction of catalogs and other lists in general libraries of all sizes. AACR2 comprise a detailed set of rules and guidelines for producing metadata in a surrogate record to represent a library resource. The rules cover the standard description of areas like, the title, publisher, edition, series, etc., as well as the provision of choice and form of access points (headings) for all materials which a library may hold or to which it may have access, including books, serials, cartographic materials, electronic resources, etc. AACR also provides rules for the formulation of standard forms of names and titles to provide access to and grouping of those descriptions. AACR2 standardized cataloging and ensured consistency within the catalog and between the catalogs of libraries using the same code in describing the physical attributes of library materials identically. AACR marked a shift from the previous cataloging rules, which were criticized for being too detailed, complex, and mere compilations of rules to handle specific bibliographic cases. Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules are considered as the most important advances in English-language codes for descriptive cataloging during the twentieth century.
Arlene G. Taylor - Arlene G. Taylor (Ph.D. ’81) is Professor Emerita from the School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, where she taught for 12 years prior to retiring, and holds an honorary appointment as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor at University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science. Her career as a library school educator lasted more than 30 years, and included teaching at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. She is lead author or co-author of widely-used texts, including Introduction to Cataloging and Classification (6th to 11th editions) and The Organization of Information (four editions). She has an extensive publication record of refereed articles, books and book chapters, and research reports, and she has given more than 90 guest presentations for national, state, and regional library associations, as well as library schools. Taylor's international activities include serving as a workshop leader, teacher, and/or consultant in Brazil, England, Thailand, and Israel. For her work in the latter two countries, she received Fulbright Senior Specialist Program Grants. She has held leadership positions on many professional association committees, including the ALA/ALCTS Catalog Form and Function Committee (Chair, 1995–1998) and the ALA/ALCTS/CCS Subject Analysis Committee (Chair, 1992–1994). Her professional contributions have been recognized with the ALA/ALCTS Margaret Mann Citation, the ALA/Highsmith Library Literature Award for The Organization of Information, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science Alumni Association. Prior to earning her Ph.D. at UNC, she had worked in libraries as a cataloger at the Library of Congress, Christopher Newport College (now University), and Iowa State University. Taylor longed to return to North Carolina from the time she left in 1981. After she retired from teaching, she and her husband moved to Chapel Hill in 2007. She continues to write, working with former students on research articles and on new editions of her textbooks. She also enjoys “cataloging” her many pictures of parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great grandparents, and even one set of great-great-great grandparents, and their families.
Assigned Indexing - Assigned Indexing (or Assignment Indexing or Concept Indexing) in an indexing method in which the human indexer selects one or more subject headings or descriptors from a list of controlled vocabulary (e.g. subject headings lists, thesaurus, or classification schemes) to represent the subject matter of the work. Since the Assigned Indexing uses the controlled vocabulary to give the indexing terms selected to represent the subject content of a work, so in this technique there is no need for the index terms to appear in the title or text of the document indexed. In indexing, if the terms are selected from the title or the text of a document and used without any alteration as index terms, then this is referred to as natural language indexing or derived indexing. If however, the selected terms are translated or encoded into authorized terms by the help of a prescribed list, then the indexing language becomes controlled or artificial. This process is called Assigned Indexing. Derived Indexing solely relies on information which is manifest in the document, without attempting to add to this from indexer’s own knowledge or other sources. We looked at ways in which printed indexes could be derived from information manifest in a document. We can also consider some of the ways in which files may be searched online, again using the information manifest in the document, e.g. titles, abstracts or full text. By doing so we have to face the problems of natural language. A discussion of these problems leads to the idea of assigned indexing. If we are to use a list of words to help us in our searching, we would increase the chances of achieving successful matches if we used the same list of words to encode the appropriate words to the documents ourselves rather than rely on authors’ choice. In other words, we devise an indexing language and use this for both encoding operations: input and question. Such systems are referred to as assigned indexing systems. Assigned indexing involves an intellectual process. Subject heading schemes, thesaurus and classification schemes are the popular forms of assigned indexing. Assigned indexing is also known as concept indexing because what we are trying to do is to identify the concepts involved in each document.
Assignment Indexing - See Assigned Indexing
Authority Control - Authority Control is a process that organizes bibliographic information in library catalogs by using a single, distinct spelling of a name (heading) or a subject for each topic. Authority Record is a record which gives the authoritative form (the form selected for a heading) of a personal name, corporate name, family name, place name, uniform or preferred title, series title, subject, etc. in the library catalog or the file of bibliographic records, and are listed in an authority file containing headings of library items. To ensure consistency, an authority record is created for each authorized heading (authorized access point) for a proper name or a subject, etc. An authority record is made when a heading is established, i.e., authorized for use as the main entry (preferred title and, if appropriate, the authorized access point for the creator), an added entry, or subject entry, for the first time, while cataloging of a library item. Authority control is the process that is applied to both descriptive and subject analysis parts of cataloging. It ensures the consistency and correctness of names and subject headings entered into the bibliographic description.
Authority Record - Authority Record is a record which gives the authoritative form (the form selected for a heading) of a personal name, corporate name, family name, place name, uniform or preferred title, series title, subject, etc. in the library catalog or the file of bibliographic records, and are listed in an authority file containing headings of library items. To ensure consistency, an authority record is created for each authorized heading (authorized access point) for a proper name or a subject, etc. An authority record is made when a heading is established, i.e., authorized for use as the main entry (preferred title and, if appropriate, the authorized access point for the creator), an added entry, or subject entry, for the first time, while cataloging of a library item. Authority record may be in a printed or machine-readable form.
Authorized Access Point - Authorized Access Point (AAP) is a term used in cataloging which refers to the preferred controlled access point for an entity, established and constructed according to rules or standards. It is the standardized character string established in an authority record that is used to represent an entity (e.g., person, family, corporate body, a work, a subject) consistently in bibliographic descriptions. When we create the metadata description for any resource in a library catalog, the discovery of the resource is better if we use the Authorized Access Points for the person, family, corporate body, meeting name, a work, or a subject.
BIBFRAME - BIBFRAME (Bibliographic Framework) is a data model for bibliographic description. BIBFRAME was designed to replace the MARC standards, and to use linked data principles to make bibliographic data more useful both within and outside the library community. The MARC Standards, which BIBFRAME seeks to replace, were developed by Henriette Avram at the US Library of Congress during the 1960s. By 1971, MARC formats had become the national standard for dissemination of bibliographic data in the United States, and the international standard by 1973. In a provocatively titled 2002 article, library technologist Roy Tennant argued that "MARC Must Die", noting that the standard was old; used only within the library community; and designed to be a display, rather than a storage or retrieval format. A 2008 report from the Library of Congress wrote that MARC is "based on forty-year-old techniques for data management and is out of step with programming styles of today." In 2012, the Library of Congress announced that it had contracted with Zepheira, a data management company, to develop a linked data alternative to MARC. Later that year, the library announced a new model called MARC Resources (MARCR). That November, the library released a more complete draft of the model, renamed BIBFRAME. The Library of Congress released version 2.0 of BIBFRAME in 2016.
Bibliographic Classification - See Library Classification
Bibliographic Framework - See BIBFRAME
Carla Hayden - Carla Diane Hayden (born August 10, 1952) is an American librarian and the 14th Librarian of Congress. Hayden is the first woman and the first African American to hold the post. She is the first professional librarian appointed to the post in over 60 years. From 1993 until 2016, she was the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, and president of the American Library Association (ALA) from 2003 to 2004. During her presidency, she was the leading voice of the ALA in speaking out against the newly passed United States Patriot Act.
Cataloging - Cataloging or Library Cataloging is the process of creating and maintaining bibliographic and authority records of the library catalog, the database of books, serials, sound recordings, moving images, cartographic materials, computer files, e-resources etc. that are owned by a library. The catalog may be in tangible form, such as a card catalog or in electronic form, such as online public access catalog (OPAC). The process of cataloging involves two major activities, viz. Descriptive Cataloging and Subject Cataloging. In Descriptive Cataloging, we describe details of library resources, such as the name of creator(s), contributor(s), titles, edition, publication, distribution, date, physical description, series etc. Two popular standards for Descriptive Cataloging are Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR) and its successor Resource Description and Access (RDA). Subject cataloging involves subject analysis of the resource and assignment of classification numbers using schemes such as Library of Congress Classification (LCC) or Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and providing subject headings using schemes such as Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).
Cataloguing - See Cataloging
Chain Indexing - Chain Indexing or Chain Procedure is a mechanical method to derive subject index entries or subject headings from the class number of the document. It was developed by Dr. S.R. Ranganathan. He first mentioned this in his book “Theory of Library Catalogue” in 1938. In Chain Procedure, the indexer or cataloguer is supposed to start from where the classifier has left. No duplication of work is to be done. He/she has to derive subject headings or class index entries from the digit by digit interpretation of the class number of the document in the reverse direction, to provide the alphabetical approach to the subject of the document. Ranganathan designed this new method of deriving verbal subject heading in 1934 to provide the subject approach to documents through the alphabetical part of a classified catalog. This method was distinctly different from the enumerated subject heading systems like Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) or Sears List of Subject Headings (SLSH). He discerned that classification and subject indexing were two sides of the same coin. Classifying a document is the translation of its specific subject into an artificial language of ordinal numbers which results in the formation of a class number linking together all the isolate ideas in the form of a chain. This chain of class numbers is retranslated into its verbal equivalent to formulate a subject heading that represents the subject contents of the document. The class number itself is the result of subject analysis of a document into its facet ideas and linked together by a set of indicator digits, particularly when a classification system like Colon Classification is used for the purpose. As this chain is used for deriving subject entries on the basis of a set of rules and procedures, this new system was called ‘Chain Procedure’. This approach inspired in many other models of subject indexing developed afterward, based upon classificatory principles and postulates. Chain Indexing was originally intended for use with Colon Classification. However, it may be applied to any scheme of classification whose notation follows a hierarchical pattern.
Chain Procedure - See Chain Indexing
Charles Ammi Cutter - Charles Ammi Cutter (March 14, 1837 – September 6, 1903) was an American librarian. Cutter was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His aunt was an employee of the regional library in Boston. In 1856 Cutter was enrolled into Harvard Divinity School. He was appointed assistant librarian of the divinity school while still a student there and served in that capacity from 1857 to 1859. During that time, Cutter began designing a distinct cataloging schema for the library's outdated system. The catalog, dating from 1840, had a lack of order after the acquisition of 4,000 volumes from the collection of Professor Gottfried Christian Friedrich Lücke of University of Göttingen, which added much depth to the Divinity School Library's collection. During the 1857-58 school year, Cutter rearranged the library collection on the shelves into broad subject categories along with classmate Charles Noyes Forbes. During the winter break of 1858-59, they arranged the collection into a single listing alphabetically by author. This project was finished by the time Cutter graduated in 1859. By 1860 Cutter was already a seasoned staff member of the library and a full-time librarian. He became a journeyman to the chief cataloger and assistant librarian to Dr. Ezra Abbot. At Harvard College Cutter developed a new form of index catalog, using cards instead of published volumes, containing both an author index and a "classed catalog" or a rudimentary form of subject index. In 1868 the Boston Athenæum library elected Cutter as its head librarian. His first assignment was to organize and aggregate the inventory of the library and develop a catalog from that and to publish a complete dictionary catalog for their collection. The previous librarian and assistants had been working on this, but much of the work was sub par and, according to Cutter, needed to be redone. This did not sit well with the trustees who wanted to get a catalog published as soon as possible. However, the catalog was revised and published in five volumes known as the Athenæum Catalogue. Cutter was the librarian at the Boston Athenaeum for twenty-five years.
Charles Ammi Cutter’s Objects of the Catalogue (or Objectives of the Library Catalog) - The shared vision of information organization has been guided by principles. One of the most influential is Charles Cutter’s “Objects of the Catalogue,” first published in 1876 in his Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalogue. He discussed what we expect our retrieval tools to do. If we look closely, we can see that subject and genre/form access were considered by Cutter to be important functions of the catalog. The first object (or Objective) is to be able to find a resource if the name of the creator, or the title, or the subject of the resource is known. This finding function insists that the catalog provide access to individual resources in a collection. The second object is the collocation or gathering function. It states that users should be able to retrieve not only a single resource, but to discover all resources related to a creator, a subject, or in a particular genre or form of material. The third objective reflects a selection function. It means that users should be able to choose a resource that best fits their needs, based on either its bibliographic characteristics (such as language or format), or as to its subject-related or genre/form characteristics. Cutter’s definition of the catalog has stood the test of time, but it has been updated and expanded over the years.
Chris Sherratt - Chris Sherratt is a librarian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Citation Indexing - A citation index is an ordered list of cited articles along with a list of citing articles. The cited article is identified as the reference and the citing article as the source. The index is prepared utilizing the association of ideas existing between the cited and the citing articles, as the fact is that whenever a recent paper cites a previous paper there always exists a relation of ideas, between the two papers.
Class Mark - See Classification Number
Class Number - See Classification Number
Classification - See Library Classification
Classification Number - Classification Number is a number (numbers or a combination of letters and numbers) that represents the subject or form of an item being cataloged, selected from a classification schedule or classification system. Classification Number is also called class number or class mark. It is the first part of a call number which is used to classify library resources by subject area. In a Relative location, Classification Number also shows the place of the item on the shelves and in relation to other subjects. It translates the name of its specific subject into the artificial language of the notation of the scheme of classification. The use of classification number enables library users to browse on shelves to find its materials and also additional items on the same or related subjects, and, to find out what documents the library has on a certain subject.
COMPASS - PRECIS was intended to be a complete subject statement in a form suitable for a printed bibliography, and this was not necessarily the best format for online searching. Its complex system of coding and role operators served to produce the output strings for printing which appear to be unnecessary in an online system. It did not appear to make any difference whether a concept is coded with the role operator (1) or (2). Place name was treated in several ways with the role operators (O), (1), (5) and occasionally (3) as part of the subject string. The use of role operators in such a manner was not of much help for online searching. In 1990, it was decided to revise UKMARK and to replace PRECIS by a more simplified system of subject indexing in order to reduce the unit cost of cataloguing of the British Library. As a result, Computer Aided Subject System (COMPASS) was introduced for BNB in 1991 and PRECIS was dropped.
Computer - A computer is a device for storing, processing, and displaying information. A computer is a device that can be instructed to carry out arbitrary sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. The ability of computers to follow generalized sets of operations, called programs, enables them to perform an extremely wide range of tasks.
Computer Aided Subject System - See COMPASS
Concept Indexing - See Assigned Indexing
Controlled Vocabulary - Controlled Vocabulary refers to an established list, organized arrangement, or database of preferred terms and phrases (usually subject or genre/form terms) in which all terms and phrases representing a concept are brought together. A controlled vocabulary is usually listed alphabetically in a subject headings list or thesaurus of indexing terms. In a controlled vocabulary a preferred term or phrase is designated for use in surrogate records in a retrieval tool (e.g., bibliographic records in the library catalog), the non-preferred terms have references from them to the chosen term or phrase, and relationships among used terms are identified (e.g., broader terms, narrower terms, related terms). There may also be scope notes. A cataloger or indexer must select terms from a controlled vocabulary when assigning subject headings or descriptors in a bibliographic record to indicate the subject of the work (e.g. a book) in a library catalog, bibliographic database, or an index. Controlled vocabularies provide a way to organize knowledge for subsequent retrieval. They are used in subject indexing schemes, subject headings, thesauri, taxonomies, and other knowledge organization systems. Controlled vocabulary schemes mandate the use of predefined, authorized terms that have been preselected by the designers of the schemes, in contrast to natural language vocabularies, which have no such restriction.
Core Elements (RDA) - See RDA Core Elements
Data - Data is a set of values of qualitative or quantitative variables. An example of qualitative data is an anthropologist's handwritten note about his or her interviews with indigenous people. Pieces of data are individual pieces of information. While the concept of data is commonly associated with scientific research, data is collected by a huge range of organizations and institutions, including businesses (e.g., sales data, revenue, profits, stock price), governments (e.g., crime rates, unemployment rates, literacy rates) and non-governmental organizations (e.g., censuses of the number of homeless people by non-profit organizations).
Date of Publication - A date of publication is a date associated with the publication, release, or issuing of a document. The date of publication is the year in which the edition, revision, etc., described in the edition area was published. If there is no edition area, the date of the first publication of the edition to which the item belongs is considered the publication date. There are the special set of rules for transcription and recording of the date of publication in library cataloging standards, e.g., RDA rules for date of publication is given in chapter 2 (RDA rule 2.8.6) of Resource Description and Access (RDA). In Anglo-American Cataloging Rules 2nd edition (AACR2), rules for the date of publication, distribution etc. for books are given in chapter 2 (2.4F).
Derived Indexing - We have to encode the subject of a document in order to place the document itself or our records of it in our store. This means that we must in the same way be able to specify the subject. Generally, an indexer neither has time to read all the documents added to the stock nor has enough understanding about them. He, therefore, uses short cuts-like: the contents page, preface or introduction, or publishers blurb on the book cover; or an abstract if we are looking at a journal article or technical report; or the claims for a patent specification. All of these will give some indication of the subject and will suggest certain lines of thought if we want to pursue the matter further, for example in a dictionary or encyclopedia. While indexing we may rely solely on information which is manifest in the document, without attempting to add to this from our own knowledge or other sources. This is derived indexing, that is, indexing derived directly from the document. There are some ways in which derived indexing has been used to produce printed indexes, particularly in computer-based systems. These are now often found in online systems, but the principles remain the same. However, during the process of indexing, it is practice to distinguish between intellectual and clerical effort involved in an IR system, and computers enable is to carry out the clerical operations at high speed. Derived indexing reduces intellectual effort to a minimum and is thus suited to computer operations, which enables to get a variety of outputs from the one input. Examples of derived indexing are title based indexing and citation indexing.
Description - See Resource Description
Descriptive Cataloging - Descriptive Cataloging includes recording the attributes of a library item, such as the name of author(s), contributor(s), title, edition, publisher, distributor, date, the number of pages, its size, name of series, etc. Descriptive Cataloging enables the user to find and identify a book, by the name of the author, the title, variant titles, etc. Two popular standards for Descriptive Cataloging are Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR) and its successor Resource Description and Access (RDA).
Descriptive Cataloguing - See Descriptive Cataloging
Document - See Resource
EDTF - See Extended Date Time Format (EDTF)
Ex Libris Group - Ex Libris Group is an Israeli software company that develops integrated library systems and other library software. The company is headquartered in Jerusalem, and has ten other offices around the world. In October 2015, Ex Libris was acquired by ProQuest and is now a ProQuest company. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based SaaS solutions that enable institutions and their individual users to create, manage, and share knowledge. In close collaboration with its customers and the broader community, Ex Libris develops creative solutions that increase library productivity, maximize the impact of research activities, enhance teaching and learning, and drive student mobile engagement. Ex Libris serves over 7,500 customers in 90 countries.
Exceptions in RDA - See RDA Exceptions
Expression - The FRBR entity Expression refers to an intellectual or artistic realization of a work in the form of alpha-numeric, musical or choreographic notation, sound, image, object, movement, etc., or any combination of such forms.
Extended Date Time Format (EDTF) - The Extended Date/Time Format (EDTF) is a draft date-time standard initiated by the Library of Congress with the intention of creating more explicit date formatting and addressing date types that are not currently regulated by ISO 8601. The date time format ISO 8601 describes a number of date/time features, some of which are redundant and/or not very useful, on the other hand, there are a number of date and time format conventions in common use that are not included in ISO 8601. EDTF responds to a need for a date/time string more expressive than ISO 8601 can support. Current suggestions for additions are being noted and discussed within the EDTF community with the intention of formalizing the EDTF as an ISO 8601 amendment or as an extension to other Web-based date standards. EDTF defines features to be supported in a date/time string, features considered useful for a wide variety of applications.
EZproxy - EZproxy is a middleware that authenticates library users against local authentication systems and provides remote access to licensed content based on the user's authorization. EZproxy allows libraries to deliver e-content to users simply, effectively, and securely no matter where or when they’re searching. EZproxy was built for libraries to protect user privacy, making it a trusted e-resource access and authentication solution for nearly 20 years. Thousands of libraries around the world use EZproxy to facilitate seamless, reliable access to e-resources. EZproxy is a web proxy server used by libraries to give access from outside the library's computer network to restricted-access websites that authenticate users by IP address. This allows library patrons at home or elsewhere to log in through their library's EZproxy server and gain access to resources to which their library subscribes, such as bibliographic databases. The software was originally written by Chris Zagar in 1999 who founded Useful Utilities LLC to support it. OCLC announced in January 2008 that it had acquired the product and was hiring Zagar as a full-time consultant for a year. Zagar is a librarian who serves as a systems librarian at the Estrella Mountain Community College, a part of the Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona. He won the 2006 LITA/Brett Butler Entrepreneurship Award for his work with EZproxy. EZproxy is a URL rewriting program, which works by dynamically altering the URLs within the web pages provided by the database vendor. The server names within the URLs of these web pages are changed to reflect the EZproxy server instead, causing users to return to the EZproxy server as they access links on these web pages." Previous proxy solutions were complex and difficult to maintain, and when EZproxy was created, authentication systems like Shibboleth were still far in the future.
Five Laws of Library Science - The 5 Laws of Library Science is a theory proposed by S. R. Ranganathan in 1931, detailing the principles of operating a library system. Five laws of library science are called the set of norms, percepts, and guides to good practice in librarianship. Many librarians worldwide accept them as the foundations of their philosophy. Dr. S.R. Ranganathan conceived the Five Laws of Library Science in 1924. The statements embodying these laws were formulated in 1928. These laws were first published in Ranganathan's classic book entitled Five Laws of Library Science in 1931. These laws are: First Law: Books Are For Use; Second Law: Every Reader His/Her Book; Third Law: Every Book Its Reader; Fourth Law: Save The Time Of The Reader; Fifth Law: The Library Is A Growing Organism. These laws of Library Science are the "fundamental laws" of Library Science. These are applicable to any problem in the areas of library science, library service, and library practice. These laws are like pot containing oceans. Prior to their enunciation, the subject of Library Science had no philosophy. These laws gave a philosophical base, guaranteeing an everlasting future to the subject of library science, the profession of librarianship, and the use of libraries. These laws have provided a scientific approach to the subject of library science. Even though S.R. Ranganathan proposed the Five Laws of Library Science before the advent of the digital age, they are still valid and equally relevant today.
FRBR-Library Reference Model - See IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM)
Frederick G. Kilgour Award for Research in Library and Information Technology (LITA / OCLC) - The Frederick G. Kilgour Award for Research in Library and Information Technology is sponsored by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, Inc.) and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association. The purpose of this award is to bring attention to research relevant to the development of information technologies, especially work which shows promise of having a positive and substantive impact on any aspect of the publication, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information, or the processes by which information and data is manipulated and managed. The intent is to recognize a body of work probably spanning years, if not the majority of a career. The award will consist of $2,000 cash and an expense paid trip to the ALA conference (airfare and two nights lodging).
Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) - Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR /ˈfɜːrbər/) is a conceptual entity-relationship model developed by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) that relates user tasks of retrieval and access in online library catalogs and bibliographic databases from a user’s perspective. It represents a more holistic approach to retrieval and access as the relationships between the entities provide links to navigate through the hierarchy of relationships. The model is significant because it is separate from specific cataloging standards such as Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR) or International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD).
ICP - See Statement of International Cataloguing Principles
IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM) - IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM) is a high-level conceptual reference model developed within an entity-relationship modelling framework. It is the consolidation of the separately developed IFLA conceptual models: FRBR, FRAD, FRSAD.
Index - The term ‘index’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘indicare’ which means to indicate or to point out. Here it refers to guide to a particular concept in a document. Index is a systematic guide to items contained in a document or concepts derived from it. Items denote the name of the author, title, etc.; concepts may be like classification, cataloging, etc. To elaborate a bit more it may be said that an index is a systematic guide to the items of published literature in a collection or concepts derived from a collection. The purpose of an index is to locate and retrieve the needed items or concepts in a collection. An index is consist of entries. Each entry is a unit of an index. These entries are arranged in a systematic order. An index consists of two parts: (i) Descriptive part – It gives items, ideas, and concepts; (ii) Location Part – It gives the location where the items or concepts have been discussed or is available.
Information - Information is that which informs. In other words, it is the answer to a question of some kind. It is thus related to data and knowledge, as data represents values attributed to parameters, and knowledge signifies understanding of real things or abstract concepts. As it regards data, the information's existence is not necessarily coupled to an observer (it exists beyond an event horizon, for example), while in the case of knowledge, the information requires a cognitive observer. Information is conveyed either as the content of a message or through direct or indirect observation of anything. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own right, and in that sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message. Information can be encoded into various forms for transmission and interpretation (for example, information may be encoded into a sequence of signs, or transmitted via a sequence of signals). It can also be encrypted for safe storage and communication.
Information Management - Information management (IM) concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposition through archiving or deletion. This cycle of organizational involvement with information involves a variety of stakeholders: for example those who are responsible for assuring the quality, accessibility, and utility of acquired information, those who are responsible for its safe storage and disposal, and those who need it for decision making. Stakeholders might have rights to originate, change, distribute or delete information according to organizational information management policies. Information management embraces all the generic concepts of management, including planning, organizing, structuring, processing, controlling, evaluation and reporting of information activities, all of which is needed in order to meet the needs of those with organizational roles or functions that depend on information. These generic concepts allow the information to be presented to the audience or the correct group of people. After individuals are able to put that information to use it then gains more value. Information management is closely related to, and overlaps with, the management of data, systems, technology, processes and – where the availability of information is critical to organizational success – strategy. This broad view of the realm of information management contrasts with the earlier, more traditional view, that the life cycle of managing information is an operational matter that requires specific procedures, organizational capabilities, and standards that deal with information as a product or a service.
Information Resource - See Resource
Information Retrieval - Information Retrieval refers to the process, methods, and procedures of searching, locating, and retrieving recorded data and information from a file or database. In libraries and archives modern information retrieval is done by searching full-text databases, locating items from bibliographic databases, and document supply via a network. Information retrieval (IR) is the activity of obtaining information system resources that are relevant to an information need from a collection of those resources. Searches can be based on full-text or other content-based indexing. Information retrieval is the science of searching for information in a document, searching for documents themselves, and also searching for the metadata that describes data, and for databases of texts, images or sounds. Information retrieval, Recovery of information, especially in a database stored in a computer. Two main approaches are matching words in the query against the database index (keyword searching) and traversing the database using hypertext or hypermedia links. Keyword searching has been the dominant approach to text retrieval since the early 1960s; hypertext has so far been confined largely to personal or corporate information-retrieval applications. Evolving information-retrieval techniques, exemplified by developments with modern Internet search engines, combine natural language, hyperlinks, and keyword searching. Other techniques that seek higher levels of retrieval precision are studied by researchers involved with artificial intelligence.
Information Science - Information science is an interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of information. Practitioners within and outside of the field study application and usage of knowledge in organizations along with the interaction between people, organizations, and any existing information systems with the aim of creating, replacing, improving, or understanding information systems. Information science is often (mistakenly) considered a branch of computer science; however, it predates computer science and is a broad, interdisciplinary field, incorporating not only aspects of computer science, but often diverse fields such as archival science, cognitive science, commerce, communications, law, library science, museology, management, mathematics, philosophy, public policy, social sciences, as well as all the fields of study because information exists in all the fields whether it has to do with technology or not. That is why different roles (IT Admin, C.S. engineer, etc.) in Information technology and Computer Science major exist to assist information for all the fields of study. Information science should not be confused with information theory or library science. Information theory is the study of the types of communications we use, such as verbal, signal transmission, encoding, and others. Information science as an academic discipline is often taught in combination with Library science as Library and Information Science. Library science as such is a field related to the dissemination of information through libraries making use of the principles of information science. Information science deals with all the processes and techniques pertaining to the information life cycle, including capture, generation, packaging, dissemination, transformation, refining, repackaging, usage, storage, communication, protection, presentation etc. in any possible manner.
ISO 8601 - ISO 8601 describes an internationally accepted way to represent dates and times using numbers. It was issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and was first published in 1988. The purpose of this standard is to provide an unambiguous and well-defined method of representing dates and times, so as to avoid misinterpretation of numeric representations of dates and times, particularly when data are transferred between countries with different conventions for writing numeric dates and times. When dates are represented with numbers they can be interpreted in different ways. For example the date of writing of this glossary entry, 05/07/16 could mean May 7, 2016, or July 5, 2016. On an individual level this uncertainty can be very frustrating, in a business context it can be very expensive. Organizing meetings and deliveries, writing contracts and buying airplane tickets can be very difficult when the date is unclear. ISO 8601 tackles this uncertainty by setting out an internationally agreed way to represent dates: YYYY-MM-DD. For example, May 7, 2016, is represented as 2016-05-07. The Library of Congress has initiated a draft date-time standard known as Extended Date/Time Format (EDTF) with the intention of creating more explicit date formatting and addressing date types that are not currently regulated by ISO 8601. The EDTF is formalized as an ISO 8601 amendment or as an extension to other Web-based date standards. EDTF format is used in the MARC 21 filed 046 in the Name Authority Records in cataloging in Resource Description and Access (RDA). The current LC-PCC best practice suggests, "When supplying dates in field 046, use the Extended Date Time Format (EDTF) schema in all cases except for centuries."
Item - A single exemplar or instance of a manifestation.
Key-Term Alphabetical (KEYTALPHA) - In the Key-Term Alphabetical index, keywords are arranged side by side without forming a sentence. Entries are prepared containing only keywords and location excluding the context.
Keyword Augmented in Context (KWAC) - The acronym KWAC also stands for Keyword and Context. The KWAC system provides for the enrichment of the keywords of the title with additional significant words taken either from the abstract f the document or its contents. Since titles do not always represent the contents of a document fully, the enrichment minimizes this limitation. The problem of false retrieval, which is inherent in a purely title based indexing system, is solved to some extent.
Keyword in Context (KWIC) Indexing - Keyword in Context Indexing system is based on the principle that the title of the document represents its contents. It is believed that the title of the document is one line abstract of the document. The significant words in the title indicate the subject of the document. a KWIC index makes an entry under each significant word in the title, along with the remaining part of the title to keep the context intact. The entries are derived using terms one by one as the lead term along with the entire context for each entry.
Keyword Out of Context (KWOC) - In KWOC system, keyword or the access point is shifted to the extreme left at its normal place in the beginning of the line. It is followed by the complete title to provide complete context. The keyword and the context are written either in the same line or in two successive lines.
Knowledge - Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, such as facts, information, descriptions, or skills, which is acquired through experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or learning. Knowledge can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); it can be more or less formal or systematic. In philosophy, the study of knowledge is called epistemology; the philosopher Plato famously defined knowledge as "justified true belief", though this definition is now thought by some analytic philosophers[citation needed] to be problematic because of the Gettier problems while others defend the platonic definition. However, several definitions of knowledge and theories to explain it exist. Knowledge acquisition involves complex cognitive processes: perception, communication, and reasoning; while knowledge is also said to be related to the capacity of acknowledgment in human beings.
Knowledge Management - Knowledge management (KM) is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. An established discipline since 1991, KM includes courses taught in the fields of business administration, information systems, management, library, and information sciences. Other fields may contribute to KM research, including information and media, computer science, public health, and public policy. Several universities offer dedicated master's degrees in knowledge management. Many large companies, public institutions, and non-profit organizations have resources dedicated to internal KM efforts, often as a part of their business strategy, IT, or human resource management departments. Several consulting companies provide advice regarding KM to these organizations. Knowledge management efforts typically focus on organizational objectives such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration and continuous improvement of the organization. These efforts overlap with organizational learning and may be distinguished from that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and on encouraging the sharing of knowledge.[2][8] KM is an enabler of organizational learning.
LC Subject Headings - See Library of Congress Subject Headings
LCC - See Library of Congress Classification
LCSH - See Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
LCSH 20% Rule - See Twenty-Percent Rule (LCSH)
LCSH Twenty-Percent Rule - SeeTwenty-Percent Rule (LCSH)
Libhub Initiative - The Libhub Initiative aims to raise the visibility of Libraries on the Web by actively exploring the promise of BIBFRAME and Linked Data. The objective of The Libhub Initiative is to publish BIBFRAME resources to the Web, cross-link resources which are common among libraries, and, through cross-linking improve the ability for people to discover these resources on the open Web. Ultimately, the goal is that users would then be able to click on appropriate resources and be taken back to the library’s catalog. Libraries and memory organizations have rich content and resources the Web can't see or use today -- effectively making them dark collections and invisible archives. Imagine if libraries could represent themselves together in a way the Web could see and understand. This unified voice and utility is among the core promises of BIBFRAME and the Linked Data in Libraries movement. BIBFRAME (Bibliographic Framework) is a data model for bibliographic description. BIBFRAME was designed to replace the MARC standards, and to use linked data principles to make bibliographic data more useful both within and outside the library community.
Librarian - A librarian is a person who is in charge of or works professionally in a library and is responsible for its management and services. The librarian takes care of the library and its resources. Typical job of a librarian includes managing collection development and acquisitions, cataloging, collections management, circulation, and providing a range of services, such as reference, information, instruction, and training services, etc. Librarians are trained in library and information science and are engaged in providing library services, usually holding a degree in library science. In the United States, the title Librarian is reserved for persons who have been awarded the ALA-accredited Master of Library and Information Science or MLIS degree or certified as professionals by a state agency. In a small library, such as a school library a single librarian may be responsible for managing the overall functions of the library but big libraries, such as a large academic library may have much staff to carry out different functions of the library depending on their qualifications, expertise, and functional specializations, e.g. acquisition librarian, archivists, cataloging librarian, electronic resources librarian, metadata librarian, reference librarian, serials librarian, systems librarian, etc. Based on the type of the library served, librarians may be classified as a school librarian, academic librarian, special librarian, etc. The increasing role of technology in libraries has a significant impact on the changing roles of librarians. A 21st-century librarian is required to be very much updated of technological changes. New age librarians are making greater use of emerging technologies in the library management and services to make it more popular and useful among the patrons. New age librarians are not mere bookworms, they are high-tech information professionals, and clever communicators, helping patrons dive in the oceans of information available in books and digital records.
Librarianship - See Library Science
Libraries - See Library
Library - A library is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material, and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both. A library's collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, microform, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audiobooks, databases, and other formats. Libraries range in size from a few shelves of books to several million items. The word library derives from the Latin liber, meaning “book,” whereas a Latinized Greek word, bibliotheca, is the origin of the word for library in German, Russian, and the Romance languages. In Latin and Greek, the idea of a bookcase is represented by Bibliotheca and Bibliothēkē (Greek: βιβλιοθήκη): derivatives of these mean library in many modern languages, e.g. French bibliothèque. The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing—the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in Sumer, some dating back to 2600 BC. Private or personal libraries made up of written books appeared in classical Greece in the 5th century BC. In the 6th century, at the very close of the Classical period, the great libraries of the Mediterranean world remained those of Constantinople and Alexandria. A library is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, a corporation, or a private individual. Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for use by people who choose not to—or cannot afford to—purchase an extensive collection themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or who require professional assistance with their research. In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are experts at finding and organizing information and at interpreting information needs. Libraries often provide quiet areas for studying, and they also often offer common areas to facilitate group study and collaboration. Libraries often provide public facilities for access to their electronic resources and the Internet. Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources. They are extending services beyond the physical walls of a building, by providing material accessible by electronic means, and by providing the assistance of librarians in navigating and analyzing very large amounts of information with a variety of digital tools.
Library Acquisitions - See Acquisitions
Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) - The Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) is a professional non-profit organization, representing all institutions and people working in libraries and information services in South Africa.
Library and Information Science - Library and Information Science (LIS) is an interdisciplinary domain concerned with creation, management, and uses of information in all its forms. Taught in colleges and universities at the undergraduate and graduate levels and a subject of research in both industry and academia, LIS brings together a variety of theoretical approaches. Its focus is on representations of information—the documentary evidence of civilization—as well as on the technologies and organizations through which information becomes accessible. The research domain is young, beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but its roots lie in the nineteenth century. LIS represents the intersection of library science, information science (originally called documentation), and communications. The first, library science, has sought to solve the problems of organizing and providing access to collections of materials. The second, information science, seeks to understand the properties of information and how to manage it. Aspects of the field of communication, always a facet of the first two, became interwoven with both as library science and information science matured and increasingly intersected with one another.
Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) - The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) is the leading organization reaching out across types of libraries to provide education and services for a broad membership of systems librarians, library technologists, library administrators, library schools, vendors, and others interested in leading edge technology and applications for librarians and information providers. LITA is a division of the American Library Association.
Library Associations - Library associations are Professional organizations formed to bring together librarians who share common interests in subjects, types of services, or other factors. Especially national associations, such as CILIP or the American Library Association, and of these there are examples in most countries of the world. Benjamin Franklin said- “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” so the investment in the libraries will be the best investment in the development of knowledge and will be paid with high returns to the society. As we are aware that “Unity is strength”, hence associations are formed to unite the professionals of a particular field of common interest areas. Professional associations are playing an important role in the development of a particular subject field. It is true for the library and information science profession as well. Library associations at different levels have been playing a significant role in the development and promotion of library systems. They are providing a platform to discuss various issues and problems regarding the libraries.
Library Associations help in various ways. First of all, they unite the professionals and give them voice strength. Seminars, conferences, workshops, training programs, orientation courses, short-term training courses, ICT literacy awareness events are arranged from time to time by the library associations for keeping their members abreast of new developments in the field of library and information science/service. This activity helps in the enhancement of skills and knowledge of library professionals. Many of these associations publish newsletters and journals to provide the latest information and research findings to library professionals.
Library Automation - Library automation refers to the use of the computer to automate the typical procedures of libraries such as cataloging and circulation. Automation is a process of using machinery for easily working and saving human power and time. The main purpose of library automation is to free the librarians and library staff and to allow them to contribute more meaningfully to the spread of knowledge and information. Library Science automation is ‘the technology concerned with the design and development of the process and system that minimizes the necessity of human intervention in their operation’
Library Cataloging - See CatalogingLibrary Circulation - Library Circulation is the function of lending library materials (books, serials, sound recordings, moving images, cartographic materials, etc. that are owned by a library) to the users of the library. Library Circulation includes checking out library materials to library users, renewing the borrowed items, reserving checked out items for the patron, checking in materials returned, checking the materials for damage at the time of return, if found damaged then giving that to responsible staff for repair and when repair is not possible then replacement, renewal of materials, receiving payment of fines for damaged and overdue materials and payment for subscription to the library and other charges, maintaining order in the stacks by re-shelving the library materials by call number given by classification system, such as Library of Congress Classification (LCC) or Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system. There is a Circulation Desk, a long counter usually located at the main entrance of the library to carry out library circulation activities. It is the service point to register for the library card, check out, renew, and return library materials. Library staff at circulation desk also provides basic search and reference services in the use of library and placement of information resources.
Library Classification - Classification or Library Classification or Book Classification or Bibliographic Classification is the process of arranging, grouping, coding, and organizing books and other library materials (e.g. serials, sound recordings, moving images, cartographic materials, manuscripts, computer files, e-resources etc.) on shelves or entries of a catalog, bibliography, and index according to their subject in a systematic, logical, and helpful order by way of assigning them call numbers using a library classification system, so that users can find them as quickly and easily as possible. Call number consists of a class number providing class designation, a book number providing author representation, and a collection number denoting the collection to which it belongs. In ordinary classification, we deal with the arrangement of ideas and the objects in a systematic order. But in library classification, we are concerned with documents, and the aim is to arrange these in the most helpful and permanent order. Similar to knowledge classification systems, bibliographic classification systems group entities that are similar and related together typically arranged in a hierarchical tree-type structure (assuming non-faceted system; a faceted classification system allows the assignment of multiple classifications to an object, enabling the classifications to be ordered in multiple ways).
Library Descriptive Cataloging - See Descriptive Cataloging Library Lending - See Library CirculationLibrary Lovers' Day - Library Lovers’ Day is celebrated on 14th February each year to honor libraries, librarians, book lovers, and lovers of libraries. On Library Lovers’ Day, we celebrate the enduring relationship between our community and the libraries. This also provides an opportunity to celebrate those who love and support libraries and to remind decision makers how loved and cherished libraries are by the entire community. Not everyone receives flowers on Valentines Day but everyone is welcome at their library.
Library Management - Library management is a sub-discipline of institutional management that focuses on specific issues faced by libraries and library management professionals. Library management encompasses normal managerial tasks, as well as intellectual freedom and fundraising responsibilities. Issues faced in library management frequently overlap with those faced in managing non-profit organizations. The basic functions of library management include, but are not limited to: planning and negotiating the acquisition of materials, Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests, stacks maintenance, overseeing fee collection, event planning, fundraising, and human resources.
Library Material - See ResourceLibrary of Congress - Library of Congress, the de facto national library of the United States and the largest library in the world. Its collection was growing at a rate of about two million items per year; it reached more than 155 million items in 2012. The Library of Congress serves members, committees, and staff of the U.S. Congress, other government agencies, libraries throughout the country and the world, and the scholars, researchers, artists, and scientists who use its resources. It is the national centre for library service to the blind and physically handicapped, and it offers many concerts, lectures, and exhibitions for the general public.
Library of Congress Classification - The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress. It was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to organize and arrange the book collections of the Library of Congress. Over the course of the twentieth century, the system was adopted for use by other libraries as well, especially large academic libraries in the United States. It is currently one of the most widely used library classification systems in the world. The Library's Policy and Standards Division maintains and develops the system. In recent decades, as the Library of Congress made its records available electronically through its online catalog, more libraries have adopted LCC for both subject cataloging as well as shelflisting. There are several classification schemes in use worldwide. Besides LCC, the other popular ones among them are Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), and Bliss Bibliographic Classification (BC). Out of these, DDC and LCC are the classification systems which are most commonly used in libraries. The potential of Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system is yet to be explored in libraries. This article describes the various aspects of LCC and its suitability as a library classification system for classifying library resources. The Library of Congress was established in 1800 when the American legislatures were preparing to move from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington, D.C. Its earliest classification system was by size and, within each size group, by accession number. First recorded change in the arrangement of the collection appeared in the library’s third catalog, issued in 1808, which showed added categories for special bibliographic forms such as legal documents and executive papers. On the night of August 24, 1814, during the war of 1812, British soldiers set fire to the Capitol, and most of the Library of Congress’s collections were destroyed. Sometimes after, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell to Congress his personal library; subsequently, in 1815, the Congress purchased Jefferson’s personal library of 6,487 books. The books arrived already classified by Jefferson’s own system. The library adopted this system and used it with some modifications until the end of the nineteenth century. Library of Congress moved to a new building in 1897. By this time, the Library’s collection had grown to one and a half million volumes and it was decided that Jefferson’s classification system was no longer adequate for the collection. A more detailed classification scheme was required for such a huge and rapidly growing collection of documents. The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Cutter’s Expansive Classification and the German Halle Schema were studied, but none was considered suitable. It was decided to construct a new system to be called the Library of Congress Classification (LCC). James C.M. Hanson, Head of the Catalog Division, and Charles Martel, Chief Classifier, were made responsible for developing the new scheme. Hanson and Martel concluded that the new classification should be based on Cutter’s Expansive Classification⁴ as a guide for the order of classes, but with a considerably modified notation. Work on the new classification began in 1901. The first outline of the Library of Congress Classification was published in 1904 by Charles Martel and J.C.M. Hanson – the two fathers of Library of Congress Classification. Class Z (Bibliography and Library Science) was chosen to be the first schedule to be developed. The next schedules, E-F (American history and geography), were developed. But E-F were the first schedules to be published, in 1901, followed by Z in 1902. Other schedules were progressively developed. Each schedule of LCC contains an entire class, a subclass, or a group of subclasses. The separate schedules were published in print volumes, as they were completed. All schedules were published by 1948, except the Class K (Law). The first Law schedule—the Law of United States, was published in 1969, and the last of the Law schedules to publish was KB—Religious law, which appeared in 2004. From the beginning, individual schedules of LCC have been developed and maintained by subject experts. Such experts continue to be responsible for additions and changes in LCC. The separate development of individual schedules meant that, unlike other classification systems, LCC was not the product of one mastermind; indeed, LCC has been called “a coordinated series of special classes”. Until the early 1990s, LCC schedules existed mainly as a print product. The conversion of LCC to machine-readable form began in 1993 and was completed in 1996. The conversion to electronic form was done using USMARC (now called MARC21) Classification Format. This was a very important development for LCC, as it enabled LCC to be consulted online and much more efficient production of the print schedules. In the year 2013, the Library of Congress announced a transition to online-only publication of its cataloging documentation, including the Library of Congress Classification. It was decided, the Library’s Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) will no longer print new editions of its subject headings, classification schedules, and other cataloging publications. The Library decided to provide free downloadable PDF versions of LCC schedules. For users desiring enhanced functionality, the Library’s two web-based subscription services, Cataloger’s Desktop and Classification Web will continue as products from CDS. Classification Web is a web-based tool for LCC and LCSH. It supports searching and browsing of the LCC schedules and provides links to the respective tables to build the class numbers for library resources. LC has also developed training materials on the principles and practices of LCC and made those available for free on its website.
