More Common Library Technology Acronyms

Throughout your professional library reading, you will occasionally come across esoteric library technology acronyms. It’s annoying to have to stop reading to look up their meanings. To help prevent that, we present our list of more common library technology acronyms.

These acronyms have been added to the Library Technology Acronyms page.

AAP – Authorized Access Point, text string that names the item for a BIBFRAME Authority (bf:authorizedAccessPoint).

API – Application Program Interface, “a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building applications and providing a way to interact with online services”.

BIBFRAME – Bibliographic Framework, a new model for bibliographic description to replace MARC.

DOAJ – The Directory of Open Access Journals.

FAST – Faceted Application of Subject Terminology, a “faceted subject heading schema” by OCLC with the LOC, used as an authority file.

FOAF – Friend of a Friend, describes people and their relationships using an RDF schema.

HILCC – Hierarchical Interface to Library of Congress Classification, structured menu for LC Classification subject access on the Web.

JSON – JavaScript Object Notation, “a lightweight data-interchange format” and standard.

LCNAF – Library of Congress Name Authority File, “provides authoritative data for names of persons, organizations, events, places, and titles”.

LOD – Linked Open Data, Linked Data which is published under an open-access license.

LSP – Library Services Platform, a term for a suite of library applications which might include an ILS, ERM, and discovery service.

MADS/RDF – Metadata Authority Description Schema in Resource Description Framework, a data model for authority records.

MFHD – Multi-Format Holdings Data, a holdings record containing location and call number (sometimes pronounced “muffhead”).

OWL – Web Ontology Language, “a Semantic Web language designed to represent rich and complex knowledge about things, groups of things, and relations between things”.

RDF – Resource Description Framework, a W3C standard for describing Web data.

REST – Representational State Transfer, the software architectural style of the Web.

SPARQL – SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language, used to retrieve Web data in RDF format.

URI – Uniform Resource Identifier, string of characters that points to a resource (with a URL being the most popular type).

W3C W3C – World Wide Web Consortium, “an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web”.

WEMI – Work, Expression, Manifestation, Item; Group 1 entities and the foundation of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) model.

FRBR Group 1 WEMI

3D Printing Books, Papers, and Resources

My new friend and professional library colleague, Sara Gonzales, has a new book out today on 3D printers in libraries (see below), so it seemed like a good time to list some of the best books, papers, and resources on the topic.

Books

Here is a selection of the best up-to-date books to learn about deploying 3D printers in your library.

3-D Printers for Libraries by Jason Griffey

3-D Printers for Libraries This title is actually an issue of Library Technology Reports from ALA Tech Source. The report covers how 3D printers work, common terminology, types of plastic, prices and specifications for printers, and staff skill requirements. Published in 2014.

Buy from the ALA Store, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

3D Printing: A Powerful New Curriculum Tool for Your School Library by Lesley M. Cano

3D Printing: A Powerful New Curriculum Tool for Your School Library Part of the “Tech Tools for Learning” series. This book is aimed at the K-12 school librarian. “Written in non-technical language, the book introduces the technology, shows how to get started, and offers ideas for creating project-based learning models.” Published in 2015.

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.

3D Printing: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Sara Russell Gonzalez and Denise Beaubien Bennett

3D Printing: A Practical Guide for Librarians This title is the newest volume (#22) in the “Practical Guides for Librarians” series. The comprehensive book covers everything from writing the original proposal to selecting printers, addressing staffing issues, developing policies, and more. Published in 2016.

View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.

Papers

Progress in the Making: An Introduction to 3D Printing and Public Policy by American Library Association

Progress in the Making: An Introduction to 3D Printing and Public Policy The first report from the American Library Association in the “Progress in the Making” series covering 3D printers and legal liability and concerns for library professionals. Published in September 2014.

Access the full-text paper (PDF).

Progress in the Making: 3D Printing Policy Considerations through the Library Lens by Charlie Wapner

Progress in the Making: 3D Printing Policy Considerations through the Library Lens In this second report in the “Progress in the Making” series from the American Library Association, Wapner urges librarians to develop policies to “address the social, technological and political complexities that result from the rise of 3D printing.” Published in January 2015.

Access the full-text paper (PDF).

Resources

Here is a selection of helpful resources on 3D printers in libraries.

3D Printing Glossary – A LibGuide of 3D printing terms from Kent State University Libraries.
How 3-D Printing Works – A good tutorial from HowStuffWorks.
Librarian’s Guide to 3D Printing @ Your Library – A LibGuide from UF Libraries.
Map of 3D Printers in Libraries – Amanda L. Goodman’s page with an interactive Google map with over 650 entries separated into categories.
Thingiverse – A large community for finding, making, and sharing 3D models, by MakerBot.
Tinkercad – A basic online CAD website to create 3D models for printing.

Code For Every Librarian

CSS – HTML – JavaScript

This post contains content from a presentation I did with Cheryl Wolfe, Web Services Administrator, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library titled Code For Every Librarian at the Florida Library Association Conference 2016.

HTML

Hypertext Markup Language
Turn text into images, links, and more
Use to build webpages and Web content

HTML Examples

Text

<b>Bold</b> also <strong>Bold</strong>
<i>Italics</i> also <em>Italics</em>

<h1>Heading 1</h1>

<p>Paragraph text with full break.</p>
<br> or <br /> for a line break.

Images

Links

Structure

<div id=“unique-name”>Content goes here.</div>
<span font-color=“#FF0000;”>Red text here.</span>

Tables

Row 1 Cell 1

Row 1 Cell 2

Comments

<!-- Start LibAnswers Chat Widget -->
 <div id="libchat_74ba5f"></div>
<!-- End Widget -->

Comment Out

<!-- Temporary Email Link
 <a href="mailto:library@erau.edu">library@erau.edu</a>
-->

Navigation List

<nav>
<ul class=”primary-nav”>
<li><a href=”/hcplc/books/”>Books & More</a></li>
<li><a href=”/hcplc/research/”>Learning & Research</a></li>
<li><a href=”/hcplc/events/”>Events & Classes</a></li>
<li><a href=”/hcplc/services/”>Services</a></li>
<li><a href=”/hcplc/locations/”>Locations</a></li>
<li><a href=”/hcplc/using/”>Using the Library</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets
Apply styles to HTML
Use to style and design webpages

CSS Examples

Change font size: { font-size: 14px; }
Change font color: { color: #09F; }
Change background color: { background-color: #A39161; }
Hide an element: { display: none; }
Mark as important: { display: none !important; }

Positioning

.float-left { float: left; }
.float-right { float: right; }

Responsive Typography

body { font-size: 100%; }
h1 { font-size: 150%; }
h2 { font-size: 125%; }
h3 { font-size: 110%; }
p { font-size: 100%; }
.note { font-size: 90%; font-style: italic; }

Media Queries with Grid Layout

@media all and (max-width: 59em)
{ .column-span2,.column-span3,.column-span4, .column-span5,.column-span6,.column-span7, .column-span8,.column-span9,.column-span10 { float:none; clear:both; margin: .5em 2.0833333333333%; width:auto; }

Background Image

body { background: #f5f5f5 url(/hcplc/images/topborder.png) repeat-x center top; }

JavaScript

Works with HTML and CSS
Most widely used language on the Web
Use to add dynamic and interactive elements to websites

JavaScript Examples

Inline JavaScript

External JavaScript

Helpful Tips

How To Use a Browser’s Inspect Feature

You can examine a webpage’s code and content and experiment making changes right in your browser. Right-click on a webpage and select “Inspect” in Chrome, Edge, and Internet Explorer, or “Inspect Element” in Firefox.

Useful Code Editing Tools

Notepad++ is useful for editing code. It makes reading code easier by color-coding different parts of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It also allows you to view code groupings and collapse sections of code.

Helpful Resources on the Web

Download and print the Helpful Resources PDF.

Codecademy – HTML and CSS – www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/htmlcss

W3Schools – HTML, CSS, and JavaScript – www.w3schools.com

2016 Library Conference Schedule

With 2016 just started, we are looking forward to this year’s batch of annual library conferences. The list below covers large library technology conferences as well as the major conferences where technology will be discussed.

January		#hashtag
8-12	ALA Midwinter Meeting, Boston, MA	#ALAMW16
March
7-10	Code4Lib 2016, Philadelphia, PA	#c4l16
8-12	Computers in Libraries 2016, Washington, DC	#CILDC
16-17	Library Technology Conference 2016, St. Paul, MN	#LTC2016
April
3-6	11th Annual ER&L Conference, Austin, TX	#erl16
5-9	PLA Conference 2016, Denver, CO	#PLA2016
14-15	DPLAfest 2016, Washington, DC	#DPLAfest2016
June
12-14	SLA Annual Conference 2016, Philadelphia, PA	#SLA2016
19-23	JCDL 2016, Newark, NJ	#JCDL2016
23-28	ALA Annual Conference 2016, Orlando, FL	#ALAAC16
August
13-19	IFLA World Library and Information Congress, Columbus, OH	#wlic2016
October
14-18	ASIS&T Annual Meeting 2016, Copenhagen, Denmark	@asist_org
31-11/5	Charleston Conference, Charleston, SC	@chsconf

For more comprehensive lists, see Douglas Hasty’s Library Conference Planner website or D-Lib Magazine.

Common Library Technology Acronyms

These acronyms have been added to the Library Technology Acronyms page.

AACR2 – Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition, a set of cataloging rules succeeded by Resource Description and Access (RDA).

COUNTER – Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources, standards for recording and reporting online usage statistics.

CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, a test that aims to protect web forms from entry by bots.

CSS – Cascading Style Sheets, a language used for describing the presentation of a web document (usually in HTML).

CSV – Comma-Separated Values, data items in table record consisting of one or more fields, separated by commas.

DDA – Demand Driven Acquisition, a system where an e-resource is purchased after a pre-specified number of uses trigger its purchase. Replaces Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA).

DOI – Digital Object Identifier, a persistent interoperable identifier under International Organization for Standardization standard ISO 26324.

DRM – Digital Rights Management, access control technologies used to restrict access to certain rights-holders.

EDI – Electronic Data Interchange.

ERM – Electronic Resource Management, system used to track electronic resources such as databases, ebooks, and e-journals.

FRBR – Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records, model of metadata that includes four levels of representation: work, expression, manifestation, and item.

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language, a markup language for describing web documents.

ISO – International Organization for Standardization, independent developer of voluntary International Standards.

LDAP – Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, a method of user authentication.

LITA – Library and Information Technology Association is a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

LOCKSS – Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe, multiple electronic backup system for preserving library materials.

MOOC – Massive Open Online Course, a web-based course, often with very large enrollments.

OA – Open Access.

OCLC – Online Computer Library Center, Inc., a nonprofit provider of library services for cataloging, discovery, and resource sharing.

PDA – Patron Driven Acquisition, see DDA (Demand-Driven Acquisition).

PURL – Persistent Uniform Resource Locator.

RDA – Resource Description and Access, a unified cataloging standard which is replacing AACR2 and based on FRBR (see above).

RDM – Research Data Management.

RFID – Radio Frequency Identification Technology, the wireless use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data from tags typically affixed to print library materials.

SaaS – Software as a Service.

SAML – Security Assertion Markup Language, XML standard for single sign-on (SSO).

SMS – Short Message Service, for sending text messages on mobile phones.

SSL – Secure Sockets Layer, a security technology for establishing an encrypted connection between a webserver and a browser, succeeded by Transport Layer Security (TLS).

SUSHI – Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative.

TLS – Transport Layer Security, a security technology for establishing an encrypted connection between a webserver and a browser, replacing Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

UX – User eXperience.

WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

XML – eXtensible Markup Language, a language for encoding documents in both a human-readable and machine-readable text format.

XSL – eXtensible Stylesheet Language, a language used to transform and render XML documents.