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| 4CLS | Abbreviation commonly used for the Four County Library System (Also, FCLS) |
| ALA | American Library Association www.ala.org |
| AOP | Action for Older Persons – Promotes well – being and self-sufficiency throughout life through financial education, retirement planning, health insurance counseling, long-term care ombudsman, and other programs. |
| ASSOCIATION LIBRARY | A library established and controlled, in whole or in part, by a group of private individuals operating as an association, corporation or trustees under the provisions of a will or a deed of trust. |
| AUTOMATION | Computer, as in “automation system” the main computer, its components and software. |
| BARC | Bibliographic and Referral Center. A service offered by SCRLC for obtaining materials for interlibrary loan from outside the system. |
| BCPL | Broome County Public Library |
| BOCES | Board of Cooperative Educational Services |
| CBA | Central (Library) Book Aid. State funds which may be used to purchase adult non-fiction materials to enhance the Central Library’s Collection. Ownership of the materials remains with the system. |
| CENTRAL LIBRARY | Each public library system has one (or more) designated central library. In return for receiving the benefits of CLDA and CBA funds, the central library provides specialized services (usually reference, interlibrary loan and/or audiovisual) to the member library on demand. |
| CIPA | Children’s Information Protection Act – “Introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, the “Children’s Internet Protection Act” S.97, would require all public libraries and schools to block “indecent” Internet sites or lose federal funds. (http://archive.aclu.org/news/1999/n03099b.html) |
| CLAC | Central Library Advisory Committee. This formal committee was established to advise the Central Library and System concerning delivery of services by the Central Library, as well as use of CLDA and CBA funds. |
| CLDA | Central Library Development Aid: State funds paid to the Central Library for developing/supporting programs which benefit the member libraries of the System. Annual grant application must be approved by System Board. |
| COMMISSIONER’S REGULATIONS | Since library systems are chartered by the New York State Board of Regents; they must comply with NYS Education Law, as well as the Regulations of the Commissioner of education. Basically, these regulations provide details and/or clarification to relevant Education Law. |
| COOPERATIVE LIBRARY SYSTEM | A public library system chartered by the NYS Board of Regents upon the request of a majority of the members of the board of trustees of two or more libraries chartered by the Regents. Such systems must meet certain requirements established by the Commissioner of Education. |
| CYMO/CYBERMOBILE | The 4CLS “bookmobile” First of its kind, this outreach vehicle links to the main computer and the internet using satellite technology. |
| DATABASE | A large collection of data in a computer, organized so that it can be expanded, updated and retrieved rapidly. A library’s bibliographic database consists of the holding of library involved. |
| DIALUP ACCESS | A temporary connection to a computer by a telephone modem, some type of terminal, and a commercial, regular phone line. Used primarily to search data bases for cataloging, resource sharing and reference. |
| DIRECT ACCESS | Sometimes known as Free Direct Access, this concept related to Commissioner’s Regulation 90.3 relating to the use of libraries by the citizen Of New York. Complicated and often misunderstood, this regulation discusses free direct access to materials of libraries which are members of library systems and details the conditions under which libraries may charge fees for services. |
| DLD | Division of Library Development, New York State Library |
| DOWNLOAD ZONE | 4CLS’s digital content collection that includes e-books and digital audio. Available via subscription. Content is selected by the Electronic Resources Advisory Committee (ERAC). |
| EDUCATION LAW | Numerous sections of Education Law relate to and govern public libraries and public library systems in New York. They have been compiled publication known as Excerpts and are included in the Trustee Handbook. |
| ERAC | Electronic Resources Advisory Committee. A committee made up of system staff and member library representatives. ERAC advises on the selection of online resources and title selection of e-materials. |
| E-RATE | Federal program that provides rebates on the telecommunications costs of schools and libraries. Use of the program requires compliance with CIPA and the use of filters. |
| FCLS | Four County Library System (also: a list-serve used to communicate with members) |
| FILTERING, FILTERING SOFTWARE(SEE ALSO: CIPA) | Blocking / filtering software is a mechanism used to:
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| FLLS | Finger Lakes Library System; public library system neighboring 4CLS to the West, with headquarters in Ithaca. This system frequently cooperates with 4CLS on projects and programs. |
| FREE DIRECT ACCESS | See Direct Access |
| FTE | Full-time equivalent |
| FY | Fiscal year (e.g. FY2015) |
| Gates | As in “Gates Grant” or “Gates Initiative.” Usually refers to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which provided computers and sustaining grants to public libraries. |
| ILL | Interlibrary Loan |
| ILS | Integrated Library System. Commonly used to refer to the cataloging and circulation software used in libraries. |
| IMLS | Institute for Museum and Library Services |
| LC | Library of Congress |
| LLSA | Local Library Service Aid: direct state aid which “passes through” the system to local libraries. The actual amounts are calculated by formula in State Education Law. |
| LSSA | Local Services Support Aid. This state aid is provided to systems to serve “unserved areas,” which are areas of the four counties served by 4CLS which are outside the chartered service areas of local libraries. Paid at a rate of $.32 per capital. |
| LSTA | Library Services and Technology Act. Federal funds which are re-appropriated in New York State Library. |
| LTA | Library Trustees Association. A NYLA affiliate comprised of public library trustees. Formerly known as the New York State Association of Library Boards. |
| MARC | Machine Readable Cataloging. The standard format for computer data about library materials, originated by the Library of Congress |
| MidYork | The MidYork Library System- our neighbor to the North. |
| MIGRATION | The process of converting from one database management system to another |
| MINIMUM STANDARDS | Public libraries in the state must comply with minimum standards, which are part of Commissioner’s Regulations 90-1. |
| MUNICIPAL LIBRARY | See: PUBLIC LIBRARY |
| NCLIS | National Commission on Libraries and Information Science |
| NEH | National Endowment for the Humanities |
| NOVEL | New York Online Virtual Electronic Library |
| NPO | Non-profit organization |
| NYLA | New York Library Association |
| NYSCH | New York State Council for the Humanities |
| NYSILL | New York State Interlibrary Loan Program |
| NYSL | New York State Library. The New York State Library is composed of two divisions, the Library Development Division and the Research Library Division. |
| NYSCA | New York State Council for the Arts |
| OAC | Outreach Advisory Committee. This committee advises the system on the implementation of the outreach program. |
| OCLC | Online Computer Center- A major library computer vendor (bibliographic utility) which offers a shared national database of over 22 million records for cataloging, interlibrary loan, etc. |
| OSC | Office of the State Comptroller |
| OUTREACH | As this relates to public library systems, outreach encompasses library service to populations not served by a local library. At 4CLS, this means Bookmobile services to communities which do not have libraries, as well as service to nursing homes, senior centers, county jails, and correctional facilities. This program is funded in approximate equal parts by state aid and local/county contributions. |
| PATRIOT ACT (USA PATRIOT ACT) | The USA PATRIOT Act stands for (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism/”It is a document written and passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that increased the investigating and surveillance powers of the government to aid the fight against terrorism. Since President Bush signed the act into law on Oct. 16, 2001, it has been a highly controversial topic of debate. |
| PUBLIC LIBRARY | A library, other than a professional, technical or public school library, established for free public purposes by official action of a municipality or district or the Legislature, where the whole interest belong to the public. |
| PLA | Public Library Association; one of the major divisions of the American Library Association |
| PLAN OF SERVICE | A Five Year Plan required for all public library systems including goals and intended results required by the state. |
| PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM | A library established by one or more counties; a group of libraries serving an area including one or more counties in whole or in part; a library of a city containing one or more counties; or a cooperative library system established pursuant to Section 225 of Education law. |
| PULISDO | Public Library System Directors Organization; the formal organization of public library system directors in New York State |
| RAPAS | Remote Access Patron Authentication Service – this feature of the 4CLS website allows patrons of participating libraries to place hold on books from any internet-linked computer. They may also access databases in the Research Center (with subscription) |
| RBDB | Regional Bibliographic and Data Base funds. This state aid program seeks to assist libraries on a “regional basis” to identify and share resources and holdings. Administration and granting of funds is a continuously disagreeable and hostile process. |
| RDA | Resource Description and Access. A new, unified cataloging standard. |
| REFERENCE & RESEARCH LIBRARYRESOURCES SYSTEM (3R’S) | A chartered educational institutions resulting from the association of a group of a group of institutions of higher education, libraries, non-profit educational institutions, hospitals and other institutions organized to improve reference and research library resource service. More commonly referred to as 3Rs |
| REGENTS | Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York Public library systems as chartered by the Regents |
| RESEARCH CENTER | A suite of databases available to member libraries via subscription. The resources are underwritten by state funds and are selected by the Electronic Resources Advisory Committee (ERAC) |
| SCHOOL DISTRICT LIBRARY | A public library whose chartered service area is that of a local school district. It is NOT a part of the school district or system and has a separate of Trustees. |
| SCHOOL LIBRARY SYSTEM | An organization of school districts an nonpublic school cooperating with a board of cooperative education services (BOCES) or the city school districts of New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers to provide library coordination and/or services to member libraries under a school library system plan of service approved by the Commissioner of Education. |
| SCRLC | South Central Regional Library Council. |
| SED | New York State Education Department |
| SirsiDynix | The vendor of the software system used by 4CLS for its catalog database & circulation system. |
| SLA | Special Libraries Association |
| SPECIAL DISTRICT LIBRARY | A library or group of libraries which has received legislative and voter approval to establish a special taxing district in a specified area for the purpose of providing library services. |
| STLS | Southern Tier Library System: public library neighboring 4CLS to the West with headquarters in Corning. This system frequently cooperates with 4CLS on projects and programs. |
| TBBL | Talking Book & Braille Library. A wing of the New York State Library tasked with providing materials to visually impaired New Yorkers. |
| TC3 | Tompkins Cortland Community College. TC3 currently administers the BARC program for out of system interlibrary loan. |
| 3Rs | Reference and Research Library Resources System (see definition) 4CLS belongs to the South Central Regional Library Council headquarters in Ithaca. |
| WHCLIS | White House Conference on Library Information Services |
For even more acronyms and abbreviation see: http://www.cdlc.org/index.php/acronyms-a-abbreviations