Glossary of Folger terminology

This glossary provides explanations of terms and acronyms that are used at the Folger (though some may have originated elsewhere or reflect previous practices).

A

A Deck

Preferred term: Deck A. The portion of the pre-2020 basement level of the main building that could only be accessed by going through the Reading Rooms, unless you had a separate key. Distinct from the pre-renovation "Basement" and "North Basement" on the same level. By coincidence, it was also the only carpeted area on that level, making it easier to describe.

ACRL

Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. The parent organization of RBMS (see below)

AIB

Association Internationale de Bibliophilie

ALA

American Library Association

AACR2

Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition—an international standard governing library cataloging in the English-speaking world from its publication in 1967 until approximately 2012; predecessor of RDA.

B

B Deck

Preferred term: Deck B. The portion of the pre-2020 sub-basement level of the main building that could only be accessed by going through the Reading Rooms, unless you had a separate key. Distinct from the Craven Vault and STC Vault on the same level (surrounded by the rest of "B Deck" but accessible by key only) and from the pre-2020 "Sub-Basement" on the same level (a storage area used by the Facilities Department).

Basement

In the pre-2020 main building, the areas on the west and south sides that could be reached from the hallway at the foot of the main stairs: Board Room, Tea Room, HR offices, IT offices, OSE offices, storage, rest rooms, copy room, and kitchen. Distinct from the North Basement.

BIBCO

Monographic Bibliographic Record Cooperative Program. Component of the Program for Cooperative Catalog (PCC) that focuses on bibliographic records.

BPT

British Political Thought. Center for the History of British Political Thought—part of Folger Institute.

C

C Deck

Preferred term: Deck C. The lowest level of the pre-2020 main building; key access only. Often used to refer to the area with book stacks only, even though the elevator room, sump pumps, and "Deck C Page Area" are also on that level.

CEC

The Consortium Executive Committee is made up of representatives of the over forty universities that make up the Folger Institute Consortium. They convene in the second half of October and in early May to conduct Institute business.

CLIR

Council on Library and Information Resources

Cataloged Wings

Folger collection of books with call numbers based on their Wing number rather than their accession number. (See "Wing" below)

Central Library

Name of the Collections Division until 2018.

Coffee

Informal morning staff break in the Tea Room; mostly happens to be people who work in areas of the building where food and drink are not allowed (Reading Rooms, Deck A, Deck B, Deck C) but everyone is welcome.

Connexion

Cataloging interface to Worldcat

D

DCRM

Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials, a suite of cataloging manuals for special collections. Manuals for Books, Graphics, Serials, etc. are available as free downloads here.

DCRMR

Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (RDA Edition), an integrated resource to eventually succeed DCRM. Currently only contains instructions for Books, but will eventually encompass all the DCRM formats. Initial release: 2 February 2022. Available here.

Deck A

The portion of the pre-2020 basement level of the main building that could only be accessed by going through the Reading Rooms, unless you had a separate key. Distinct from the pre-renovation "Basement" and "North Basement" on the same level. By coincidence, it was also the only carpeted area on that level, making it easier to describe.

Deck B

The portion of the pre-2020 sub-basement level of the main building that could only be accessed by going through the Reading Rooms, unless you had a separate key. Distinct from the Craven Vault and STC Vault on the same level (surrounded by the rest of "Deck B" but accessible by key only) and from the pre-2020 "Sub-Basement" on the same level (a storage area used by the Facilities Department).

Deck C

The lowest level of the pre-2020 main building; key access only. Often used to refer to the area with book stacks only, even though the elevator room, sump pumps, and "Deck C Page Area" are also on that level.

Department

A sub-unit of a division, e.g. the Business Office, Facilities, Human Resources, Information Systems, and Safety and Security departments are all within the Administration division

Division

The Folger is divided into seven administrative divisions: Administration, Collections, Development and Special Events, Digital Media and Publications, Education, Folger Institute, and Public Programs. Division directors are known collectively as "Senior Directors". Note that Senior Directors' titles and Division names don't always match, e.g., the Director of Digital Access heads Digital Media and Publications.

E

EMDA

Early Modern Digital Agendas, an NEH seminar hosted by Folger Institute.

EMMO

Early Modern Manuscripts Online

ESTC

English Short-Title Catalogue, (originally, the Eighteenth-Century Short-Title Catalogue). It encompasses records for monographs and serials printed in Britain or its dependencies, or in English anywhere in the world, 1473-1800, along with holding institutions. It is the successor to the printed STC and Wing bibliographies.

F

FAHN

Group of four (or five) independent research libraries in the humanities: the Folger Shakespeare Library, the American Antiquarian Society, The Huntington, and The Newberry. Sometimes also includes The Morgan Library and Museum.

Folio

Depending on context, (1) any of the first four editions of Shakespeare's collected plays, (2) any handpress era book where the pages are made up of sheets of paper folded in half before binding, (3) any bound volume approximately 30 cm or taller that is shelved upright rather than flat, (4) front and back of a leaf of paper or vellum in a bound volume, each side of which is a "page."

G

GMD

General material designation. Under AACR2 rules for cataloging, a GMD term can be added, in brackets, following the first section of an item's title to denote non-book formats; for example, "A new Shakespearean poem [electronic resource] : a modern annotated text..."

I

IFLA

International Federation of Library Associations

IMLS

Institute of Museum and Library Services

IRLA

Independent Research Libraries Association, an organization which includes the Folger.

L

LC

Library of Congress

LC/NACO Authority File

International database containing authorized and variant forms of names for persons, families, corporate bodies, and places used on catalog records. One interface is found on the LC website.

N

NACO

Name Authority Cooperative Program of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging. Component of the Program for Cooperative Catalog (PCC) that focuses on name authority records.

North Basement

The portion of the pre-2020 main building accessible from the hallways directly under the exhibition hall. Included (west to east): the store room for the Gift Shop, the Mail Room, Security, Photography and Digital Imaging, Facilities and Maintenance.

O

OCLC

Online Computer Library Center, a nonprofit organization specializing in library research and services. OCLC member libraries collectively maintain Worldcat, a cooperative catalog. (OCLC originally stood for the Ohio College Library Center, but as they began to expand, "Online Computer Library Center" was backformed from "OCLC.")

P

PCC

Program for Cooperative Cataloging, an international effort coordinated by the Library of Congress. The PCC sets guidelines for high-level bibliographic, serial, and authority records.

PDI

Photography and Digital Imaging (obsolete); now, the Imaging Team, which forms part of the Collection Description and Imaging Group of the Collections Division.

Q

Quarto

Depending on context, (1) a 16th- or 17th-century single-work edition of Shakespeare, (2) any handpress era book where the pages are made up of sheets of paper folded in half twice before binding, (3) any bound volume shorter than approximately 30 cm.

R

RBMS

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the American Library Association, which "represents and promotes the interests of librarians who work with rare books, manuscripts, and other types of special collections."

RBS

Rare Book School, an institute hosted at the University of Virginia which promotes "the study of the history of books and printing and related subjects" by offering intensive short-term courses at UVA and other institutions.

RDA

Resource Description and Access, an international cataloging standard initially released in 2010; successor to AACR2.

Recat

Recataloging—creating or revising machine-readable catalog records for material that has already been cataloged, working directly from the material itself. It usually refers to the creation of machine-readable records for materials that had been accessible from cards. Contrast "recon."

Reclass

Reclassification—changing an item's call number.

Recon

Retrospective conversion—creating machine-readable catalog records for material that has already been cataloged, working from catalog cards. Recon is usually performed by a vendor. Contrast "recat."

S

SAA

Shakespeare Association of America or Society of American Archivists, depending on context, therefore also the cause of much confusion at the Folger.

Senior directors

Heads of Folger divisions. Senior directors report to the Director.

Shelfmarks

Term formerly used interchangeably with "call numbers" for describing collection-based classifications relating to the item's location.

SSF

Secondary School Festival

STC

Depending on context, either A short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland and of English books printed abroad, 1475-1640, or any item falling within scope of that catalog. Elsewhere in DC, "STC" means "Shakespeare Theatre Company."

T

Tea

Shared staff and reader break time in the Tea Room, Monday through Friday, starting at 3pm and ending at 3:30. Complimentary coffee, tea, and cookies are served.

Tea Room

Staff break room on the basement level. Also open to readers at Tea Time.

TSI

Teaching Shakespeare Institute

W

Wing

(1) Short title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English books printed in other countries, 1641-1700. Succeeded by the ESTC. (2) Any item falling within scope of the published bibliography.