"A physical or digital collection of historical records."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

"Procedures and guidelines that are widely accepted because experience and research has demonstrated that they are optimal and efficient means to produce a desired result."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

"The process of providing access to materials by creating formal descriptions to represent the materials and then organizing those descriptions through headings that will connect user queries with relevant materials."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

"In the delivery of library services, the right of patrons to have the nature of their research and library transactions remain private."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"Copyright is the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something."

Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, WEX

The length of time a work is protected by copyright. "Generally, for most works created after 1978, protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. For anonymous works, pseudonymous works, or works made for hire, the copyright term is 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever comes first."

US Copyright Office

"An individual responsible for oversight of a collection or an exhibition."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

Also known as Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). "A hierarchical system for classifying books and other library materials by subject, first published in 1876 by the librarian and educator Melvil Dewey, who divided human knowledge into 10 main classes, each of which is divided into 10 divisions, and so on. In Dewey Decimal call numbers, arabic numerals and decimal fractions are used in the class notation (example: 996.9) and an alphanumeric book number is added to subarrange works of the same classification by author and by title and edition (996.9 B3262h)."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"The process of searching for and identifying potentially relevant materials."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

Colloquial term for disinformation: "The deliberate, often covert, dissemination of erroneous information, usually with the intention of influencing by deception the actions or opinions of another..."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"Publications of the U.S. federal government, including transcripts of hearings and the text of bills, resolutions, statutes, reports, charters, treaties, periodicals (example: Monthly Labor Review), statistics (U.S. Census), etc."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"Skill in finding the information one needs, including an understanding of how libraries are organized, familiarity with the resources they provide (including information formats and automated search tools), and knowledge of commonly used research techniques. The concept also includes the skills required to critically evaluate information content and employ it effectively, as well as an understanding of the technological infrastructure on which information transmission is based, including its social, political, and cultural context and impact."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"A process that mediates between large quantities of information and users by retrieving a selected subset from the information that most nearly matches the user's request."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

"The rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment."

American Library Association

"Any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others....Intellectual property is traditionally comprised of four categories: patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets."

Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, WEX

"The whole of statutes, administrative regulations, judicial precedents, and legal principles that define socially accepted limits and obligations on human behavior."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

"A reduced size photographic reproduction of printed information on reel to real film...that can be read with a microform reader/printer."

ACRL Multilingual Glossary for Today's Library Users

The licenses that libraries negotiate, typically for payment, in order to provide researchers with scholarly materials. These licenses have terms and conditions for the institution that is providing the access, and terms and conditions for the end user/authorized user (https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/research-support/copyright-guidance/contract-and-licensing-basics)

"Materials that may not be charged to a borrower account except by special arrangement but are usually available for library use only, including reference books, periodical indexes, and sometimes the periodical issues and volumes themselves."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

Online Public Access Catalog. "A computerized database that can be searched in various ways— such as by keyword, author, title, subject, or call number— to find out what resources a library owns."

ACRL Multilingual Glossary for Today's Library Users

"Any person who uses the resources and services of a library, not necessarily a registered borrower. Synonymous with user."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"A guiding principle that leads a government or agency to make laws or to govern effectively... also refers to the rules and regulations made by an administrative department."

Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, WEX

"An essential set of core values that define, inform, and guide [librarians'] professional practice....Among these are: access, confidentiality/privacy, democracy, diversity, education and lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, preservation, the public good, professionalism, service, social responsibility, and sustainability."

American Library Association

"A library or library system that provides unrestricted access to library resources and services free of charge to all the residents of a given community, district, or geographic region, supported wholly or in part by public funds."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

Also known as readers' advisory (RA). "Services provided by an experienced public services librarian who specializes in the reading needs of the patrons of a public library. A readers' advisor recommends specific titles and/or authors, based on knowledge of the patron's past reading preferences, and may also compile lists of recommended titles and serve as liaison to other education agencies in the community."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

Also known as readers' advisory (RA). "Services provided by an experienced public services librarian who specializes in the reading needs of the patrons of a public library. A readers' advisor recommends specific titles and/or authors, based on knowledge of the patron's past reading preferences, and may also compile lists of recommended titles and serve as liaison to other education agencies in the community."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"A service that helps people find needed information."

ACRL Multilingual Glossary for Today's Library Users

"A request from a library user for assistance in locating specific information or in using library resources in general, made in person, by telephone, or electronically."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"Systematic, painstaking investigation of a topic, or in a field of study, often employing hypothesis and experimentation, undertaken by a person intent on revealing new facts, theories, or principles, or determining the current state of knowledge of the subject."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"A library in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves the information needs of its students and the curriculum needs of its teachers and staff, usually managed by a school librarian or media specialist. A school library collection usually contains books, periodicals, and educational media suitable for the grade levels served."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"A systematic effort on the part of a library user or librarian to locate desired information by manual or electronic means, whether successful or not, as opposed to browsing a library collection casually with no clear intention in mind."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"A cohesive collection of noncirculating research materials held together by provenance or by a thematic focus" or "an institution or an administrative unit of a library responsible for managing materials outside the general library collection, including rare books, archives, manuscripts, maps, oral history interviews, and ephemera."

Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology

"A library established and funded by a commercial firm, private association, government agency, nonprofit organization, or special interest group to meet the information needs of its employees, members, or staff in accordance with the organization's mission and goals. The scope of the collection is usually limited to the interests of the host organization."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science

"A type of library that developed in Britain during the second half of the 18th century as a natural extension of private book clubs, in which a group of fairly prosperous readers in a community joined to form a 'reading society' that included a library for the exclusive use of members."

ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science