In communications and computing, a machine-readable medium is a medium capable of storing data in a format easily readable by a digital computer or a sensor. It contrasts with human-readable medium and data.
A library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations. A catalog for a group of libraries is also called a union catalog. A bibliographic item can be any information entity that is considered library material, or a group of library materials, or linked from the catalog as far as it is relevant to the catalog and to the users (patrons) of the library.
The International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) is a set of rules produced by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to create a bibliographic description in a standard, human-readable form, especially for use in a bibliography or a library catalog. A preliminary consolidated edition of the ISBD was published in 2007 and the consolidated edition was published in 2011, superseding earlier separate ISBDs for monographs, older monographic publications, cartographic materials, serials and other continuing resources, electronic resources, non-book materials, and printed music. In 2022, IFLA published the 2021 update to the 2011 consolidated edition, which includes expanding ISBD to include unpublished resources, integrating stipulations for the application of ISBD to the description of component parts, clarifying cartographic resources stipulations, as well as added examples and updates to the Areas and glossary sections. IFLA's ISBD Review Group is responsible for maintaining the ISBD.
MARC is a standard set of digital formats for the machine-readable description of items catalogued by libraries, such as books, DVDs, and digital resources. Computerized library catalogs and library management software need to structure their catalog records as per an industry-wide standard, which is MARC, so that bibliographic information can be shared freely between computers. The structure of bibliographic records almost universally follows the MARC standard. Other standards work in conjunction with MARC, for example, Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR)/Resource Description and Access (RDA) provide guidelines on formulating bibliographic data into the MARC record structure, while the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) provides guidelines for displaying MARC records in a standard, human-readable form.
ALA-LC is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script.
Sine nomine is a Latin expression, meaning "without a name". It is most commonly used in the contexts of publishing and bibliographical listings such as library catalogs, to signify that the publisher of a listed work is unknown, or not printed or specified on the work. It is to be compared with sine loco (s.l.), "without a place", used where the place of publication of a work is unknown or unspecified. While it may sometimes be used to disclose an unknown authorship, this is more commonly indicated as anon. or similar.
Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records 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 catalogues 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 cataloguing standards such as Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR), Resource Description and Access (RDA) and International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD).
In library and information science, cataloging (US) or cataloguing (UK) is the process of creating metadata representing information resources, such as books, sound recordings, moving images, etc. Cataloging provides information such as author's names, titles, and subject terms that describe resources, typically through the creation of bibliographic records. The records serve as surrogates for the stored information resources. Since the 1970s these metadata are in machine-readable form and are indexed by information retrieval tools, such as bibliographic databases or search engines. While typically the cataloging process results in the production of library catalogs, it also produces other types of discovery tools for documents and collections.
VTLS Inc. was a global company that provided library automation software and services to a diverse customer base of more than 1900 libraries in 44 countries. The for-profit company was founded in 1985 by Dr. Vinod Chachra, who became the President and CEO of the company. VTLS originated as "Virginia Tech Library Systems", an automated circulation and cataloging system created for Virginia Tech’s Newman Library in 1975. In addition to its headquarters in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, VTLS had five international offices in Australia, Brazil, India, Malaysia and Spain. VTLS was one of the few ISO 9001:2008 quality-certified companies within the library industry for many years. The company was acquired by Innovative Interfaces in 2014.
Resource Description and Access (RDA) is a standard for descriptive cataloging initially released in June 2010, providing instructions and guidelines on formulating bibliographic data. Intended for use by libraries and other cultural organizations such as museums and archives, RDA is the successor to Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition (AACR2).
Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) is a standard used for describing materials in archives. First adopted by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) in March 2004, DACS was updated with a Second Edition in 2013. DACS is broken down into a set of rules used in crafting archival descriptions, and guidelines for creating authority records in archives.
General Material Designation (GMD) is a phrase or term interposed in brackets following the title of a catalogue or archive record to denote an item's material type. The usage of GMD in cataloging and classifying records was encouraged by the recording standard Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR2). It has been included in the International Standard Bibliographic Description as part of the ongoing process to standardize international and local cataloging standards.
BIBFRAME 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 Australian National Bibliographic Database (ANBD), formerly part of the Australian Bibliographic Network (ABN) and for some years renamed Kinetica, is a national shared library cataloguing network, hosted by the National Library of Australia. It commenced in 1981 in Australia as the ABN, and after a series of rebrandings and added services, has since 2006 been available through Libraries Australia. In mid-2019, Libraries Australia partnered with Trove, and as of June 2020 is set to be co-branded with Trove.
Online Audiovisual Catalogers, Inc., otherwise known as OLAC, was founded in 1980 as a group of library catalogers involved in the cataloging of audiovisual materials, but now supports the work of catalogers working on all nonprint resources. OLAC provides a way for catalogers to have a method of communication among themselves as well as with the Library of Congress. The first official meeting of the group happened on July 1, 1980, in New York City with Nancy B. Olson chairing the group of catalogers.
The IFLA Library Reference Model is a conceptual entity–relationship model developed by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) that expresses the "logical structure of bibliographic information". It unifies the models of Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD) and Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRSAD). The IFLA LRM is intended to be used as the basis of cataloguing rules and implementing bibliographic information systems. It has Library of Congress subject heading number 2017004509.
The Regeln für die alphabetische Katalogisierung or RAK are a bibliographic cataloging set of rules. The RAK rules appeared for the first time in 1976 and became the dominant set of rules in Germany and Austria in the 1980s.
The Berliner Anweisungen or BA, short for Anweisung für den alphabetischen Katalog der Volksbüchereien were a set of bibliographical cataloging rules for public libraries in Germany.
The (Statement of) International Cataloguing Principles (ICP) define(s) the foundation for the creation of bibliographical cataloging rules for libraries. The ICPs are an initiative of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to modernize and replace the old Paris Principles (PP).
Nancy Grace Butterfield Olson was an American librarian and educator, an expert on cataloging rules for non-print materials, and the founder of the Online Audiovisual Catalogers (OLAC).
