Title:A Librarianese-English Lexicon

A Librarianese-English Lexicon

SOMETIMES YOU NEED A LEXICON TO UNDERSTAND
THE INFORMATION IN WEB2

The language used in Web2, our online catalog, to tell you the status of the material you want to check out can be hard to understand. So that you can better understand what the computer is telling you, we present you with a lexicon of the computer's special language. Following are the terms the computer uses to indicate an item's "status."

Available. The computer thinks the item is on the shelf. We think the item is on the shelf. If you can't find it, make sure you are looking in the right place. (If the item is located in storage, you won't find it in the library building.) If you are looking in the right place, and can't find it, ask a library staff member for help. If none of us can find it, you can ask us to do a thorough search and let you know if it turns up. Please remember that just because an item is on the shelf does not mean you can check it out. Students cannot check out some of our items (reference books, periodicals, rare books)-but you are welcome to read them in the library

Available/Shelving. The item has been returned, and was checked in within the last 24 hours. If you do not find the item on the shelf, please ask a staff member to find it for you on the "routing shelves."

Charge. The item is checked out to someone. Librarians use the term "charge" for what most people call "check out." Similarly, we use "discharge" for what most people call "check in." We don't do it to confuse you; it's just long-standing terminology. We still want you to use your library card when you come to the library, not a credit card.

If the item is charged (sorry, "checked out"), you can ask us to hold the item for you when it is returned-we will notify you to pick it up in the library. Or, you can ask us to recall the item for you-we will ask the current user to return it immediately and let you know when the item comes back to the library. In some cases, if an item you want is checked out and cannot be recalled, we can obtain a copy through interlibrary loan. Talk to a full-time library staff member about this.

Missing. We have determined that an item we should have is not in the library. Talk to a full-time staff member about obtaining a copy through interlibrary loan.

And how about periodicals for children? We have, among others, these titles: American Girl, Muse, Zillions, and Cricket.

NonCirculating/NonRequest. The item should be available for use in the library only. Reference items are marked with this status. If you can't find the item on the shelf, some other library user may have it, or we may need to look for it. For help with this, look at what we said under "Available."

ReserveRm. A professor has asked us to place the item in our closed reserve section because it is needed for assigned class reading. Please ask at the desk to borrow the item for up to two hours.

ClmRtn. This is an abbreviation for "claims returned." A library user claims that an item was returned, but the computer has no record that we checked it back in and returned it to the shelf. You may find it on the shelf, but probably won't. Look under the status "Missing" to see what your options are.

There are a few other statuses that you might see in Web2, but these are the common ones you will see. If you run across other terms you can't figure out, please do not hesitate to ask about them. We want you to be knowledgeable users who enjoy using the library.

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