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ODLIS

Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science

by Joan M. Reitz
Now available in print! Order a copy of the hardcover or paperback from Libraries Unlimited.

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I2
See: Internet2.

ibid.
An abbreviation of the Latin ibidem, meaning "in the same place," used with a page number (or numbers) in footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies to indicate a source that has been cited fully in a preceding note or entry.

icon
A small graphic element or symbol displayed on a computer screen that the user can select with a pointing device such as a mouse to summon a menu of options, access a data file, or initiate a process or operation in an application program that uses a graphical user interface, for example, a small image of a trash can or recycle bin to which unwanted documents can be moved for disposal.

Also refers to a picture, image, figure, or representation. In Eastern Orthodox religious imagery, a picture of Jesus, Mary, or an apostle or saint. Click here to see a Byzantine icon of the Crucifixion, carved in ivory in the form of a plaque used as an inset in a treasure binding (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and also this painted example. Also spelled ikon or eikon.

iconic document
A publication or other document in which the content is presented in predominantly graphic or pictorial form. Examples include atlases, children's picture books, exhibition catalogs, visual dictionaries, posters, postcards, etc.

iconography
The art of illustration or representation by means of pictures, figures, or images, developed to a high degree in the artistic tradition of the Eastern Orthodox faith. Also refers to the study of the pictorial representation of objects or people, in portraits, paintings, photographs, sculpture, coins, etc., and to the result of such study, especially when it takes the form of detailed lists of representations.

ideal copy
In analytical bibliography, a detailed description of the most perfect copy of the first impression of an edition, based on close inspection of as many copies as possible, to which all other copies of the same impression, and any subsequent impressions, are compared in determining issue and state (adapted from The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science). In ABC for Book Collectors (Oak Knoll, 1995), John Carter writes that the term applies only to books printed before about 1800 when it was not unusual for corrections to be made in the type while printing was in progress.

identification photograph
A photograph made to document the identity of a specific individual or specimen (person, animal, plant) for legal, government, commercial, or scientific purposes. Most ID photos of people are head shots taken from the front with eyes open (see this example) but profiles may also be taken. ID photos are displayed on passports, driver's licenses, railcards, and employer-issued identification cards. Most industrialized nations, with the exception of the United Kingdom and the United States, issue a single photo ID card as proof of age, identity, and citizenship. Synonymous with mug shot. See also: forensic photograph and wanted poster.

identifier
A keyword or indexable concept assigned to a document to add depth to subject indexing, not listed in the thesaurus of indexing terms because it either represents a proper name (geographic name, personal name, corporate name, test or program, operation or process, piece of legislation, etc.) or a concept not yet approved as an authorized descriptor. Identifiers are usually listed in a separate field of the index entry or bibliographic record, immediately following the descriptors. Major identifiers may be marked with an asterisk or distinguished in some other manner. Form of entry may be subject to authority control. In some indexing systems, identifiers are periodically reviewed for suitability as new descriptors. Not all indexing systems use identifiers. Compare with provisional term.

Also, a string of characters intended to uniquely identify a bibliographic resource. There are many identifier systems in use for different types of library materials, including the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for books, the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for serial titles, the Serial Item and Contribution Identifier (SICI) for serial issues and articles, and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for journal articles and other digital content.

ideogram
A picture or symbol that represents an object or concept without expressing phonetically the sounds of its name, for example, the characters used in Chinese and Japanese writing systems. Also refers to a symbol that represents an idea, for example, the equal sign = or the plus sign +. Click here to see an example. Synonymous with ideograph. Compare with phonogram.

idiom
A well-known expression that has a different meaning than the literal interpretation of its words (example: holy terror). Idioms are sometimes coined from the lexicon of a particular occupation or pastime (example: Monday morning quarterback). Because idioms are specific to a given language, they can be difficult to translate. Dictionaries of idioms are usually shelved in the reference section of a library.

Also refers to a characteristic style, particularly in the arts, or to the language or dialect peculiar to a specific people, geographic region, or social class.

idyl
From the Greek word meaning "little picture"--a short poem describing the simplicity and innocence of rural, pastoral, or domestic life. The origin of this literary form can be traced to Theocritus, who described pastoral life in Sicily for readers in Alexandria during the 3rd century B.C. An eclogue is a type of idyl. Compare with idyll.

idyll
A narrative poem based on a romantic, epic, or tragic theme, for example, Idylls of the King (1859) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, an episodic retelling of the fables of the Holy Grail, Camelot, Round Table, and Morte d'Arthur. Compare with idyl.

i.e.
An abbreviation of the Latin phrase id est, meaning "that is."

IGO
An initialism for international intergovernmental organization. See: international intergovernmental body.

illuminate
To decorate an initial letter or word in a manuscript with designs or tracings in bright colors and gold or silver or to decorate a border or an entire page with initial letters, hand-painted miniatures, and/or colorful designs highlighted in gold or silver, techniques commonly used in medieval manuscripts and incunabula. An artist who decorates books by hand is an illuminator. See also: illuminated and rubric.

illuminated
From the Latin illuminaire, meaning "to give light." A manuscript or incunabulum richly decorated by hand with ornamental polychrome letters, designs, and/or illustrations highlighted in gold or silver. Illumination flourished during the medieval period when books were hand-copied on parchment and vellum, originally by Christian monks who produced books for liturgical and devotional use and for exchange with other monasteries (example: Book of Kells). Illumination was of three main types: small paintings called miniatures (usually illustrative) occupying all or part of a page; decorated initial letters, often containing figures or scenes related or unrelated to the text; and ornamental borders around text and/or images on one or more sides, usually incorporating a variety of motifs.

During the early Middle Ages, illumination was done in monastic scriptoria, where most books were produced, but early in the 12th century independent artists began trading on their skill as illuminators, working mainly for wealthy patrons who filled their private libraries with fine books (example: Les très riches heures du Duc de Berry). The Morgan Library in New York City holds one of the largest collections of illuminated manuscripts in the United States. For online exhibitionions of illuminated manuscripts, see Manuscripts at the Getty Museum, the Morgan Library's CORSAIR collection, and Leaves of Gold. Images of medieval illuminated manuscripts are also provided by the Bodleian Library (University of Oxford). See also Illuminating the Renaissance (Getty Museum) and The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period of Mongol influence on the Islamic world (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Some incunabula and early printed books were also illuminated (see Argonautica printed in 1519 by Josse Bade of Paris, courtesy of Special Collections, Glasgow University Library). Abbreviated illum. See also: chrysography, fraktur, and gilding.

illuminated initial
An initial letter in a medieval illuminated manuscript or early printed book painted in bright colors and embellished in gold or silver. Click here to see a large initial "Q" decorated with gilt interlace in a 12th-century German Gospel book (Getty Museum, MS Ludwig II 3) and here to see a historiated example in a 15th-century Dutch Book of Hours (Bodleian Library, MS Douce d.19). Click here and here and here to see other examples. Compare with rubric. See also: figure initial and foliate initial.

illuminator
An artist who specializes in gilding and painting the illustrations and elaborately decorated borders and initial letters in illuminated manuscripts. During the medieval period, an illuminator was often one of the monks or nuns working in the scriptorium of a monastery or a free-lance artist associated with the book trade. Because illuminators rarely signed their work, most are known by their most notable work, or by the city or town in which they worked, not by name. The most prosperous illuminators maintained ateliers in which several artists worked under the master's guidance, usually in his style, as in this example of a Book of Hours from the workshop of the Boucicaut Master (Getty Museum, MS 22). The Bibliothèque Nationale de France provides the online exhibition Jean Fouquet, Peintre et enlumineur du Xve Siècle. See also Jean Poyer: Artist to the Court of Renaissance France (Morgan Library).

illusionism
A style of late medieval manuscript illumination in which the artist consciously creates the impression of a three-dimensional space on the two-dimensional surface of the page. The 16th-century Master of James IV of Scotland, identified by some as the Flemish painter and illuminator Gerard Horenbout, is considered an adept in the style (see this example of his miniatures, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Other examples of spatial illusionism can be seen by paging through the Spinola Hours (Getty Museum, MS Ludwig IX 18). Click here to learn more about the style, courtesy of the Getty Museum. See also: trompe l'oeil.

illustrated map
A map that includes pictures (drawings, photographs, etc.) of selected features located within the geographic area mapped, usually to aid identification, as distinct from a decorated map on which pictorial embellishment is mainly ornamental or a pictorial map on which small images are used to represent information about geographic features. Click here to see a 19th-century German chart of the southern China coast illustrated with scenes of Macau (Library of Congress) and here to see a map of the Cascade Range in the northwestern United States illustrated with photographs of the major volcanic peaks.

illustration
A picture, plate, diagram, plan, chart, map, design, or other graphic image printed with or inserted in the text of a book or other publication as an embellishment or to complement or elucidate the text. Also refers to the fine art of creating such visual works.

The earliest examples of illustrated texts date from the second millennium B.C. Medieval manuscripts were illustrated with illuminated miniatures. Early printed books were illustrated with woodcuts or wood engravings. In modern books, illustrations are often numbered and listed by number in the front matter. Photographs or plates may be printed on a different grade of paper than the text and added to the sections of a book in one or more groups. Maps, tables, and genealogies are sometimes printed on the endpapers. Magazines, art books, and books for young children are usually heavily illustrated.

The use of illustration in works of general fiction has declined since the early 20th century (see A Petal from the Rose and The Water-Babies, courtesy of the Library of Congress) but continues unabated in children's books (see Picturing Childhood, UCLA Library). The University of Pennsylvania Library provides The Illustrated Book, 1780-1830. An exhibition of Victorian Book Illustration is available from the British Library. The National Museum of American Illustration in Newport, Rhode Island, provides an online gallery of works by American illustrators. Awards are given for children's book illustration (see Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, Caldecott Medal, and Greenaway Medal). Abbreviated ill. or illus. See also: artwork.

illustrator
An artist who creates drawings, paintings, or designs to elucidate or embellish the text of a book or other printed publication. The illustrator of a children's picture book may receive higher honors than the author of the text. In AACR2, when illustration is added to the text of a work, the main entry is made under the heading appropriate to the text, with an added entry for the illustrator if appropriate; however, if the work is the result of a collaboration between author and illustrator, main entry is under the person named first on the chief source of information unless greater prominence is given to the other by typography or some other means. The National Museum of American Illustration in Newport, Rhode Island, provides an online gallery of works by well-known American illustrators, or see the Yahoo! list of master illustrators. See also: Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award; Caldecott Medal; Caldecott, Randolph; Greenaway Medal; and Newbery, John.

ILS
An abbreviation of Integrated Library System. See: library management system (LMS).

image
For many years, librarians have been consciously depicted in the mass media as female in gender, mousy in appearance, dowdy in dress (orthopedic shoes), know-it-all in attitude, overly serious, and strict disciplinarians (see this example from the 1982 film The Music Man). Although this negative stereotype may be in part a manifestation of anti-intellectualism in American society, many professional librarians consider it unfair and would like to see it change. Although the topic is often treated humorously in the library literature (see the chapter on "Image" in Will Manley's The Manley Art of Librarianship, McFarland, 1993), the effect of professional image on recruitment and morale has yet to be measured systematically.

Interestingly, research conducted by Mary Jane Scherdin in 1992 under the aegis of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) reveals that the personality profiles of librarians as a group differ significantly from data on the general population. Using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to measure personal preferences, Scherdin found that librarians scored substantially higher on introversion, intuitiveness, and thinking than the population at large and that individuals with extroverted, sensing, feeling, and perceiving preferences are rare in the library profession. Assuming that 1) introverts are likely to be perceived by extroverts as timid or reserved, 2) those who prefer emotion over reason may find thinkers too serious, and 3) individuals who are flexible and spontaneous tend to regard people who are systematic and well organized as rigid or controlling, Scherdin's findings suggest that the popular stereotype of librarians may have some basis in reality (see "Shattering Our Stereotype: Librarians' New Image" in the July 1995 issue of Library Journal).

Also refers to a visual impression of something real or imagined. See also: picture.

image database
A searchable collection of pictures, photographs, and/or art images in digital format, available for use free-of-charge or upon payment of a fee, usually by licensing agreement. GettyImages is an example of a royalty-free image collection; ARTstor is an example of a subscription database.

Image Permanence Institute (IPI)
Founded in 1985 through the combined efforts of the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology, IPI is a university-based nonprofit laboratory devoted to scientific research in the preservation of visual and other forms of recorded information. IPI studies the effects of light, temperature, humidity, pollutants, and other factors on imaging materials (film, videotape, optical disks, etc.). The Institute developed the Photographic Activity Test (PAT), a worldwide standard (ISO 14523) for archival quality in photographic enclosures. Click here to connect to the IPI homepage.

image searching
In library cataloging, the bibliographic record is designed to indicate whether an item contains illustrations, and if so, the number of plates and whether they are in color, but pictorial content is not described in detail. Some Web search engines, however, include an optional feature that allows the user to retrieve images from Web pages by entering descriptive keywords.

Some image search engines allow the user to specify file type (JPEG, GIF, etc.) and other image characteristics (see Advanced Image Search in Google Images). Most have a default adult content filter that can be turned off by the user. Results usually include a thumbnail of the image, its filename and size, and the URL of the Web page in which it appears. Because most image search engines locate pictorial content by analyzing text adjacent to the image on the same page (including any captions), false drops are common. Like text, online images are usually protected by copyright.

imaging
The visual representation of an object on a computer screen, using any one of a number of computerized techniques, for example, ultrasonography.

imbrication
In the book arts, a decorative pattern designed to give the impression of overlapping scales, tiles, shingles, leaves, etc.

imitation binding
A contemporary binding executed in a style intended to closely resemble that of an earlier period.

imitation leather
A synthetic or partly synthetic binding material manufactured to resemble leather, for example, a fabric base given a textured coating, usually more washable than real leather. Synonymous with artificial leather.

immersion
An intensive educational program, usually lasting several days to a month, in which the participants focus exclusively on the subject at hand, often in surroundings that provide an opportunity for practical experience in the development of specific skills, such as the acquisition of a foreign language. In the library profession, immersion programs are used in continuing education, for example, to teach instruction librarians how to plan and coordinate information literacy programs.

impact factor
In citation analysis, a quantitiative measure of the frequency with which the "average article" published in a given scholarly journal has been cited in a particular year or period, developed by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) for use in Journal Citation Reports, a multidisciplinary tool for ranking, evaluating, and comparing journals within subject categories. The indicator is used by serials librarians in collection management, journal publishers in marketing, information analysts in bibliometric research, and authors to identify journals in which to publish. Caution is advised in using the indicator as a measure a journal's prestige for purposes of academic evaluation for tenure or promotion.

impensis
Latin for "at the expense of," a word appearing in an imprint or colophon at the end of a work printed prior to the end of the 17th century, followed by the name of the person or entity responsible for financing the publication, usually the publisher or a bookseller or patron.

imperfect
Said of a book discovered upon examination to have pages or sections missing, duplicated, or bound out of order or upside-down. The publisher will usually exchange or perfect copies containing binding errors and reimburse the purchaser for shipping costs. Compare with imperfections.

imperfections
Printed sheets rejected in the binding process because they contain defects or errors that require replacement sheets.

Also refers to copies of a book that contain printing or binding defects, for example, the accidental omission or duplication of a signature or insert. The publisher will usually exchange or perfect such copies and reimburse shipping costs when booksellers or retail purchasers return them, but only for defective make-up, not the insertion of errata slips (corrigenda). See also: out.

imperial card photograph
A cabinet card photograph of larger than standard size, measuring 10 x 7 inches when mounted (see this portrait of actress Helena Modjeska). The format was introduced in the late 1800s. Synonymous with imperial cabinet card.

imperial print
A still photograph or motion picture print that is (1) unique, (2) of a significant subject, (3) made from original printing materials, (4) the only print of the image known to exist, (5) made from a negative that no longer exists, and (6) printed about the time the negative was originally made (vintage). Because of their rarity, imperial prints are highly collectible. Click here to see an imperial salted paper print of Cyrus W. Field, who was responsible for the laying of the first trans-Atlantic telegraphic cable (Mathew Brady's National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution).

import
A publication produced and issued in one country and brought into another for sale in the same unaltered form. The name of the importer may be printed on the title page in addition to, or in place of, the original publisher or indicated on a label added to the title page after printing. Compare with co-publishing.

In computing, to read or receive data from a different application or computer system, which may require that it be converted into a compatible format. Popular applications are usually equipped to convert a variety of formats. Compare with export.

imposition
The arrangement of a set of pages of type for printing on a large sheet, so that the pages appear in consecutive order and correct alignment when the sheet is folded to form a signature. The purpose of imposition is to make the most efficient use of paper and to minimize printing time. Click here to learn more about imposition in Wikipedia.

impression
All the copies of a book or other publication printed in the same press run from the same setting of type or plates. An edition may comprise several impressions in which the typesetting remains unchanged. Compare with reprint. See also: issue.

Also refers to the result of the transfer of wet ink under pressure from type or plates to the surface of a sheet or roll of paper, as in printing, engraving, etching, etc.

imprimatur
A Latin phrase meaning "let it be printed." The license for publication granted by an ecclesiastical or secular authority, usually printed on the verso of the title page of a book, indicating the name of the licenser and the date on which it was granted (see this example, courtesy of the Glasgow University Library, Hunterian M.3.1). Found most often in books printed during the 16th and 17th centuries, imprimatur is still used in the doctrinal publications of the Roman Catholic Church to indicate official approval (example: New Catholic Encyclopedia). See also: cum privilegio and nihil obstat.

imprint
The statement in a book that identifies the publisher and/or printer. The publisher's imprint consists of the official name of the publishing company and the date and place of publication. It usually appears at the foot of the title page and more completely on the verso of the title page. The printer's imprint, indicating the name of the printing company and the place of printing, usually appears on the verso of the title page, at the foot of the last page of text, or on the page following the text. By extension, the printed or published item itself, as in "early 19th-century imprint." Synonymous with biblio. See also: colophon, distribution imprint, eponymous imprint, fictitious imprint, joint imprint, and personal imprint.

In binding, the name of the publisher and/or the publisher's device stamped at the base of the spine, or the name of the binder stamped on the inside of the back board of the cover, usually near the bottom.

improvisation
The practice of acting, reciting, singing, playing, composing, or creating a work of art extemporaneously, in response to the immediate environment or the performer's inner feelings.

IMRAD
An acronym for introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. See: AIMRAD.

inactive records
Records no longer required by an agency or individual in the daily conduct of business or affairs, which may be placed in intermediate storage, transferred to archival custody, destroyed, or disposed of in some other way without affecting normal operations. The opposite of active records. Synonymous with nonactive records. See also: intermediate records.

in-camera
In photography and filmmaking, any process or effect achieved inside the camera during shooting, rather than by manipulation at a subsequent stage of production (developing, processing, printing), for example, double or multiple exposure; fast, slow, or reverse motion; dissolves; and certain types of image distortion. In professional filmmaking, many effects once achieved in-camera are now accomplished with greater precision in optical printing.

incidental music
Music written to provide the background to a play, film, television or radio program, or other theatrical form not primarily musical, usually creating atmosphere for the action (example: Felix Mendelssohn's music for the play Midsummer Night's Dream). The category includes overtures, theme songs, underscores, and "stingers" to accompany scene transitions.

incipit
Latin for "here begins." The opening words or phrase of a text, or of one of its divisions, providing a clue to its content. In the absence of a title page, medieval manuscripts and incunabula often began with the word "incipit" written or printed in majuscules and/or in a distinguishing color. The incipit often included the name of the author and the title of the work. The term is also applied to the initial letter (or letters) of a text, often elaborately decorated in medieval manuscripts, as in this example of a magnificent "L" opening the Gospel of Saint Matthew in a 12th-century German manuscript (Getty Museum, MS Ludwig II 3). Click here and here to see examples that use display script. Compare with colophon and explicit. See also: incipit page.

incipit page
The beginning of a major section of text in a medieval manuscript or early printed book, embellished with a particularly large initial letter, often followed by display script in diminuendo to emphasize the importance of the division. In Gospel books, the incipit page sometimes begins with a monogram or initial capital representing the evangelist's name. Click here to page through illuminated incipit pages in a 12th-century German Gospel book (Getty Museum, MS Ludwig II 3). More elaborate examples are found in the Lindisfarne Gospels, an illuminated masterpiece produced in Northumbria at the end of the 7th century, currently in the custody of the British Library.

inclusive dates
The dates of the oldest and most recent items in an archival collection, not necessarily indicative of its chronological or period strength. Synonymous with span dates. Compare with bulk dates.

incomplete
A copy of a finished work with at least one portion missing, for example, a medieval manuscript from which a number of the original leaves have been lost, for example, The Book of Taliesin (National Library of Wales). The term is normally applied to written works that have a portion of the text missing. Compare with unfinished.

In the management of serials, the term is used in the holdings statement of a serial title for which the library owns 50-94 percent of the published run. Compare with complete. See also: completeness.

incunabula
From the Latin word cunae, meaning "cradle." Books, pamphlets, calendars, and indulgences printed from movable type in Europe prior to 1501, during the earliest years (infancy) of printing. The earliest example is the Gutenberg Bible believed to have been printed before 1456 in Mainz, Germany, by Johann Gutenberg, who is credited with the invention of modern printing. For other examples, see the Canon Missae (1458) of Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer (Columbia University Libraries). See also the online exhibition Printing in England from William Caxton to Christopher Barker (Glasgow University Library) and Hypnerotomachia Polyphili by Francisco Colonna printed by Aldus Manutius of Venice in 1499 (Royal Library of Denmark). Like medieval manuscripts, incunabula may contain hand-decorated initial letters and borders (see this copy of the first edition printed in France, courtesy of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France). For more information about incunabula, see The Infancy of Printing (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukie Libraries) and Incunabula: Dawn of Western Printing (National Diet Library, Japan). The Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue developed the British Library is now available as a searchable online database. See also UC Berkeley's Incunabula Database. Singular: incunabulum. Synonymous with cradle books and incunables. See also: xylograph.

indelible ink
Ink which cannot be removed once it has been used in writing, drawing, or printing, or for other purposes, such as preventing election fraud. See also: India ink.

indent
To set back a line of type or column of figures by one or more spaces from a margin to mark or distinguish it from preceding and succeeding lines or columns, as at the beginning of a new paragraph. Indention is used in outlines and classification schedules to indicate logical hierarchy, and in subject thesauri to show semantic relations. It is also used on typed and printed catalog cards to designate specific areas of bibliographic description.

indention
A space between the margin on a page and the beginning of a line of type, as at the beginning of a paragraph of text. The points listed in an outline are usually indented to indicate the logical structure of the content covered. Indention is also used in subject thesauri to indicate semantic relations, in classification schedules to show the logical subordination of classes, and on typed and printed catalog cards to designate areas of bibliographic description. Synonymous with indentation. See also: hanging indention.

independent film (indie)
A motion picture (documentary or fictional) made by a filmmaker with little or no financing from Hollywood or the theatrical film industry, although its release to theaters may be handled by the distribution division of a major film studio (examples: Bowling for Columbine [2002] and Fahrenheit 9/11 [2004] by Michael Moore). Mostly short in length, indies are often off-beat or controversial in subject matter and/or unconventional, even experimental, in technique. Typically produced on a low budget, their release is often limited to venues that attract small specialty audiences likely to publicize the film by word-of-mouth. Academy Awards are given to the best documentary feature and short film of the year. See also the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). The annual Ann Arbor Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival are devoted to showing independent and experimental films.

independent label (indie)
A small record label not affiliated with a major recording company, often specializing in a particular musical genre, with its releases intended for a small but devoted audience (example: Sun Records in the United States and Apple Records in Britain). Indies typically contract out publicity, marketing, and distribution of their products.

independent librarian
A provider of library services who works outside traditional library settings, for example, an information broker who works from a home office. Independent librarians are organized in the Independent Librarian's Exchange (ILEX), a section of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) of the American Library Association (ALA). Also used synonymously with solo librarian.

Recently, the term has been used in reference to Cubans who, in response to Fidel Castro's 1998 announcement that there are no prohibited books in Cuba (only books that no one had the money to buy), began lending banned materials from their homes. The following year, human rights activists in the United States formed the group Friends of Cuban Libraries to oppose the intimidation and arrest of "independent librarians" in Cuba, including confiscation of their book collections, and began lobbying the ALA in support of the position that intellectual freedom was at issue. After hearing arguments on both sides of the controversy at its January 2001 meeting, the International Relations Committee (IRC) of the ALA issued a report recommending that no action be taken, based on information that the Cubans suffering persecution were not librarians but political dissidents supported by anti-Castro groups.

Independent Librarian's Exchange (ILEX)
The section of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) within the American Library Association (ALA) that seeks to expand the definition of librarianship by supporting ALA members who work outside traditional library settings and by providing programs, information exchange, and networking opportunities for them. Click here to connect to the ILEX homepage. See also: solo librarian.

Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP)
Established in 1999 with the assistance of New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), IMAP is a nonprofit service, education, and advocacy organization committed to the preservation of non-commercial electronic media. IMAP provides archivists, artists, conservators, curators, librarians, media makers, producers, distributors, scholars, and other professionals with accessible solutions to facilitate the documentation and preservation of media collections (audio, video, film, etc.). IMAP�s Cataloging Template and online tutorial is a standards-based tool for cataloging media collections, created specifically for individuals without professional training in archival management and information science, but is also useful to archivists and librarians affiliated with institutions. Click here to connect to the IMAP homepage.

independent publisher
A publishing or printing enterprise not owned or controlled by another company, often devoted to niche publishing. In the United States, the term is used synonymously with small press because many indies have annual sales of less than $50 million. Synonymous with indie press and indie publisher.

Independent Publisher (IP)
A trade publication, formerly titled Small Press, that provides articles, announcements of new books, excerpts, and over 100 reviews of small press publications in each bimonthly issue. Independent Publisher is known for reviewing works not reviewed elsewhere. ISSN: 1098-5735. Click here to connect to the Independent Publisher homepage.

Independent Schools Section (ISS)
The section of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) within the American Library Association (ALA) that provides a forum for the discussion of and action on issues concerning librarianship in nonpublic schools of all types. Click here to connect to the ISS homepage.

index
An alphabetically arranged list of headings consisting of the personal names, places, and subjects treated in a written work, with page numbers to refer the reader to the point in the text at which information pertaining to the heading is found. In single-volume works of reference and nonfiction, any indexes appear at the end of the back matter. In a multivolume work, they are found at the end of the last volume. In very large multivolume reference works, the last volume may be devoted entirely to indexes. Works of fiction are rarely indexed. The publisher of a periodical may provide an index to each volume at the end of the last issue of the publication year. For best results, indexing should be done by a professional indexer. Alternate plural: indices. See also: American Society of Indexers.

Also refers to an open-end finding guide to the literature of an academic field or discipline (example: Philosopher's Index), to works of a specific literary form (Biography Index) or published in a specific format (Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature), or to the analyzed contents of a serial publication (New York Times Index). Indexes of this kind are usually issued in monthly or quarterly paperback supplements, cumulated annually. Citations are usually listed by author and subject in separate sections, or in a single alphabetical sequence under a system of authorized headings collectively known as controlled vocabulary, developed over time by the indexing service. Indexing can be either pre-coordinate or post-coordinate. Compare with abstracting service and catalog. See also: author index, classified index, cross-index, geographic index, meta-index, name index, periodical index, subject index, and title index.

indexable matter
The parts of a book or other publication included when the document is analyzed for indexing, not necessarily limited to the text. Notes, appendices, and other complementary or supplementary material may or may not be indexed, depending on its potential usefulness to readers and the policy of the publisher. Bibliographies and glossaries are rarely indexed.

index card
A small card, usually 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 inches in size, used to record information to be arranged systematically (often alphabetically) in a manual card index file (see this example).

indexing
The process of compiling one or more indexes for a single publication, such as a monograph or multivolume reference work, or adding entries for new documents to an open-end index covering a particular publication format (example: newspapers), works of a specific literary form (biography, book reviews, etc.), or the literature of an academic field, discipline, or group of disciplines.

The professionally trained indexer reads or scans the text of each document to determine its content, then selects appropriate headings (names, places, subjects) to facilitate retrieval. Cross-references are made from synonyms, and the entries are arranged in the desired sequence (alphabetical, numerical, classified, etc.). In an open-end index, content descriptors are usually selected from a list of preferred terms (controlled vocabulary), developed over time by the indexing service. Indexing can be pre-coordinate or post-coordinate. See also: assignment indexing, automatic indexing, derivative indexing, indexable matter, machine-aided indexing, and string indexing.

indexing language
An artificial language consisting of subject headings or content descriptors selected to facilitate information retrieval by serving as access points in a catalog or index, including any lead-in vocabulary and rules governing form of entry, syntax, etc. See also: controlled vocabulary.

Index Librorum Prohibitorum
A "list of forbidden books" prepared in 1558 at the request of Pope Paul IV by a special Congregation of the Inquisition. First published in 1559, the "Pauline index" included works that Catholic laypersons were prohibited from owning or reading because ecclesiastical authorities considered them detrimental to faith and morals, usually because they contained teachings condemned as heretical. In 1562, the Council of Trent took up the issue of censorship and appointed a commission to draft a new index. Click here to see the Index auctorum et librorum prohibitorum published by Antonio Blado in 1559 (Cornell University Library) and here to see a copy of the "Tridentine Index" approved by Pope Pius IV, published in Rome in 1564 by Paulus Manutius (Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University). Also known as the Index Expurgatorius, the list was not abolished by the Vatican until 1966. See also: imprimatur and nihil obstat.

index map
An outline map showing the complete extent of the geographic coverage and the numbering system of a set or series of more detailed sheet maps, with or without segmentation. Click here to see an index map of road maps of King County, Washington (King County GIS Center) and here to see an index map of early topographic sheets of the San Juan Islands (Washington State University). Compare with map index. See also: key map.

Index Translationum
A list of all the books translated in the world; an international bibliography of translations. Established in 1932 by the League of Nations, the Index was assigned to UNESCO when the United Nations was established in 1946. UNESCO currently maintains it as a searchable database. The Index also provides statistics on translations, updated regularly. Click here to connect to the Index Translationum.

India ink
A very black indelible ink, made from lampblack (fine soot) plus a binding agent, such as gelatin or shellac. Invented in China, where it was manufactured in the form of ink sticks, India ink was once widely used for writing and printing, but is now used mainly in drawing.

India paper
An exceptionally thin, strong, opaque, uncoated paper made from vegetable fiber, used for printing fine books. Originally manufactured in Asia, India paper has a smooth but not glossy white surface. Click here to see a leaf from a Farsi text copied on India paper (University of Pittsburgh Libraries). Sometimes used synonymously with bible paper, a 19th-century European imitation that became popular for printing bibles.

indicative abstract
An abstract that describes the type and form of a document, indicating its purpose and/or scope and providing a brief description of the treatment, without summarizing the content or evaluating the work. The abstract may also describe essential background material, approach(es) used, and arguments advanced. Indicative abstracts are written for documents that do not present methodology or results (editorials, essays, opinions, etc.) or for lengthy documents, such as books, conference proceedings, directories, handbooks, bibliographies, annual reports, etc. Examples can be seen in the Appendix of the ANSI/NISO Z39.14 Guidelines for Abstracts. Compare with critical abstract and informative abstract.

indicator
One of two single-character positions at the beginning of a field in the MARC record (except fields 001 to 009), which can be used to specify certain conditions for the field. The positions nearly always contain a digit from 0 to 9, although alphabetic characters are permitted. The meaning of the indicators is always field-dependent; for example, in the personal name main entry field (100), the first indicator specifies the type of name, while in the uniform title main entry field (130), the first indicator specifies the number of nonfiling characters to skip in sorting. In some fields, the first or second position is used; in others, both or neither. When one of the positions is not used, the indicator is undefined and the position is left blank. In some fields, the absence of a character in one of the indicator positions has a specific meaning.

inedita
The plural of the Latin word ineditum, meaning "not made known," literary works not published, for example, the personal papers of a writer or well-known person. Works of this kind are usually available in the special collections of the library that purchased them or received them as a gift.

inedited
A work published as submitted by the author, without editorial changes. Such works may include passages objectionable to some readers or contain errors of fact that an editor might have corrected or omitted. Compare with unedited. See also: editing.

Also refers to unpublished works, especially the memoirs or correspondence of a writer who is deceased.

infected
A computer or computer system to which a computer virus capable of damaging programs and/or data has been transmitted, often with malicious intent.

infomediary
A company in the business of managing consumer data for the benefit of customers, while protecting their privacy. An infomediary's revenues are derived from consumers in exchange for agent and filtering services, and from vendors for targeted marketing and market research.

infomercial
An advertisement, usually aimed at television audiences, promoting a product or service informatively, usually in a spontaneous soft-sell style intended to create the impression of objectivity. When infomercials masquerade as television programs, they often include panel discussions, demonstrations, etc., to bolster credibility. Compare with commercial. See also: advertorial.

informatics
The ASIS Thesaurus of Information Science and Librarianship (Information Today, 1998) defines informatics as the area of activity that "represents the conjunction of information science and information technology." It is the formal study of information, including its structure, properties, uses, and functions in society; the people who use it; and in particular the technologies developed to record, organize, store, retrieve, and disseminate it. Some academic institutions offer a separate degree in the subject as one of the tracks in an information studies program or school (see the iSchool at the University of Washington). For a discussion of the history and current state of informatics, see the entry by Michael P. Fourman in the International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science (Routledge, 2003).

information
Data presented in readily comprehensible form to which meaning has been attributed within the context of its use. In a more dynamic sense, the message conveyed by the use of a medium of communication or expression. Whether a specific message is informative or not depends in part on the subjective perception of the person receiving it.

More concretely, all the facts, conclusions, ideas, and creative works of the human intellect and imagination that have been communicated, formally or informally, in any form. In his inaugural address of 1801, Thomas Jefferson listed the "diffusion of information" as one of the fundamental principles of the republican form of government established under the Constitution of the United States. Compare with knowledge. See also: disinformation and misinformation.

Information Access Alliance (IAA)
A coalition formed in the spring of 2002 by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), American Library Association (ALA), Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), Medical Library Association (MLA), Special Libraries Association (SLA), and Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) to develop a unified strategy for dealing with the impact of anticompetitive behavior by scientific, technical, and medical (STM) journal and legal serial publishers on the ability of libraries to provide students, faculty, researchers, health care workers, policymakers, and the public with information essential to research and teaching.

IAA's first step was to commission the legal firm Ropes and Gray to draft a white paper to provide the Department of Justice and members of Congress with background on the effects of mergers and concentration in the publishing industry on scholarly communication. An international symposium on antitrust issues in academic publishing was co-sponsored with the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) at the Georgetown University Law School on February 11, 2005 (see Lee Van Orsdel's report in the May 2005 issue of C&RL News). IAA is also building a network of key spokespersons who recognize the essential role of access to information in maintaining the health and welfare of society. IAA members are devoted to finding alternative models of scholarly communication and are promoting efforts to move toward an open access environment. Click here to connect to the IAA homepage.

Information Age
The period since the advent of the personal computer and the Internet in the 1970s, characterized by widespread electronic access to information and the ability to transmit data rapidly using digital technology. Synonymous with Computer Age and Digital Age.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy Assessment
A scenario-based test under development by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to measure a student's cognitive and technical ability to find and evaluate information on the Internet. Because computer skills are a fundamental predictor of how well a student is prepared to handle college-level studies, one of the primary goals of the ICT test is to identify at-risk students before they enter college. Institutions of higher education may also use the test to improve retention by weeding out applicants who are unprepared. Click here to learn more from ETS.

information and referral (I&R)
A service available at no charge, usually from a public library or other public service agency, providing contact information about other organizations, agencies, and individuals qualified to offer specific information and services, both free and fee-based, usually within the local community. For an online I&R service, see 2-1-1.

information audit (IA)
A systematic examination of information use, resources, and flows, to assess the extent of their contribution to an organization's objectives, identify information needs, and, in some cases, facilitate development of an integrated information strategy or policy. In business, an information audit generally involves cost-benefit analysis and may include identification of opportunities to use information resources for strategic competitive advantage.

information broker
A self-employed professional, skilled in information retrieval and delivery who markets his or her research services commercially, usually on a freelance basis. Information brokers are organized in the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) and Independent Librarian's Exchange (ILEX).

information commons (IC)
A new type of technology-enhanced collaborative facility on college and university campuses that integrates library and computer application services (information, technology, and learning) in a single floor plan, often equipped with a wireless network and, in some cases, equipment for multimedia production (see these examples). Most ICs are designed to support librarians assisting individual students and teaching research skills to groups; tutors and teaching assistants helping individuals and groups of students with class assignments; and individual students and groups independently accessing information in print and online. An IC may also include staff and resources for faculty development, a writing center, adaptive services, cafe service, gallery space, and a copy center. Some ICs are open 24/7. Synonymous with integrated learning center.

In a broader sense, the free flow of information and ideas as a public good, as distinct from the for-profit marketing of information as a commodity by the corporate mass media, the publishing industry, and other market-driven enterprises. The advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web has created new opportunities for information exchange in the public interest, but has also posed new problems, for example, equity of access.

information desk
A desk in a large public or academic library, usually located near the main entrance, staffed by a nonprofessional trained to screen questions, provide basic information about library services and collections, and direct users to the reference desk or some other public service point, when further assistance is needed. The presence of an information desk reduces the number of directional questions received by reference librarians, freeing them to focus on the needs of patrons who require professional services. Units within a library may also have an information desk (see this example at the Kent State University).

information ethics
The branch of ethics that focuses on the relationship between the creation, organization, dissemination, and use of information, and the ethical standards and moral codes governing human conduct in society. In the United States, the ALA Code of Ethics is the leading statement of ethical standards for the library profession. See also: censorship, information law, intellectual freedom, intellectual property, plagiarism, and privacy.

information explosion
The rapid increase in the amount of published information, beginning in the last decades of the 20th century as a result of the rise of digital information technology. Problems of managing increasing amounts of information may lead to information overload.

information industry
A broad term covering all the companies and individuals in the business of providing information and access to information for a profit, including the mass media, commercial publishers, software and database producers and vendors, indexing and abstracting services, and freelance information brokers. Public libraries, academic libraries, and many types of special libraries function outside the information industry because they operate on a nonprofit basis. Because the industry encompasses such a wide range of commercial enterprises, it has no single trade journal.

information law
The regulation and control of information by the state, including laws governing censorship, copyright and intellectual property, forgery, freedom of information, intellectual freedom, privacy, computer crime, and public funding of information providers, such as libraries and museums. Also refers to the specialized branch of legal studies dealing with the regulation of information. See also: information ethics and Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act.

information literacy (IL)
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. Click here to connect to the Web site on information literacy maintained by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Synonymous with information skills. Compare with computer literacy and media literacy. See also: bibliographic instruction and Institute for Information Literacy.

information management
The skillful exercise of control over the acquisition, organization, storage, security, retrieval, and dissemination of the information resources essential to the successful operation of a business, agency, organization, or institution, including documentation, records management, and technical infrastructure. For a detailed discussion of information management as a field, see the entry by T.D. Wilson in the International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science (Routledge, 2003). See also: Association for Information Management.

information need
A gap in a person's knowledge that, when experienced at the conscious level as a question, gives rise to a search for an answer. If the need is urgent, the search may be pursued with diligence until the desire is fulfilled. Persons with information needs often end up at the reference desk of a library where it is the responsibility of the reference librarian to determine the precise nature of the need, usually by conducting an informal reference interview, as a basis for recommending relevant sources. To to search the online catalog or bibliographic databases, the need must be expressed in the form of a query.

It is the job of collection development librarians to anticipate the information needs of a library's clientele, sometimes with the aid of survey research, in order to select materials to meet those needs. Patrons with questions that cannot be answered using the resources of the library may be referred to other information providers in the local community or elsewhere.

information overload
A condition in which too much information is available on a topic, a common occurrence in online searching, particularly when the query is expressed in terms that are too general. Systems that facilitate the retrieval of relevant resources, sifting out the chaff, are badly needed. In the meantime, consumers of information must develop their own analytical and critical skills.

information policy
A governing principle, plan, or course of action concerning information resources and technology adopted by a company, organization, institution, or government, for example, the political decision to use public funds to subsidize Internet access for schools and public libraries. In the United States, Congress and the president are advised by the National Commission on Library and Information Science (NCLIS) on decisions concerning national library and information policy. For a detailed discussion of information policy, see the entry by Ian Rowlands in the International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science (Routledge, 2003).

information retrieval (IR)
The process, methods, and procedures used to selectively recall recorded information from a file of data. In libraries and archives, searches are typically for a known item or for information on a specific subject, and the file is usually a human-readable catalog or index, or a computer-based information storage and retrieval system, such as an online catalog or bibliographic database. In designing such systems, balance must be attained between speed, accuracy, cost, convenience, and effectiveness.

information science
The systematic study and analysis of the sources, development, collection, organization, dissemination, evaluation, use, and management of information in all its forms, including the channels (formal and informal) and technology used in its communication. Compare with informatics and library science. See also: information theory.

Information Science & Technology Abstracts (ISTA)
An abstracting and indexing service established in 1966 that provides abstracts of books, conference proceedings, and articles from over 450 journals and trade publications in information science, including the subjects of abstracting and indexing, bibliometrics, cataloging, classification, electronic publishing, information management, the information industry, Internet search engines, and online information retrieval. Published nine times per year in print by Information Today, Inc., ISTA provides author and subject indexes in the last issue of each annual volume. The service is also available online from DIALOG. Formerly Information Science Abstracts (ISA).

information storage and retrieval (ISAR)
Operations performed by the hardware and software used in indexing and storing a file of machine-readable records whenever a user queries the system for information relevant to a specific topic. For records to be retrieved, the search statement must be expressed in syntax executable by the computer.

information studies
An umbrella term used at some universities for a curricular division that includes library and information science (LIS) and allied fields (informatics, information management, etc.), for example, the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and the iSchool, a new incarnation of the former Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Washington. Accredited library and information studies programs in the United States and Canada are listed in American Library Directory and Library and Book Trade Almanac. Click here to connect to T.D. Wilson's online World List of Departments and Schools of Information Studies, Information Management, Information Systems, etc.

information system (IS)
A computer hardware and software system designed to accept, store, manipulate, and analyze data and to report results, usually on a regular, ongoing basis. An IS usually consists of a data input subsystem, a data storage and retrieval subsystem, a data analysis and manipulation subsystem, and a reporting subsystem. Widely used in scientific research, business management, medicine and health, resource management, and other fields that require statistical reporting, information systems can be broadly classified as spatial or nonspatial, depending on whether the data refers to a system of spatial coordinates. See also: geographic information system, management information system, and spatial information system.

information technology (IT)
A very broad term encompassing all aspects of the management and processing of information by computer, including the hardware and software required to access it. The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) publishes the quarterly journal Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL). See also Current Cites, an annotated bibliography of selected articles, books, and digital documents on information technology, edited by Roy Tennant of the California Digital Library.

information theory
The systematic statement of principles concerning the phenomenon of information and its transmission, based on the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data as a means of testing hypotheses about its nature and properties. Compare with informatics.

informative abstract
An abstract that summarizes as much of the essential content of a document as possible, usually within the limitations of a single paragraph, reflecting its tone and mode of presentation. Generally written for documents that report the results of experimental research, inquiries, or surveys, informative abstracts state the purpose, methodology, results, and conclusions of the study. Examples can be seen in the Appendix of the ANSI/NISO Z39.14 Guidelines for Abstracts. Compare with critical abstract and indicative abstract. See also: structured abstract.

informetrics
The use of mathematical and statistical methods in research related to libraries, documentation, and information. Synonymous with infometrics. See also: bibliometrics.

infrared image
In geography, cartography, and astronomy, a remote sensing image of the earth or another celestial body (or phenomenon) made by equipment capable of detecting radiation just beyond the red end of the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Invisible to the human eye, infrared radiation (heat) has a wavelength greater than that of red light (.7-.8 microns) and less than the shortest microwaves (1000 microns or 1 millimeter). Click here to learn more about infrared radiation, courtesy of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Click here to see an infrared image of the Morenci Open Pit Copper Mine in Arizona and here to see infrared images of Mars, courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Also spelled infra-red.

infrastructure
A collective term borrowed from military parlance, encompassing all the components that support a particular activity, especially the permanent systems and structures that constitute its foundation. In modern information technology, all the hardware and software developed and maintained to keep a communication system (large or small) operating smoothly. The state of a society's infrastructure represents its commitment to investment in the future.

infringement
The use without permission of material protected by copyright or patent in a manner reserved under law to the holder of rights in the work. Such use may be subject to legal action at the discretion of the copyright owner. See also: all rights reserved, fair use, innocent infringement, and substantial similarity.

Ingram
A wholesaler of trade books, audiobooks, and periodicals to libraries, booksellers, and specialty retailers, Ingram passes on economies of scale to its customers in the form of a substantial discount off the list price of items in its inventories. Click here to connect to the Ingram homepage.

inhabited initial
An initial letter in an illuminated manuscript or early printed book containing within its contours one or more decorative animal, human, or imaginary figures, not necessarily related to the text, often depicted fancifully (see this griffin inhabiting the letter "U" in a 13th-century English bible, courtesy of the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford). Click here to see anthropomorphic and zoomorphic forms inhabiting the letter "H" in a bible cutting (Leaves of Gold) and here to see zoo-anthropomorphic inhabitants in a late 15th-century Italian manuscript (British Library, King's 24). Ornamental borders can also be inhabited, as in these pages from the 15th-century Collins Hours (Leaves of Gold). Compare with figure initial and historiated initial.

inherent vice
A weakness in the chemical or physical composition of a document or other item that causes it to deteriorate from within over time, for example, the chemical instability of the cellulose nitrate film base used in early cinematography. Impurities introduced in book manufacture include acid in papers made from untreated wood pulp, alum rosin size, acid adhesives, chemicals used in tanning, etc. Incorporation of damaging elements reached a peak from about 1850 to 1900 and again during World War II. When conservation measures fail, reformatting may be required to preserve a deteriorating item.

in-house
Refers to something accomplished on the premises, usually by library staff, rather than outside the library by an independent contractor, for example, binding done in the library, rather than sent offsite to a commercial bindery. See also: in-house use.

in-house archives
The unit within a company, agency, or institution responsible for retaining the noncurrent records of the parent organization and sometimes those of other corporate bodies and individuals with which it is closely associated, as opposed to an outside repository.

in-house training
Instruction conveniently given to library staff at their place of employment, for example, in a webcast, as opposed to training given at a remote location.

in-house use
The number of times an item is used within the walls of a library during a given period of time (usually a month or year), as opposed to the number of times it is checked out. In-house use is tracked by counting the number of times an item is left lying on a table, carrel, or reshelving cart in a public area of the library, before it is reshelved by a member of the library staff. Although this method is never completely accurate (some patrons return materials to the shelf after using them), statistics on in-house use can be helpful in developing periodical and reference collections. Compare with circulation statistics. See also: usage.

initial article
An article appearing in first-word position in a title or corporate name, usually a, an, or the (or the equivalent in another language), ignored in indexing and filing under most filing rules. See also: nonfiling character.

initialism
A shortened form of a phrase or compound term composed of the initial letters of its words or parts spoken letter-by-letter, rather than pronounced as a word (example: IPO for initial public offering or ADA for Americans with Disabilities Act). Compare with abbreviation and acronym.

initialize
To start a computer system, program, or disk anew, an operation that usually requires erasing all or part of the data stored in memory. In Apple Macintosh computers, initializing a disk formats it. In computer programming, a variable is initialized when it is given its first value.

initial letter
A large capital letter at the beginning of the first word of a paragraph, chapter, or other division of a text. In medieval manuscripts and early printed books, initial letters were often decorated or illuminated, for example, the "B" at the beginning of the text of a psalter (the first letter of Beatus, the first word of the first Psalm). Click here to see a large historiated example in a 13th-century Gallican psalter (Leaves of Gold) and here to see a delicately gilded 14th-century example (Koninklijke Bibliotheek). Size of letter and amount of decoration indicate the relative significance of the division within the text, with gradations measured in number of lines (height). Initials of varying size can be seen in the Murthly Hours (National Library of Scotland). In manuscripts and incunabula, large initial letters were inserted by a rubricator or illuminator in spaces left blank when the sheets were hand-copied or printed. Other examples can be seen by paging through the Burnet Psalter (University of Aberdeen).

See also: anthropomorphic initial, arabesque initial, architectural initial, armorial initial, beatus initial, champie initial, drop initial, faceted initial, figure initial, foliate initial, gymnastic initial, inhabited initial, pen-flourished initial, penwork initial, puzzle initial, raised capital, vine-leaf initial, white-vine initial, zoo-anthropomorphic initial, and zoomorphic initial.

initial title element
The word or words selected by the cataloger from the title of a musical work to be placed first in the uniform title for the work, for example, the word Nocturne from the title Troisième nocturne. If no additions are required by the rules, the element becomes the uniform title for the work (AACR2).

initiating editor
An editor employed by a magazine or book publishing company, who is responsible for initiating new projects, subsequently transferred to in-house copy editors for completion.

ink
From the Latin encaustum, meaning "burnt in." A colored liquid used for writing and drawing and in printing to create an impression on a flat surface (usually a sheet or roll of paper). The ink used in medieval manuscripts was made by mixing tannic acids from pulverized oak gall with iron sulfate or copperas (ferrous sulfate) and gum arabic (dried sap of the acacia tree). Iron gall ink darkens and bonds with the writing surface when exposed to air, but because ferrous ink has a tendency to fade to brown over time, some pure carbon in the form of lampblack was often added. Click here to learn more about ink in medieval manuscript production (Medieval Manuscript Manual) and here to see an old English recipe for ink (The National Archives, UK).

Prior to the late 19th century, printing ink (called carbon ink) was traditionally made from lampblack mixed with a linseed oil base. To create colors, lampblack was replaced with other substances, such as vermilion (mercuric sulfide) to produce red. The quality of printing ink depended on the quality of the oil base, which varied because most printers made their own ink according to recipes handed down from master to apprentice. Although lampblack remains the basic ingredient of black printing ink, the complex formulas used today are the product of chemical technology. The typographer must carefully match choice of ink to grade of paper in planning a print job. See also: indelible ink, inkhorn, permanent ink, and show-through.

ink ball
A large, round pad made of buckskin or sheepskin firmly stuffed with a wad of cotton or wool and fastened to a short wooden handle, used by the pressman in hand printing to apply ink to type set in wooden formes. Most pressmen worked two-handed with an ink ball in each hand. Click here to see the technique illustrated in a 16th-century engraving (Cary Collection, Rochester Institute).

ink corrosion
The tendency of certain inks, especially iron gall inks used extensively in manuscripts from the late middle ages to the 19th century, to gradually "eat" their way through parchment and paper, causing small holes to appear where the ink was applied (see these examples in the Codex Sinaiticus). Although the chemical processes involved in this type of corrosion are not fully understood, it is believed to be the result of chemical deterioration of the ink in contact with the writing surface. More information can be found at The Iron Gall Ink Website.

inkhorn
A small receptacle made from the inverted horn of an animal, used to hold ink in the medieval scriptorium. Because manuscripts were written in both black and red ink, and sometimes in other colors, a scribe needed more than one ink pot. Inkhorns were usually inserted into metal hoops attached to the edge of a writing desk, into holes cut through its surface, or into free-standing holders to prevent them from overturning. Click here to see Saint Mathew holding an inkhorn in a miniature from the 9th-century Gospel of Ebbo of Rheims (University of Alabama at Birmingham).

ink set-off
A printing defect in which wet ink from a freshly printed sheet is unintentionally transferred to a second sheet when pressed without friction. Set-off is reduced by using fast-drying ink and porous paper, which absorbs ink rapidly. Also spelled ink setoff.

inkstand
A free-standing container or tray designed to hold ink for writing purposes, prior to the invention of the fountain pen. Ink trays normally included an inkwell (see this example), a shaker containing fine sand to speed drying, a penwiper, and a holder for quills or metal pen nibs. Inkstands can be plain (example) or ornate (example). Also spelled ink stand. See also: inkhorn.

ink stick
Ink in solid form, made from lampblack (fine soot) and animal glue, for use in calligraphy and brush painting, primarily in Asian cultures (see this Chinese example). To make liquid ink, the stick is ground against an inkstone with a small amount of water (example). Also spelled inkstick. Synonymous with ink block.

inlay
A picture or decorative element of contrasting color set into the cover of a book, usually in leather with or without tooling. Click here to see an 19th-century example (British Library) and here to see a modern example in Art Nouveau style (Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg). Synonymous in this sense with mosaic binding. To see examples of the technique, try a search on the keyword "inlaid" in the British Library's Database of Bookbindings. Also refers to an illustration set into a border or frame of paper, the overlapping edges shaved thin to make the resulting sheet uniform in thickness. Compare with onlay.

In case binding, the strip of heavy paper or card added as a lining between the inner edges of the boards to stiffen the spine when the case is covered in cloth, paper, or some other protective material. See also: backstrip.

inline
An elegant display typeface in which each broad stroke has a white line down its center. Compare with outline letter.

in loco parentis
Latin for "in place of a parent," usually a person who temporarily assumes parental authority. See: parental mediation.

innocent infringement
The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 includes a provision allowing the court to reduce damages below the statutory minimum in a finding of copyright infringement, if the defendant can establish that the infringement was unintentional. Burden of proof is on the defendant.

in press
A book or other publication in the process of being printed, usually listed in Forthcoming Books, published by Bowker.

in print
A book currently available from the publisher, either as a frontlist or backlist title, as opposed to a title no longer available. Books currently in print in the United States are listed annually in Books in Print, Children's Books in Print, and El-Hi Textbooks & Serials in Print. The opposite of out of print.

Also refers to information appearing in printed form, i.e., in a journal or book, as opposed to information transmitted orally or electronically.

in process
Newly ordered library materials shipped by the vendor and received by the library but not yet ready for circulation because technical processing has not been completed. In some online catalogs, the phrase "in process" is added in the temporary catalog record to indicate the circulation status of a new item that has arrived but is not ready to be checked out. Most libraries will expedite processing at the request of a registered borrower. See also: arrears.

in progress
A term used by library catalogers to indicate that a serial publication or set is as yet incomplete, usually because parts or volumes remain to be issued by the publisher. Compare with work in progress. See also: checklist.

input
Data transferred to or entered into a computer system for processing, as opposed to the results of processing, known as output. The most commonly used input devices in personal computing are the keyboard and mouse. Scanners are also becoming more widespread, and significant advances are being made in voice recognition technology.

input measure
A quantitative standard for determining the extent of resources provided in support of a library or library program, including staff, collections, equipment, facilities (space), and funds, used in the comparison and evaluation of performance. For example, one of the input measures recommended by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in its Standards for Libraries in Higher Education (2004) is "ratio of FTE library staff to combined student and faculty FTE." Compare with output measure.

input standards
OCLC has established the following set of standards for entering bibliographic data into its online union catalog:

SS - System-supplied - data generated by the cataloging system that cannot be altered by the cataloger
M - Mandatory - data the cataloger must enter to meet the designated standard for a specific encoding level
R - Required if applicable or readily available - must be entered if appropriate under AACR2 and available on the item or from other records
O - Optional - cataloger may decide whether to enter
C - From copy only - data entered from cataloging copy, usually provided by the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, etc.
X - Obsolete - not used (older records may contain data elements no longer used)

in quaternis
A Latin phrase used in catalogs compiled in medieval monastic libraries to refer to unbound books that may have been stitched into some kind of flexible wrappers made of parchment or vellum, rather than left loose in quires (Christopher de Hamel, Scribes and Illuminators, University of Toronto Press, 1992).

inscribed copy
A copy of a book that bears, as a presentation inscription, the name of the recipient and sometimes an appropriate comment or remark, followed by the signature of the donor, who may or may not be the author. The inscription is usually written on the flyleaf or title page, as in these examples. Abbreviated insc. Compare with presentation copy.

inscription
A brief, informal dedication written inside a book, usually on the flyleaf (see this example of a mid-9th-century presentation inscription written on the incipit page of the Canterbury Codex Aureus). Also, words engraved in stone or on some other hard surface, usually as a greeting or to commemorate an important event or person (example: the Rosetta Stone). Click here to view an inscribed ribbon ornament on the front cover of an 18th-century English leather binding (Special Collections, Glasgow University Library, Bl9-g.13). See also: inscribed copy.

insert
Any printed material, such as map, illustration, subscription blank, advertising supplement, etc., slipped loose (unbound) into a book or periodical, which is not an integral part of the publication. Synonymous with loose insert and throw-in. Compare with enclosure.

Also refers to a phrase, sentence, or paragraph added to the text of a publisher's proof and included in the revised or final proof before the work goes to press.

in-service training
Formal instruction provided by a company, agency, organization, or institution at its own expense to enable its employees to become more proficient or qualified, especially in a new skill or set of skills. The sessions may be designed in-house and conducted on the premises by employees with the necessary expertise, presented by a vendor's traveling representative, or conducted by an outside training firm hired specifically for the purpose. See also: professional development.

inset
In bookbinding, a section of two or more leaves placed within another section in such a way that the back folds of both are sewn in the same pass of the thread. The inset section can wrap around the outside of the main section ("outsert") or be placed in its center or at some intermediate location within it. Insetting is used to include plates without having to go through the time-consuming process of tipping them in.

Also refers to a small diagram, map, or illustration printed within the area of a larger illustration, usually enclosed in a border of ruled lines. See also: inset map.

inset map
A small map drawn or printed inside the neat line of a larger map, usually showing at smaller scale the vicinity of the area covered by the larger map or (more often) a specific detail or feature of the main map at larger scale, for example, a major metropolitan area within the borders of a state or provincial road map. Click here to see an inset map of Antarctica (USGS) and here to see insets on a map of Acadia National Park in Maine (Library of Congress). Click here to see inset maps on an 18th-century map of South America, courtesy of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England. The same purpose may be served by an ancillary map printed outside the neat line of the main map on the same sheet or page. See also: location map.

in sheets
A book in flat or folded unbound sheets, before the sections have been gathered. Synonymous with in quires.

insignia
A distinctive device, emblem, or mark designed to indicate authority, rank, office, or honor associated with an organization, especially an official government body, such as a military corps. Examples include crowns, flags, coats of arms, seals, badges, cockades, and shoulder patches (see these examples).

inspection
An on-site audit by a professional librarian employed by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) to determine if a depository library is complying with the regulations of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Prior to 1996, all depository libraries were inspected on a regular basis (once every 6-7 years), but beginning in 1996, the GPO based the decision to inspect on evaluation of a self-study in which the library responds to a uniform set of questions. After examining the library's federal document collections and services, and talking with library staff members, the inspector rates the depository library in seven categories. ADA compliance is included in the evaluation. At the end of the all-day visit, the inspector meets privately with the library director in an exit interview to provide an oral summary of the findings.

Within 6-8 weeks of the compliance review, a copy of the Inspection Report and recommendations is forwarded to the library director, the documents librarian, and the librarian in charge of the regional depository library, identifying any steps that must be taken to comply with minimum standards set forth in Instructions to Depository Libraries. A library that earns noncompliance ratings in three or more categories is placed on probation for the legally mandated probationary period of six months, and a re-inspection is scheduled at a later date. Click here to learn more about the inspection process. See also: Biennial Survey.

installment
One portion of a literary work divided into parts for publication in consecutive issues of a periodical or one part or fascicle of such a work published separately, usually at regular intervals. During the 19th century, novels were often published in this fashion. Click here to see installments of Postumous Papers of the Pickwick Club by Charles Dickens, issued in shilling numbers by Chapman and Hall from April 1836 to November 1937 (British Library). Also spelled instalment. See also: original parts.

Also, a smaller amount paid at regular intervals, instead of a lump sum payment of the total amount owed.

installment sale
A sale in which the purchaser pays for an item in two or more payments, usually at regular intervals of a month or more. Under this arrangement, the item is shipped when the order is received, without waiting for final payment. In the book trade, this practice is usually limited to very expensive multivolume reference works.

instant book
A book written, produced, and marketed within weeks of an important event to capitalize on current interest in the subject. Because careful research requires an investment of time and effort, works prepared in haste may contain errors of fact or lack depth of treatment. A perceptive reviewer will note such deficiencies.

instant messaging (IM)
A real time computer conferencing system that enables two or more persons to "chat" online via the Internet, IM allows the user to add the name of another person to a messaging list and be instantly notified whenever the person logs on. A chat session is initiated by typing a message in a designated window or "chat room" generated by the IM software. The message is displayed almost instantaneously on the screen of each person on the list, and the recipient(s) may respond quickly by typing a message. Most IM systems are designed to emit an auditory signal whenever a message is transmitted or received. Some systems allow the user to exchange data files, synchronize Web browsing, send images and video, and play computer games. Instant messaging is used in libraries to deliver digital reference services to remote users and to persons who prefer to communicate online. Click here to learn more about instant messaging, courtesy of HowStuffWorks.

instant photograph
A photograph made from a self-developing film packet containing its own developing chemicals, by a process introduced by Edwin Land's Polaroid Corporation in 1947 (this example). The company abandoned instant photography in 2008 to focus on digital cameras and printing. Click here to learn more about instant photography, courtesy of Wikipedia. Used synonymously with Polaroid.

instant replay
A feature of video recording systems that allows the viewer to see again the action just recorded, often used in live television broadcasts of sporting events.

Institute for Information Literacy (IIL)
The arm of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) devoted to preparing librarians to be effective teachers in information literacy programs, encouraging librarians to take a leadership role in developing and implementing information literacy programs, and facilitating curriculum development in information literacy by forging new relationships throughout the educational community. Click here to connect to the IIL homepage.

Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM)
An independent nonprofit organization established in 1975 to meet the need for standards by which the experience and capabilities of persons involved in records and information management can be measured, accredited, and recognized according to criteria recognized by their peers. ICRM develops and administers a program of professional certification of records managers that includes examinations and a certification maintenance program. Click here to connect to the ICRM homepage.

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
An independent federal grant-making agency created under the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996 to foster leadership, innovation, and lifelong learning by supporting museums, archives, and libraries of all types and by encouraging partnerships among them. IMLS administers four grant-in-aid programs for libraries, including LSTA grants to state library agencies. IMLS publishes the monthly e-mail newsletter Primary Source. A report on the library programs of the IMLS is published in Library and Book Trade Almanac. Click here to connect to the IMLS homepage. See also: National Awards for Museum and Library Service.

institutional memory
A collection of official materials assembled to document the current and historical activities and intellectual production of an organization, including legal and policy documents, reports, proceedings, books, periodicals, articles, nonprint media, technical documents, membership and employment records, etc., usually organized to facilitate access and sometimes available in digital form (example: the Institutional Memory Database of the Pan American Health Organization). E-mail communication and electronic recordkeeping pose challenges to traditional paper-based methods of preserving institutional memory. See also: archives.

institutional repository (IR)
A set of services offered by a university or group of universities to members of its community for the management and dissemination of scholarly materials in digital format created by the institution and its community members, such as e-prints, technical reports, theses and dissertations, data sets, and teaching materials. Stewardship of such materials entails their organization in a cumulative, openly accessible database and a commitment to long-term preservation when appropriate. Some IRs are also used as electronic presses to publish e-journals and e-books. An institutional repository is distinguished from a subject-based repository by its institutionally defined scope. IRs are part of a growing effort to reform scholarly communication and break the monopoly of journal publishers by reasserting institutional control over the results of scholarship. An IR may also serve as an indicator of the scope and extent of the university's research activities. For an example, see the Caltech Collection of Open Digital Archives (CODA).

in stock
An item for which the publisher or a dealer, jobber, distributor, or bookseller has a sufficient number of copies in inventory to fill an order at the time it is placed. Compare with out of stock and temporarily out of stock.

instructional film
A nonfiction motion picture or television program created for the purpose of imparting, to a general audience, skills or techniques related to a specific task or subject, typically in a step-by-step "how-to" manner (example: The French Chef television series with Julia Child, which premiered in 1963). Compare with educational film and training film.

instruction lab
A library instruction classroom equipped with computer workstations (PCs or laptops) for the hands-on use of students, usually with an instructor station connected to an LCD projector for the demonstration of online search techniques. Wireless technology is used in newer labs. In public libraries, this type of facility is often called a computer training room.

instruction librarian
A librarian responsible for teaching research and information literacy skills to library users. In academic libraries, instruction is usually scheduled at the request of the course instructor and delivered in a classroom setting. In academic librarianship, instruction librarians are organized in the Instruction Section (IS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Synonymous with teaching librarian.

instructions
Brief notes made in a medieval manuscript by a stationer, scribe, or illuminator to indicate the form, content, or color of what was to be copied or painted, or giving details of binding and assembly, usually rendered unobtrusively in hard point, metal point, or plummet. See this example, courtesy of the British Library (Royal 1 B XI).

Instruction Section (IS)
The section of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) within the American Library Association (ALA) devoted to enhancing the ability of academic and research librarians to advance learning, teaching, and research with respect to information literacy in higher education. IS publishes Guidelines for Instruction Programs in Academic Libraries (2003). Click here to connect to the IS homepage.

Insular
Manuscripts produced in the British Isles from about 550-900 A.D., mostly Gospel books and bibles used in liturgical services and for study. The Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels are prime examples. The term is also used for the distinctive scripts employed in copying the texts. In Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts (Getty Museum/British Library, 1994), Michelle P. Brown notes that Insular style was a unique fusion of Celtic, Germanic, antique, early Christian, and Mediterranean cultural elements. The style was introduced on the Continent by the Irish and English missionary monks who crossed the Channel to convert the Germanic tribes in Western Europe. See also: Insular majuscule.

Insular majuscule
A variety of half uncial script developed and used by the scribes of Ireland and Britain for writing biblical, liturgical, and patristic texts from about A.D. 550 to 900. Insular scripts replaced uncial in England shortly after the synod of Whitby in 664. The most formal examples are found in the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Marc Drogin notes in Medieval Calligraphy: Its History and Technique (Allanheld & Schram, 1980) that the script is characterized by ligatures, triangular or wedge-shaped serifs, and creative stretching and shaping of letterforms. Click here to see a text page from the Book of Kells. Cursive insular minuscule was used for the glosses on this text page from the Lindisfarne Gospels. Synonymous with Irish half-uncial and Irish majuscule.

intaglio
From the Italian intagliare, meaning "to cut in." A printing technique used mainly for graphic purposes in which the areas to be printed are engraved or etched below the surface level of a plate. The plate is inked and then the surface is wiped clean, leaving a residue only in the engraved portions, which is then transferred to a sheet of paper or other printing surface under pressure, usually on a rolling press. The only intaglio printing process still in commercial use is photogravure. Compare with planographic.

integral
Said of a leaf or page sewn or bound into a book or pamphlet when the publication was first printed. Compare with insert.

integrated access
An information retrieval system that allows users to search for books, periodical articles, and electronic resources such as computer files and Web sites, in one operation using a single interface, instead of searching online catalogs, bibliographic databases, and Web search engines separately. Seamless access is a goal that remains to be realized in most libraries.

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
A system for collecting data on approximately 10,000 primary providers of postsecondary education in the United States (including colleges, universities, and institutions offering technical and vocational education), administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The IPEDS annual surveys cover fall enrollment, completions by type of program, revenues and expenditures, institutional characteristics, staffing, salaries, tenure, benefits, and library resources. Prior to the adoption of IPEDS in 1986, much of the same information was collected in the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS). Click here to learn more about IPEDS.

Integrated Tool for Selection and Ordering (ITSO)
Software developed at the Cornell University Library (CUL) to consolidate into a single interface the new title information provided weekly by multiple book vendor Web systems for electronic selection and acquisitions. Developed in response to the move by the Library of Congress Alert Service from paper to electronic notification, ITSO also serves as a source of precatalog records. Incoming records are matched at initial load against the OPAC using LCCN and ISBN to detect duplicates. Once the record is available in ITSO, the selector can click to perform an automatic author, title, or subject search in the OPAC. To learn more about ITSO, see "Many Vendors, One Face: Acquisitions' Next Wave," an interview with the developers by Rick Lugg and Ruth Fischer in the Summer 2005 issue of the Netconnect supplement to Library Journal.

integrating resource
As defined in AACR2 2002, a category of continuing resource added to or changed over time by means of updates incorporated into the whole without remaining discrete. Examples include updating loose-leaf services, databases, Web sites, etc. See also: iteration.

intellectual freedom
The right under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution of any person to read or express views that may be unpopular or offensive to some people, within certain limitations (libel, slander, etc.). Legal cases concerning free speech issues are heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Click here to connect to the homepage of the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association (ALA). Compare with freedom of information. See also: banned book, censorship, challenge, filtering, Freedom to Read Statement, and Library Bill of Rights.

Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT)
Founded in 1973 as a permanent round table of the American Library Association (ALA), IFRT advocates freedom of access and expression in libraries and provides support to librarians and other library employees who become embroiled in controversies involving censorship. IFRT also serves as a forum for the discussion of intellectual freedom issues at the state and local levels and monitors developments in intellectual freedom that affect libraries, including legislation and court decisions. IFRT is affiliated with the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the ALA, which publishes the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and policies concerning the freedom to read. Click here to connect to the IFRT homepage. See also: Freedom to Read Foundation.

intellectual property
Tangible products of the human mind and intelligence entitled to the legal status of personal property, especially works protected by copyright, inventions that have been patented, and registered trademarks. An idea is considered the intellectual property of its creator only after it has been recorded or made manifest in specific form. Abbreviated IP. See also: information law.

intelligence
Information about events, or concerning the activities of a government or political group, gathered systematically and often covertly, especially for its value in strategic military planning. When recorded, military intelligence usually remains classified until it becomes publicly known. See also: espionage and leak.

intelligent character recognition (ICR)
An advanced form of optical character recognition (OCR), capable of learning to recognize different typefaces and styles of handwriting. Most ICR systems automatically update their recognition databases whenever they encounter a new typeface or style of handwriting.

intent-to-use
An application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to place an unused and unregistered trademark or service mark on temporary "hold" for a specified period of time, based on the applicant's good faith intention to use it in commerce after the application has been filed.

interactive
A computer interface designed to respond to input from a human being, usually in the form of commands and/or data. A back-and-forth dialogue between a computer program and its human user is an interactive session. Highly interactive systems, such as computer games, are designed to anticipate the user's needs, instead of responding in a prescribed way. Once started, a program that is not interactive proceeds without further human input. See also: expert system.

interactive map
A map in digital format designed to allow the user to view a portion of its surface on a different scale or gain access to additional information, usually by selecting a hot spot on its surface with a pointing device such as a mouse (examples: Mapquest and the National Geographic Society's Maps site).

interactive whiteboard
A large, flat electronic display surface, similar to a conventional whiteboard, usually mounted on a wall or floor stand, which can be synchronized with a computer and projector to function like an oversize touchscreen, allowing users to interact directly with the display using pen, stylus, or finger, rather than input devices, such as the mouse or keyboard. Interactive whiteboards are used for bibliographic instruction in well-equipped libraries (see this example).

intercolumn
The blank space between columns of text on a page in a printed book or in a manuscript written in the form of a roll or codex. In medieval manuscripts, the intercolumn is sometimes decorated, as in this 13th-century psalter (British Library, Arundel 104). For other examples, see this 14th-century breviary (British Library, Stowe 12) and this 15th-century missal (Arundel 109).

intercom
A device with a microphone wired to one or more loudspeakers, which can be used to address persons in another room or in an entire building. Libraries often use intercom announcements in their closing routines.

interdisciplinary
Research or course work requiring the resources of more than one academic discipline, for example, a topic in American studies, a field that overlaps American history, politics, literature, art, music, popular culture, etc. Although most abstracting and indexing services limit their scope to a specific discipline (example: Psychological Abstracts) or field (Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography), pertinent literature from allied disciplines may also be included. Also refers to a reference work on a subject that overlaps two or more disciplines (example: Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict).

interdisciplinary journal
A scholarly periodical that publishes articles of primary interest to researchers in two or more specific academic disciplines or fields (examples: Language & Cognitive Processes and Medical Engineering & Physics). Compare with multidisciplinary journal.

interdisciplinary number
A class number in Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) used for works that cover a subject from the point of view of two or more disciplines, for example, 305.231 in sociology, reserved for interdisciplinary works on child development. In the schedules, such numbers are identified by a "Class here interdisciplinary works" note. They are to be used only when the author devotes a significant amount of content to the discipline in which the number is found.

interest profile
A list of keywords or descriptors selected from a subject thesaurus, representing topics of interest to the user of a current awareness service. As part of the service, searches are regularly performed on the terms. Based on the results, the user is notified of the existence of new publications as soon as they are indexed, and current information is forwarded on the desired topic(s). Synonymous with user profile.

interface
The point or process that joins two components of a data processing system, for example, the screen display that functions as intermediary between a software program and its human users. Some interfaces are more user-friendly than others. See also: graphical user interface and usability.

interim reports
The annual statistical and biennial narrative reports submitted by the dean of an accredited library and information studies program to the Committee on Accreditation (COA) of the American Library Association (ALA) for evaluation between comprehensive reviews. The statistical reports include data about faculty, students, income/expenditure, and curriculum, collected by questionnaire in cooperation with ALISE and compiled in the annual ALISE Library and Information Science Education Statistical Report. They also provide a narrative description of major developments and ongoing program planning. COA reviews the reports at its fall meeting. See also: special report.

interlace
A decorative design in a medieval manuscript or early printed book composed of an intricate pattern of intertwined vines, snakes, animal or human limbs, or purely abstract lines, sometimes in the form of a complex knot. Click here to see an interlace Vere Dignum monogram in an 11th-century Ottonian sacramentary (Getty Museum, MS Ludwig V 2) and here to see a zoomorphic example on a lavishly decorated page from the Lindisfarne Gospels (British Library). Interlaced designs were also used on hand-tooled leather bindings, as in this example from the 16th century, done in Grolier style. Interlace is also a hallmark of Islamic decorative arts, including calligraphy. See also: strapwork and white-vine.

interleaving
In fine editions, a protective sheet of tissue or blank paper pasted or inserted loose between a plate or other image and a page of text to prevent damage by rubbing (see this example). Interleaving is sometimes done with buffered paper between acidic and acid-free materials to prevent acid migration and with absorbent paper between the leaves of wet books to salvage water-damaged items (see this example). Also refers to blank leaves sometimes bound between the printed pages of a book for use in note taking.

Interlibrary Cooperation and Networking Section (ICAN)
The section of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) within the American Library Association (ALA) whose members have an active interest in interlibrary cooperation and effective delivery of quality library services through multi-type library networks (local, state, multi-state, national, and international). ICAN has sponsored forums at ALA conferences on portals, collaborative collection development, document delivery, current issues in interlibrary loan, and recent research in networking. Click here to connect to the ICAN homepage.

interlibrary loan (ILL)
When a book or other item needed by a registered borrower is checked out, unavailable for some other reason, or not owned by the library, a patron may request that it be borrowed from another library by filling out a printed interlibrary loan request form at a service desk, or electronically via the library's Web site. Some libraries also accept ILL requests via e-mail or by telephone, usually under exceptional circumstances. Materials borrowed on interlibrary loan may usually be renewed on or before the due date.

Interlibrary loan is a form of resource sharing that depends on the maintenance of union catalogs. The largest interlibrary loan network in the world is maintained by OCLC, which uses the WorldCat database as its union catalog. The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) has developed an Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States (2008). Compare with document delivery service and intralibrary loan. See also: Ariel, borrowing library, fill rate, lending library, and reciprocal agreement.

interlinear
A form of gloss in which translation, commentary, or explanatory notes are handwritten or printed above the lines of text to which they refer, usually in a different script or typeface or in letters of smaller size. Click here to see an example of interlinear commentary ("glosses") in a 12th-century copy of the Epistles of St. Paul (Cornell University Library).

Also, a bible in which a translation is given beneath the lines of the text in the original language (see this example in Greek with English translation).

interlineation
From the verb interline. Words or a sentence inserted between the lines of a printed or handwritten document (see this example). To be legally binding, an interlineation in a contract must be initialed and dated by the signatories to the agreement.

intermediary
A person or software program that functions between the end-user and an online bibliographic retrieval system to assist in database selection, establish telecommunication connections, formulate useful queries in correct syntax, and evaluate the relevance of information retrieved. Mediated searching is provided on request in most academic libraries by a public services librarian specially trained in online searching.

intermediate
In motion picture production, any film material, negative or positive, created in the process of making duplicate copies from an original source, for example, a master positive, a high-quality positive print made from the original negative for use in making duplicate negatives from which release prints are made.

intermediate records
Records used so infrequently by an agency or individual in the conduct of business or affairs that normal operations are not hampered by their transfer to a storage area less accessible than the location where active records are housed. Synonymous with semicurrent records. See also: inactive records.

intermediate-scale map
A systematic representation on a two-dimensional surface of a land area of medium extent, at a representative fraction of 1:50,000 to 1:100,000, showing a moderate amount of detail. Click here to see a topographic map of Fort Clatsop, Oregon, at a scale of 1:100,000 and here to browse topographic maps of Utah at various scales (Utah Geological Survey). Click here to learn more about map scales. Synonymous with chorographic-scale map. Compare with large-scale map and small-scale map.

intermediate storage
In archives, a separate area where inactive or intermediate records are stored temporarily prior to final disposition, often less accessible than the location where active records are housed. Synonymous with secondary storage.

intermittent animation
In moving images, a work in which a discernible image within a frame is separated by sections of black or white leader, creating a "flicker" effect when projected (example: N:O:T:H:I:N:G [1968] by Paul Sharits).

internal document
A document, such as a memorandum or report, intended for distribution within an organization, rather than for wider publication. Sensitive internal documents may be classified to restrict access to authorized personnel, and shredded when no longer needed.

International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD)
Founded in 1955, IAALD seeks to enhance access to and use of agriculture-related information resources and to facilitate professional development of and communication among members of the agricultural information community worldwide. IAALD sponsors an annual World Congress and publishes a quarterly bulletin for members. Click here to connect to the IAALD homepage.

International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML)
Founded in 1951, IAML seeks to promote the activities of music libraries, archives, and documentation centers worldwide and to strengthen cooperation among them. The organization also promotes the availability of publications and documents relating to music, furthers their bibliographic control, encourages the development of standards in areas of concern to music libraries, and supports the preservation of music materials. IAML's members in 45 countries include major music collections, music and audiovisual librarians, music archivists and documentation specialists, musicologists, and music publishers and dealers. IAML sponsors an annual conference and publishes an electronic newsletter. Click here to connect to the IAML homepage.

International Association of School Librarianship (IASL)
Founded in 1971, IASL provides an international forum for the promotion of effective school library media programs as instruments in the educational process, and guidance and advice in the development of school library programs and the school library profession. Its membership includes school librarians and teachers, consultants, educational administrators, and others responsible for library and information services in schools, as well as professors and instructors at universities and colleges offering programs for school librarians, and students enrolled in such programs. IASL sponsors an annual conference and publishes the semiannual journal School Libraries Worldwide and the IASL Newsletter three times per year. Click here to connect to the IASL homepage.

International Association of Social Science Information Service and Technology (IASSIST)
An international organization of professionals working with information technology and data services to support research and teaching in the social sciences, IASSIST seeks to (1) to foster and promote excellence in data service delivery, (2) advance infrastructure in the social sciences, and (3) provide opportunities for collegial exchange of sound professional practices. Its 200 members work in a variety of settings, including data archives, statistical agencies, research centers, libraries, academic departments, government departments, and nonprofit organizations. Click here to connect to the IASSIST homepage.

International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA)
Founded in Amsterdam in 1969 as a forum for international cooperation between archives that preserve recorded sound and audiovisual documents, IASA supports information exchange and fosters international cooperation between audiovisual archives in all fields, especially in the areas of acquisition and exchange, documentation and metadata, resource discovery and access, copyright and ethics, conservation and preservation, and research and publication. IASA sponsors an annual conference and publishes the semiannual IASA Journal. Click here to connect to the IASA homepage.

International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries (IATUL)
Founded in Germany in 1955, IATUL provides an international forum for the exchange of ideas pertinent to librarianship in technological universities and the discussion of opportunities for collaboration in the solution of common problems. Its member libraries are represented by their directors and senior managers. IATUL publishes the quarterly newsletter IATUL News. Click here to connect to the IATUL homepage.

International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)
Founded in 1953 in Zurich, Switzerland, IBBY is a nonprofit organization representing an international network of people committed to bringing books and children together. Its mission is to (1) promote international understanding through children's books; (2) give children everywhere access to books of high literary and artistic merit; (3) encourage the publication and distribution of quality children's books, especially in developing countries; (4) provide support and training for individuals involved with children's literature; and (5) encourage research and scholarly works in the field of children's literature. IBBY has over 68 national sections representing countries with well-developed book publishing and literacy programs, as well as countries with just a few dedicated professionals doing pioneer work in children's book publishing and promotion. Click here to connect to the IBBY homepage.

International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC)
Formed in 1997, ICOLC is an informal, self-organized group of over two hundred library consortia from around the world, dedicated to facilitating discussion of issues of common interest. Click here to connect to the ICOLC homepage.

international copyright
Copyright protection extended to works published outside a country's borders, currently governed by national copyright law and international agreements, such as the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.

International Copyright Information Centre (ICIC)
A clearinghouse with headquarters in Paris, established by UNESCO in 1971 to offer assistance to publishers from developing countries in securing rights to books and other publications protected by copyright in other countries. See also: Copyright Clearance Center.

International Council on Archives (ICA)
Founded in 1948, ICA seeks to (1) encourage the development of archives in all countries, (2) facilitate the training of new archivists and conservators and the continuing education of working archivists and conservators, (3) promote implementation of a professional code of ethical conduct, (4) develop relations between archivists of all countries and between institutions concerned with the administration or preservation of records and archives and the professional training of archivists, and (5) facilitate the use of archival documents by making their contents widely known and by promoting ease of access. ICA sponsors an International Congress on Archives and publishes the quarterly journal Comma: International Journal on Archives (formerly Archivum) and a newsletter three times per year. Click here to connect to the ICA homepage.

International Federation of Classification Societies (IFCS)
Founded in 1985, IFCS is a federation of national, regional, and linguistically based classification societies devoted to promoting research in classification. The IFCS publishes the IFCS Newsletter and supports the Journal of Classification published by the Classification Society of North America. Click here to connect to the IFCS homepage.

International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF)
Founded in Paris in 1938, FIAF has an international membership of the world's leading museums and film archives. Its goals are to preserve the moving image in all its forms, facilitate research on the history of motion pictures, encourage the collection of documents on cinema history and film preservation, foster the accessibility and exchange of films and cinema-related material, and help create new film archives around the world. FIAF publishes the biannual Journal of Film Preservation. Click here to connect to the FIAF homepage. See also: National Film Preservation Board.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
An independent international nongovernmental association of library associations, libraries and related institutions, sponsors, and individuals, IFLA was founded in 1927 by 15 countries as the International Library and Bibliographical Committee to promote global cooperation, communication, and research in library science and librarianship. With association and institutional members in over 130 countries, IFLA has a democratic structure in which a general assembly of members (the Council) is the highest governing organ. The organization maintains a Secretariat headed by a Secretary-General in The Hague and sponsors an annual conference, the World Library and Information Congress, in a different member country each year. Click here to connect to the IFLA homepage.

international intergovernmental organization (IGO)
An international corporate body created by cooperative action between governments of sovereign states (AACR2). Examples include the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Click here to see the Wikipedia list of IGOs.

International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB)
An organization encompassing 20 national associations representing antiquarian booksellers in 30 countries, ILAB was founded in Amsterdam in 1947 to uphold and improve professional standards in the antiquarian book trade, promote honorable conduct in business, and contribute to a broader appreciation of the art and history of the book. Click here to connect to the ILAB homepage.

International Literary Market Place (ILMP)
A directory of the international book publishing industry issued annually by Information Today, Inc., ILMP provides information on publishers, literary agents, book manufacturing, book clubs and dealers, major libraries and library associations, and literary associations, periodicals, and awards for over 180 countries. The directory also includes an industry yellow pages. The most recent edition of ILMP is usually shelved in the reference section of large academic and public libraries. See also: Literary Market Place.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
A name derived from the Greek word isos, meaning "equal." Founded in London in 1947 with headquarters in Geneva, ISO is a nongovernmental federation of national standardization organizations in 130 countries, dedicated to establishing international standards to facilitate commerce and cooperation in scientific, technical, and economic endeavors. The United States is represented in ISO by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ISO operates through approximately 160 technical committees and 2,300 subcommittees that recommend standards and standardization policy to its national members. Click here to connect to the ISO homepage.

International Reading Association (IRA)
Founded in 1956 as a professional organization of individuals involved in teaching reading to learners of all ages, IRA has expanded its focus to address a broad range of issues in literacy education worldwide, advocating policy, curriculum, and educational reform that supports the best interests of teachers and learners. IRA publishes the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Reading Research Quarterly (RRQ), and The Reading Teacher. Click here to connect to the IRA homepage.

International Relations Office (IRO)
The executive office of the American Library Association responsible for (1) expanding ALA presence in the global library community, (2) implementing ALA policies concerning international librarianship, (3) promoting understanding of international librarianship and international library issues within the ALA, and (4) managing international library activities on behalf of the ALA. To accomplish its mission, the IRO coordinates activities in support of official ALA delegations to international events, such as book fairs and congresses; promotes international library exchanges and partnerships; recruits international librarians to become members and attend ALA conferences; responds to international inquiries concerning library issues and activities in the United States; serves as a point of contact in routine communication with international organizations of which the ALA is a member (including IFLA); and provides support for the ALA International Relations Committee (IRC) and the International Relations Round Table (IRRT). Click here to connect to the IRO homepage.

International Relations Round Table (IRRT)
A round table of the American Library Association created in 1949, IRRT develops the interests of librarians in activities and problems related to international library relations by providing hospitality to visitors to the United States from the library community abroad and by facilitating communication between the International Relations Committee of the ALA and individual ALA members. Click here to connect to the IRRT homepage. See also: International Relations Office.

International Serials Data System (ISDS)
An intergovernmental network established under the auspices of UNESCO to develop and maintain an international registry of serial publications containing the information necessary for identification and bibliographic control, including the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) and key title. The ISSN center for the United States is the National Serials Data Program (NSDP) administered by the Library of Congress. Click here to connect to the Web site maintained by the ISSN International Centre in Paris, France.

International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD)
A set of standards adopted in 1971 by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), governing the bibliographic description of items collected by libraries. The general standard ISBD(G) serves as a guide for describing all types of library materials. Standards have also been developed for specific formats: ISBD(CM) for cartographic materials, ISBD(PM) for printed music, ISBD(S) for serials, etc. ISBDs have been integrated into several catalog codes around the world, including AACR2.

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
A unique ten-digit standard number assigned to identify a specific edition of a book or other monographic publication issued by a given publisher, under a system recommended for international use by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1969. In the ISBN system, media such as audiorecordings, videorecordings, microfiche, and computer software are considered monographic publications, but serials, music sound recordings, and printed music are excluded because other identification systems have been developed to cover them. The ISBN is usually printed on the verso of the title page and on the back of the dust jacket of a book published in hardcover, or at the foot of the back cover in paperback editions. In AACR2, the ISBN is entered in the standard number and terms of availability area of the bibliographic description.

The ISBN is divided into four parts separated by a space or hyphen: a group identifier one to five digits in length identifying the national, language, geographic, or other area in which the edition is published; a publisher prefix one to seven digits in length uniquely identifying the publisher; a title number one to six digits in length identifying the title, volume, or edition of the work; and a check digit that allows any transcription errors in the preceding sequence to be detected by a computer. For example, in the ISBN 0-8389-0847-0, the 0 at the beginning identifies the United States as the country of publication, the second element (8389) identifies the American Library Association as the publisher, the third element (0847) identifies the 2003 edition of the book Metadata Fundamentals for All Librarians by Priscilla Caplan, and the 0 at the end is the check digit. When a calculated check digit is the number 10, the letter X is used, but in the other parts of the ISBN only the arabic numerals 0-9 are used.

The ten-digit ISBN system had a theoretical numbering capacity of one billion. As ISBNs were assigned in over 150 countries, the rate of depletion accelerated, especially with the proliferation of new publishing formats. To increase numbering capacity, ISO introduced a thirteen-digit ISBN on January 1, 2007, identical to the EAN-13 barcode version of the ten-digit ISBN, which has an added three-digit prefix (978- for books) and a recalculated check digit. In the U.S., a five-digit add-on code is used in the publishing industry for price information, the lead digit identifying currency (5 for the U.S. dollar, 6 for the Canadian dollar, 1 for the British pound, and so on). In the United States, allocation of publisher prefixes and assignment of ISBNs is managed by Bowker. ISBN codes for publishers are listed in the Publishers' International ISBN Directory available from Bowker. Click here to learn more about the ISBN. Compare with International Standard Music Number and International Standard Serial Number. See also: Book Item and Contribution Identifier.

International Standard Music Number (ISMN)
An alphanumeric code assigned to identify printed music available for sale, hire, or free of charge. Used in music publishing, the music trade, and libraries, the ISMN uniquely identifies a title issued by a given publisher in a particular edition. The ISMN is not used for sound recordings (audiotapes, CDs, etc.), videorecordings, or books about music. Music publications issued in series can have both an International Standard Serial Number and an ISMN, the ISSN identifying the ongoing serial and the ISMN an individual title in the series. When both are assigned, the two numbers are printed clearly on the copyright page.

Composed of the letter M followed by nine digits, the ISMN is divided into four parts (two of which are of variable length) separated by the hyphen. In the example M-2306-7118-7, the letter M distinguishes the code from standard numbers used to identify other types of material, the second part (2306) is a unique publisher identifier assigned by an ISMN agency coordinated by the international ISMN Agency in Berlin, the third part (7118) is an item identifier assigned by the publisher, and the fourth part (7) is a computer-generated check digit that allows any errors in the preceding sequence to be detected. Bowker is the independent agent for the ISMN system in the United States. Click here to learn more about the ISMN. See also: International Standard Recording Code.

International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)
An unhyphenated twelve-character standardized code for uniquely identifying sound recordings and music videorecordings, defined by ISO 3901. The first two characters are the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code identifying the geographic location of the registrant; the next three alphanumeric characters identify the registrant; the next two characters are the last two digits of the year of registration; and the last five characters are a unique five-digit number identifying the specific sound recording. In the example USPR37300012, the letters US indicate that the registrant is located in the United States; PR3 identifies the registering organization; 73 indicates that the recording was registered in 1973; and 00012 identifies the recording of the song "Love's Theme" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra. See also: International Standard Music Number.

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
A unique eight-digit standard number assigned by the International Serials Data System (ISDS) to identify a specific serial title, for example, 0363-0277, identifying the publication Library Journal. In 2001, the scope of the ISSN was extended to cover continuing resources in general. The ISSN is usually given in the masthead of each issue or on the copyright page of each volume or part of a series. When a continuing resource undergoes a title change, a new ISSN is assigned. In library cataloging under AACR2, the ISSN is entered in the standard number and terms of availability area of the bibliographic description. The ISSN International Centre located in Paris, France, maintains a Web site at: www.issn.org. Compare with local serial control number. See also: International Standard Book Number and ISSN-L.

International Standard Text Code (ISTC)
A numeric code system under development by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the unique identification of individual textual works (novels, short stories, plays, poems, essays, articles, etc.), to distinguish them within computer applications and to facilitate the administration of rights. The ISTC differs from most identifiers in identifying a work, rather than a specific manifestation of the work, and can therefore be used to bring together various versions of the same creative output. Click here to learn more about the ISTC.

internegative
In motion picture production, a duplicate color negative made from the original negative using reversal film stock or from an interpositive (master positive) made from the original negative for the purpose of making release prints. Compare with duplicate negative.

Internet
The high-speed fiber-optic network of networks that uses TCP/IP protocols to interconnect computer networks around the world, enabling users to communicate via e-mail, transfer data and program files via FTP, find information on the World Wide Web, and access remote computer systems such as online catalogs and electronic databases easily and effortlessly, using an innovative technique called packet switching. The Internet began in 1969 as ARPAnet, a project of the U.S. Department of Defense. It now has hundreds of millions of regular users worldwide. Click here to read A Brief History of the Internet, courtesy of the Internet Society. The Computer History Museum provides an illustrated chronology of events in the history of the Internet. Abbreviated Net. Synonymous with information superhighway. See also: backbone and domain name.

Broadly speaking, an "internet" is any group of interconnected but logically independent networks. Compare with extranet and intranet.

Internet2 (I2)
A consortium of over 200 research universities in the United States working with government and industry to develop and deploy a next-generation backbone network capable of carrying very high speed traffic and guaranteeing quality of service. The national academic and research network being built by the consortium is often called I2, although its formal name is Abilene. Click here to learn more about Internet2.

Internet address
The unique code assigned to a specific computer connected to the Internet to identify it as a sender and/or receiver in the transmission of data or program files. Two categories of addresses are used: e-mail addresses of specific individuals (example: presleyelvis@aol.com) and the URLs of FTP sites, Telnet sites, and Web sites (example: www.aol.com). The form of Internet addresses is governed by the Domain Name System (DNS). See also: IP address.

Internet Archive
Founded in 1996, the Internet Archive is a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving historical collections of digital text, audio, moving images, and software for the use of researchers, historians, and scholars, to prevent born digital materials from disappearing into the past. The Internet Archive is also collaborating with the Open Content Alliance (OCA) to make digitized texts and multimedia content freely available via the Internet. Click here to connect to the Internet Archive homepage.

Internet cafe
A retail business that sells coffee, snacks, and light meals and provides computer equipment and Internet access to customers while they dine, at no charge or for a reasonable fee (see this example). Some large academic and public libraries have installed such facilities on their premises to allow patrons to read their e-mail without monopolizing equipment needed in other locations for library research. To find links to Internet cafes worldwide, try the Internet Cafes section of the Yahoo! Directory. Synonymous with cybercafe and netcafe.

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
A large international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. The IETF is open to any interested individual. The actual technical work of protocol engineering and development is done in working groups organized by topic within several areas (routing, transport, security, etc.). Although the IETF holds meetings three times a year, much of its work is accomplished via e-mail (mailing lists). Click here to learn more about the IETF.

Internet media type
A general category of Internet content (application, image, text, audio, etc.). For each media type, a number of subtypes are defined to further refine the categorization, for example, "application/pdf," "image/tiff," and "text/sgml." The Internet media type and subtype are often used synonymously with MIME media type.

Internet resource
A digital document (Web page, FTP file, PDF file, e-mail message, etc.) that can be downloaded from a remote server over the Internet. Guidelines for cataloging Internet resources are available online from OCLC in Cataloging Electronic Resources: OCLC-MARC Coding Guidelines, by Jay Weitz. Most writing style manuals have been updated to include a section on citing electronic sources (electronic style).

Internet service provider (ISP)
A company in the business of providing Internet access to computer users who do not have a direct connection, usually via a telecommunication channel in exchange for payment of a modest monthly fee. The ISP with the largest number of subscribers is America Online (AOL). Most ISPs also provide proprietary software to facilitate use of the Internet. ISPs are listed by country, region, and U.S. state in Yahoo! See also: dial-up access.

Internet television
Television service delivered via the Internet, allowing users to choose the program they wish to watch from an archive of programs or from a channel directory (example: BBC iPlayer). Content is either streamed directly to the user's media player or downloaded to the user's computer. Most service providers offer different file formats and quality controls to allow content to be viewed on a variety of devices. Some services offer high-definition (HDTV) for users who have HD screens, as well as standard-definition (SDTV) for those who do not. Abbreviated Internet TV. Synonymous with catch-up TV and online TV.

internship
A limited period of supervised training in a library or other information agency intended to facilitate the application of theory to practice following completion of formal course work toward the master's degree in library and information science. An intern may be paid and/or receive graduate credits based on the number of hours worked. Compare with residency. See also: M.L.I.S. and M.L.S.

interoperability
The capability of a computer hardware or software system to communicate and work effectively with another system in the exchange of data, usually a system of a different type, designed and produced by a different vendor.

interpolation
Information not explicitly stated in or on an item, added to the bibliographic description of the item by the cataloger, for example, the number of pages in an unpaginated book or a publication date not given in the item but believed on the basis of investigation to be correct. In the bibliographic record, interpolations are made inside square brackets (examples: [32] p. and [1974?]). Compare with extrapolation.

Also refers to the insertion of a new subject at any point in an existing library classification system. See also: hospitality.

interpositive (IP)
In motion picture production, a new color duplicating positive printed from the original negative for the purpose of producing internegatives used in making release prints. Synonymous with master positive. Compare with fine grain master.

interstitial
On the Internet, a Web page automatically displayed before or after the content expected by the user, usually a display advertisement delivered, with or without sound, by an ad server. Some interstitials provide a "Skip" option.

intertitle
In a silent film, a sequence of frames of text appearing after the beginning titles and before the end titles, usually in a distinctive typographical style in white against a plain dark background, giving dialogue spoken by characters in the preceding scene or narrative or other information about the action. To see examples, try a keywords search on the term in Google Images. Silent films rereleased with sound narration generally have the intertitle cards deleted. When intertitles are reconstructed in film preservation, the fact should be indicated on the print to avoid misleading the viewer. Intertitle-o-rama provides a sampling of intertitles from silent films produced from 1912 to 1931. Synonymous with insert title. Compare with subtitle.

interview
A discussion between a reporter, host, panel, or audience and a newsmaker, author, or celebrity, recorded (edited or unedited) in print, on film or video, or as a sound recording. The format is one in which the interviewer poses formal questions to be answered by the interviewee. "Larry King Live" and "Talking with David Frost" are examples of television interview programs. Author interviews are often published in review publications. See also: reference interview.

In employment, a formal meeting at which the employer or a search committee meets the candidate by invitation for the first time, providing an opportunity for the two parties to answer questions about the position and the applicant's qualifications. The candidate may also be introduced to the people in the organization with whom he or she would work most closely, and be given the opportunity to meet with a personnel officer to discuss the policies, benefits, etc., associated with the position. See also: exit interview and panel interview.

in-text citation
A reference to an outside source made by the writer within the text of a paper or publication, usually by enclosing the name of the author and the page number(s) in parentheses immediately following the portion of text to which the citation refers, as opposed to indicating the source in a footnote or endnote. Proper form can be found in a suitable style manual.

in the can
In film production, a work not yet released or distributed, for which production has been completed.

in the pipeline
Material in the process of development or production, which may soon be completed. Also refers to funding authorized and expected but not yet received.

intralibrary loan
The loan of an item by a library to another library within the same library system, or directly to a patron of another library in the same system, on request, usually faster than interlibrary loan if the system has its own delivery service. In some online catalogs, the user may initiate this type of transaction without staff assistance.

intranet
An in-house Web site designed to be used only by the staff or employees of an organization, institution, or commercial enterprise. Intranets use the same TCP/IP and hypertext protocols as the Internet, but access by unauthorized users is usually blocked by a firewall. Also used in a more general sense to refer to any in-house LAN or client-server system. Compare with extranet.

introduction
The part of a book in which the subject, purpose, and limits of the work are briefly stated, and the reader prepared for the treatment of the subject that follows in the text, usually written by the author or a recognized authority in the field. The introduction normally appears in the front matter, following the preface or foreword, but may sometimes take the form of the first chapter. In either case, it is considered an integral part of the work and is not necessarily changed in subsequent editions, as is the preface. Abbreviated introd. Compare with prologue.

Also refers to a book written for persons unfamiliar with its subject to provide information at an elementary level, the title often beginning with the words Introduction to... or ending in the subtitle An Introduction.

introductory offer
A promotional tool used by book clubs to attract new subscribers by allowing the customer to select a certain number of books at a very low price (sometimes at no charge), usually from a list of popular titles, in exchange for a commitment to purchase a minimum number of additional titles within a designated period of time, usually one year.

In magazine publishing, a similar promotional device in which a heavily discounted price is offered to new subscribers, usually for a one- or two-year subscription, after which the subscriber is billed at the normal rate.

introductory price
A lower price offered by the publisher of a new book or other publication prior to the announced publication date, or for a limited period before and after publication, to encourage advance sales, after which the item is sold at list price. The period during which an introductory price is offered may be extended when advance orders warrant, in contrast to a prepublication price that expires on a specific date designated by the publisher.

inventory
The process of checking all the items on a library's shelves against a list of holdings to identify for replacement or deselection those missing and not checked out. A similar procedure is used to check other library property such as furniture and equipment against an authority list to identify missing items. Also refers to the list itself, which may include descriptions, quantities, prices paid, etc.

In the book trade, the total stock of materials available from a publisher, jobber, or dealer at a particular point in time. In the United States, publishers strive to keep the size of a printing as close as possible to estimated demand to avoid paying inventory tax, a practice that has caused books to go out of print more rapidly than they did before inventories were taxed. See also: out of stock.

inverted heading
In indexing, a multiword heading in which conventional word order is transposed to bring the most significant word into first-word position (example: the Library of Congress subject heading Combustion, Spontaneous human).

inverted title
A title divided by a bibliographer or indexer into two parts and transposed to bring a significant word into first-word position, for use as an entry in a bibliography or as a heading in an index (example: Language and Linguistics, Dictionary of).

investigative journalism
Reporting in which the journalist attempts to discover and publish the truth about a subject or event which is obscure or about activities which have been deliberately concealed from public scrutiny, such as official mismanagement, corruption, or crime (example: FRONTLINE on PBS).

invited paper
A conference paper presented by a participant at the invitation of the group or organization sponsoring the conference. The invitation is usually announced to prospective participants in advance of the conference, with a deadline for submissions from which selections are made.

invoice
A document or form sent to a purchaser by a vendor indicating the order number, description, quantity, price, terms of sale, method of delivery, cost of shipping, and total amount owed for items shipped and/or services rendered. Most libraries require an itemized invoice before payment can be authorized. Compare with purchase order. See also: annual invoice and supplemental invoice.

Symbols and abbreviations commonly used on publisher's invoices:

BO - back order
C or OC - order canceled
CWO - cash required with order
EX - see explanation or full exchange on returns
NEP or NE - new edition pending
NOP - not our publication
NR - nonreturnable (no returns allowed)
NYP - not yet published
OP - out of print
OPP - out of print at present
OPS - out of print, searching
OS - out of stock
OSC - out of stock, canceled
OSI - out of stock indefinitely
TOP - temporarily out of print
TOS - temporarily out of stock
W - will advise shortly
XR - nonreturnable

IP address
IP stands for Internet Protocol, the physical address of a client or server computer attached to a network governed by the TCP/IP protocol, written as four sets of arabic numerals separated by dots (example: 123.456.78.9). Each IP address has an associated alphanumeric Internet address in the Domain Name System (DNS), which is easier to remember (www.xyzuniversity.edu).

IPM
An abbreviation of integrated pest management. See: pest management.

ips
An abbreviation of inches per second. See: playing speed.

iron gall ink
A type of indelible ink traditionally made from tannin, vitriol (iron sulfate), gum, and water, used extensively for writing and drawing from the late Middle Ages up to the early 20th century. The tannin was originally extracted from oak galls (see these specimens). Most iron gall inks turn brown over time (see this example). Iron gall ink can also be corrosive, gradually burning small holes in parchment, paper, or other supports (click here and here to see examples of such damage). To learn more about the history and properties of iron gall ink, see the Iron Gall Ink Website. Compare with carbon ink.

irregular
The frequency of a serial publication issued at intervals of uneven length that follow no established or discernible rule (see this example, courtesy of the Lilly Library, Indiana University. The opposite of regular.

irreversible
A change in the chemical or physical state of an item that cannot be undone, for example, an embossed or perforated ownership mark or worming in a book. In conservation, reversibility is a priority in the treatment of materials for which the original condition is of evidential or historical value.

isobath
A line on a map or chart connecting points of equal vertical distance below a datum on land or under water, for example, points of equal depth below mean sea level on a bathymetric map (see this untinted example). Click here and here to see examples with bathymetric tint added to show depth, and here to see isobaths below zero elevation on a topographic map of Death Valley National Monument. Synonymous with depth curve. Compare with contour.

isogram
A line on a map, chart, or graph connecting points of equal value for a given variable, for example, a contour on a topographic map along which the value "elevation" is constant. Isorithms show amount, for example, temperature (isotherms), barometric pressure (isobars), sunshine (isohels), wind speed (isotachs), magnetic declination (isogons), etc. Isopleths show frequency (hurricanes, marriages, accidents, etc.). Synonymous with isoline. See also: isobath.

isoline map
A thematic map on which a variable and usually continuous phenomenon is represented by lines connecting points of equal value, for example, (1) isotherms connecting points on the earth's surface that have the same mean temperature or the same average temperature at a given time, (2) isobars connecting points on the earth's surface having equal barometric pressure over a given period or at a given time, (3) isotachs (wind speed), (4) isogons (magnetic declination), (5) isohels (sunshine), etc. Click here to see an isoline map showing mean annual precipitation for Mexico (Perry-Castañeda Library). See also: isopach map.

isometric view
A method of three-dimensional projection in which the plane of projection is equally inclined to the three main axes of the object, allowing distances on all three axes to be shown according to scale, with all dimensions parallel to the axes represented in their actual proportions (adapted from OED). Click here and here to see examples of its use in cartography. Synonymous with isometric diagram.

isopach map
A map showing the thickness of stratigraphic layers or beds lying beneath the surface of the earth, usually by means of isolines connecting points of equal thickness or by differential tint. Click here to view isopach maps of various coal beds in Kansas, courtesy of the Kansas Geological Survey. To see other examples, try a keywords search on the term in Google Images.

ISRN
An abbreviation of International Standard Report Number. See: Standard Technical Report Number.

ISSN-L
In April 2007, the International Standards Organization (ISO) revised its standard for the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) to cover all continuing resources, including loose-leaf services, updating databases, and some Web sites. The new standard (ISO 3297) maintains the current structure of the ISSN and defines a new mechanism--the "linking ISSN" or ISSN-L, a single, labeled ISSN that brings together the various medium versions of a serial publication under one ISSN, enabling services such as OpenURL resolution to be provided across all medium versions. Designated for each resource in the ISSN Register, regardless of how many medium versions exist when first assigned, the ISSN-L is a separate data element tagged and stored separately in metadata records such as MARC 21 records and system indexes and tables. Retrospective designation of ISSN-L is underway by the International Centre (IC). Future designation will be done by either the IC or by national centers. Creation of the ISSN-L is an attempt to resolve disagreement between publishers and librarians over whether the ISSN identifies a product or a work.

issue
To produce books or other printed materials for public sale or distribution, usually in quantity.

Also, all the copies of an edition of a book printed as a unit from the same setting of type as the first impression, with minor variations or revisions such as a redesigned title page, supplemental material added as an appendix, an updated bibliography, or a slightly different format. Also used synonymously with state to refer to the priority of copies within a first edition. Compare with variant. See also: as issued and reissue.

Also refers to all the copies of a newspaper or periodical published on the same date and bearing the same issue number. Purchase of a subscription entitles the subscriber to receive one copy of each successive issue for a prescribed period of time. In libraries, all the issues for the same publication year may be bound in one or more physical volumes, with the bibliographic volume number stamped on the spine(s), to create a back file. See also: back issue, convention issue, current issue, first issue, sample issue, and special issue.

issue date
The specific date or period (spring, summer, fall, winter) by which a particular issue of a serial publication is identified, usually printed on the front cover, on the same page as the table of contents, and on each page as a running foot. See also issue number.

issue number
The number assigned by the publisher to a separately published part of a serial publication, to distinguish it from other parts issued at different times. Assigned consecutively, issue numbers begin with the first issue of each publication period and end with the last issue of the same period. When a serial is published in volumes, issue numbers recommence with each volume.

When an article published in a numbered issue of a periodical is cited, the issue number is usually given in the citation following the volume number and a colon or period. In the following example, the article appeared on pages 116-123 in the third issue of volume 9 of the journal Research Strategies, published in the summer of 1991:

Example:
O'Hanlon, Nancy. "Begin at the End: A Model for Research Skills Instruction." Research Strategies 9:3 (Summer 1991), 116-123.

italic
A cursive style of type, first used by Aldus Manutius in an edition of Virgil printed in 1501, in which the characters slant heavily to the right. In modern printing, italic is used in combination with roman type for emphasis and to indicate foreign words or phrases in a text. In the preceding sentence, the word "emphasis" is in italic, and in the following sentence, the book title appears in boldface italic. Warren Chappell states in A Short History of the Printed Word (Knopf, 1970) that italic is rooted in a humanistic script known as cancellaresca or "chancery" that reached its highest state of development in 16th-century Italy when rounded letterforms were elongated to become elliptical. Click here to see an illuminated page from the Aldine Virgil and here to see a sample of modern italic. Abbreviated ital. or it.

Item Lister
A collection management tool provided by the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) that allows the user to view current selected and/or non-selected item numbers online by entering the depository library number. Amendments to a library's selections appear in the Item Lister within two weeks of the change. The search results screen also indicates total item numbers selected by the depository, total item numbers available for selection, and the library's selection percentage. Click here to connect to the Item Lister service.

item number
A control number assigned to a federal government document according to SuDocs classification number, used by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) in the selection and distribution of materials under the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The number consists of either four digits (example: 0015), four digits plus a single letter following a hyphen (0015-A), or four digits plus a single letter and two more digits following a hyphen (0015-A-12). The same item number may be attached to more than one SuDocs number. A list of the item numbers selected for receipt by a depository library can be seen in the Item Lister by entering the depository library number. The List of Classes published semiannually by the Superintendent of Documents contains a list of active item numbers, with the SuDocs class stems attached to each number.

item record
In cataloging, a record attached to the full bibliographic record to track a single copy of a one-volume work, or a single copy of one volume of a work published in more than one separately bound volume, after the item has been acquired and processed by the library. The item record usually indicates item type, volume number, copy number, barcode, location, price, status, applicable loan rule, and information about borrowing transactions, such as patron ID, due date, year-to-date circulation, etc. When item records are used in serials cataloging, each record usually represents a single serial title, and a separate check-in record is created to track individual issues. Compare with holdings record. See also: order record.

item type
A code in the item record for a bibliographic item in a library collection that, in conjunction with patron type, determines the loan rule applied when the item is checked out by a specific borrower. Each library or library system develops and maintains its own set of item types based on the nature of its collection(s).

iteration
A single instance of an integrating resource, either as first published or as subsequently updated (AACR2).

iterative search
A search for information in which the researcher or investigator repeatedly poses questions until an answer or solution is found.

ITHAKA
Established in 2003 with funding from three major foundations, ITHAKA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the academic community derive maximum advantage from emerging information and networking technologies. ITHAKA serves scholars, researchers, and students by providing content, tools, and services needed to preserve the scholarly record and advance teaching and research in sustainable ways, for example, its e-journal archiving service, called Portico. In 2009, ITHAKA merged with JSTOR. Click here to connect to the ITHAKA homepage.


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