Public Library Management - Common Terms



The following table provides a list of terms that are frequently used in Public Library Management, along with their meaning.

Term Meaning
Added Entry It is an access point in a catalog or bibliography other than the main entry. It may be briefer than the main entry.
Almanac An annual calendar that describes the daily information about upcoming events.
Appendix The printed information at the end of the book.
Annotation An explanatory note added in the bibliography.
Archive A collection of historical records about people, places, and events taken place.
Bibliography It is the list of references used in a book or article. If they are long, they may be published separately in the form of books or online.
Citation Short description of a piece of text (book, article, or web page) which is quoted or used as a source.
Concordance It is an alphabetical list of important words used in a piece of work, with respective immediate context.
Bibliographic Coupling It is a measure to establish a similarity relationship between documents. It occurs when two written works reference a common third work in their bibliographies.
Call Number It is a unique alphanumeric number that represents the subject matter of a knowledge element and indicates its location on the shelf.
Catalog A systematic database with detailed information about all the knowledge resources in the library.
Circulate To issue the library material to the users.
Current Periodicals Most recent issue of a magazine or journal a library receives.
Copyright A legal right of an author, editor, composer, publisher, or distributor to publish, produce, sell, or distribute the literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work exclusively.
Gray Literature It is the material published outside a commercial or academic publishing. It is produced at all levels of government, academics, business, and industry in print and electronic formats, but it is not controlled by commercial publishers.
Holdings All knowledge resources such as books, journals, magazines, audio/video material, and maps owned by a public library.
Knowledge Resources in Library Books, Computer files, Music CDs, Records, Audio and Video CDs/DVDs, Maps are different kinds of knowledge resources in library.
Indexing List of items arranged in a specific approach.
Basic Subject Most fundamental subject.
Cataloguing Recording a list of knowledge resources with specific approach and corresponding details of each knowledge resource.
Page A library page is a person responsible for shelving books, minor repairs, tiding, and some other allied work.
Shelving Putting back the books/other items of the library from where they belong after the users have used it.
Patron A person giving financial support to institution, cause, or other person.
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