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Acronyms and Terms


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A
AALLAmerican Association of Law Libraries. An advocacy, professional development and educational group for libraries and librarians in the U.S. legal community.
ABAAAntiquarian Booksellers' Association of America.
Abrams Foundation Supported the genealogy collection at the Library of Michigan.
AccessMichiganNow called MeL. A collaborative project of Michigan libraries to provide electronic information sources to the libraries and residents of Michigan. It includes databases.
ACRLAssociation of College and Research Libraries, a membership division within the American Library Association.
ALAAmerican Library Association.
Allen CountyAllen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Known for its large genealogy collection.
Ancestry.comSubscription genealogy Web site with many searchable databases.
ANSWERLibrary of Michigan online catalog.
ARLAssociation of Research Libraries. An advocacy, training and research group representing 122 principal research libraries in the United States and Canada.
B
Braille and Talking Book LibraryA national program for people who cannot read standard print due to a visual or physical disability. Administered by the Michigan Commission for the Blind and housed within the Library of Michigan.
Burton Historical Collection Historical and genealogical collection at the Detroit Public Library.
C
CADLCapital Area District Library. Public library for the Lansing area with 13 branches.
CatMECataloging Micro Enhancer.
CFRCode of Federal Regulations. Compilation of regulations from federal agencies.
CIPAChildren's Internet Protection Act.
Braille and Talking Book LibraryA national program for people who cannot read standard print due to a visual or physical disability. Administered by the Michigan Commission for the Blind and housed within the Library of Michigan.
COLDCouncil of State University Library Deans and Directors. A group of Michigan college and university library deans or directors that works together on common-interest issues.
CoopA library cooperative. Pronounced "co-op." A group that facilitates resource-sharing, funding, group purchasing and other services for member libraries.
CORCCooperative Online Resource Catalog.
COSALCouncil of State Agency Libraries. Michigan state government agency library staff who work together on common-interest issues.
COSLAChief Officers of State Library Agencies (ALA). Cooperative group of heads of state and territorial library agencies. Addresses issues of common concern.
CSGCouncil of State Governments. See STARS. A group providing research products, training, etc., with state government information.
D
DatabaseA collection of data arranged for ease and speed of search and retrieval.
DeweyThe collection of circulating materials housed on the 4th floor is known as the Dewey collection. This collection from before 1976 is organized by the Dewey Decimal Classification system.
E
eBooksElectronic books.
E-rateSee USF.
F
FCCFederal Communications Commission.
FDLPFederal Depository Library Program.
FirstSearchA collection of online indexes (scholarly and general) provided for Michigan libraries through MeL.
FSCPEFederal State Cooperative for Population Estimates.
FSCSFederal-State Cooperatives Statistics.
FYFiscal year.
FAQFrequently asked questions
G
GENDISGenealogical Death Indexing System, Michigan. An electronic index of 19th century Michigan death ledgers from the Michigan Department of Community Health. Indexing is done on a volunteer basis by local genealogy societies.
GeneShort for genealogy and pronounced "genie." Also sometimes used to refer to genealogy patrons or the genealogy collection.
GISGeographic(al) Information System(s).
GODORT Government Documents Round Table. Pronounced "go-dort." American Library Association group dedicated to advocacy and continuing education in the field of government information.
GongwerDaily newsletter covering Michigan state government.
GPOU.S. Government Printing Office.
H
HTMLHyperText Markup Language.
I
ID MailInterdepartmental mail. The mail service that delivers mail among State of Michigan departments.
IFLAInternational Federation of Library Associations. Advocacy group for libraries and library groups.
iiiInnovative Interfaces Inc. The vendor for LM's online catalog. Also used to refer to the catalog itself. Pronounced "triple-I.".
ILLInterlibrary loan.
ILSIntegrated Library System. A library automation system that has multiple modules, such as a circulation system, a bibliographic database and an online public access catalog (OPAC).
IPLInternet Public Library. A Web site run by the University of Michigan School of Information. It is a collection of quality Internet resources.
IMLSInstitute for Museum and Library Services.
IPEDSIntegrated Post-secondary Educational Data System.
i-TE@MInformation Technology Association of Michigan.
ITInformation technology.
L
Library cooperativePronounced "co-op." A group that facilitates resource-sharing, funding, group purchasing and other services for member libraries.
LCLibrary of Congress.
LDS Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also known as the Mormon Church. Many local churches have Family History Centers devoted to genealogy research. The main LDS library is in Salt Lake City.
LISLibrary and information studies.
LLICLansing Library and Information Center. The downtown Lansing branch of the Capital Area District Library, located in the Clarence H. Rosa building on the corner of Kalamazoo Street and Capitol Avenue.
LMLibrary of Michigan [preferred abbreviation].
LM4X Library of Michigan newsletter (temporarily suspendedas of Spring, 2010). Gives updates on Library of Michigan and statewide library issues.
LOMLibrary of Michigan.
LSBLegislative Service Bureau.
LSTALibrary Services and Technology Act.
M
MACMichigan Administrative Code.
MainThe collection of circulating materials housed on the 3rd floor is known as the Main collection. Main is also sometimes used to differentiate the "Main" Library from the Law Library.
MAINMichigan Administrative Information Network.
MALCMichigan Academic Library Council. MALC seeks to "to enhance and promote the ability of each academic library to meet its mission by improving cooperation, resource sharing, and services."
MAMEMichigan Association for Media in Education. An advocacy, professional development and educational group for K-12 school library media professionals in Michigan.
MARCMachine-Readable Cataloging.
MCGI Michigan Center for Geographic Information. A unit within the Department of Information Technology. Provides access to U.S. statistical mapping and geographic information.
MCLMichigan Compiled Laws.
MCLAMichigan Compiled Laws Annotated.
MeLMichigan eLibrary.
MeLCatMichigan eLibrary Catalog. The statewide resource sharing system with a union catalog of Michigan library holdings.
MeL MichiganaDigitized historical resources from around Michigan including photographs of people, places and objects; diaries of Civil War soldiers; unique local histories and much more.
MeritMerit Network Inc. Operates MichNet and is active in Internet networking.
MGCMichigan Genealogical Council. Coordinates activities and seminars of Michigan genealogical societies.
Mich/ALLMichigan Association of Law Libraries. A chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries. Provides professional development and continuing education opportunities.
MichiCardStatewide library card project and borrowing program.
Michiganlegislature Web site with Michigan Compiled Laws and Michigan Administrative Code and other current information about the Michigan Legislature.
MichnetStatewide computer network operated by Merit Network Inc., which provides Internet access for computers and local area networks in Michigan.
MiCTAAn association of education, government and nonprofit groups that negotiates telecommunication services and acts as an information clearinghouse for members.
MINMichigan Information Network. "The link to the 'information superhighway' for the people of Michigan." A unit within the Department of Information Technology.
MIRSMichigan Information and Research Services. A legislative reporting service.
MLAMichigan Library Association. The Michigan Library Association is a professional organization dedicated to the support of its members, to the advancement of librarianship, and to the promotion of quality library service for all Michigan citizens.
MLCMichigan Library Consortium. MLC is a non-profit membership organization comprised of all types of Michigan libraries. MLC provides libraries a convenient, single point of contact for training, group purchasing and technical support for electronic resources.
MNPMichigan Newspaper Project. Part of the U.S. Newspaper Project, a federally funded program to catalog and preserve the nation's newspapers.
MoCATCatalog of Government Publications formerly known as the Monthly Catalog. A catlog of materials available through the Government Printing Office.
MOISMichigan Occupational Information System. Provides career planning information. http://mois.org.
MOREThe Michigan Online Resources for Educators (MORE) provides thousands of quality web sites in education tied to the state's curriculum standards.
MSDCP Michigan State Data Center Program [Michigan State Data Center/Business and Industry Data Center]. A cooperative initiative between the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the State of Michigan to provide demographic and economic statistics to government, business and the general public.
N
NARANational Archives and Records Administration. NARA holds and handles public access to many materials important to genealogists.
NCSLNational Conference of State Legislatures. A bipartisan organization that serves state legislatures through research, publications and training.
NGSNational Genealogical Society. An advocacy, standards, educational and research group for U.S. genealogists.
NIIU.S. National Information Infrastructure. Government initiative to develop an advanced information technology infrastructure in the United States. Partners with private partners.
NTISNational Technical Information Service. Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Sells copies of technical reports produced by various federal agencies and contractors.
O
OPACOnline Public Access Catalog. An automated, online version of the card catalog.
P
PACA computer available for access by the public at no cost and without intervention by staff that provides access to external resources (e.g. the Internet) and can access personal productivity or reference software.
PLAPublic Library Association.
PLFIGPublic library funding initiative group. A grassroots effort working to provide enhanced funding for Michigan public libraries.
R
REMCRegional Educational Media Center.
RLGResearch Libraries Group. International group promoting access, sharing and preservation of research and scholarly materials.
ROCRegion of Cooperation. A network of multitype libraries working together on resource-sharing and services. Pronounced "rock.".
S
SDCState Data Center. Provides access to demographic data on Michigan. Formerly part of the Michigan Information Center. See also MCGI.
SIRSSocial Issues Resources Series.
SLASpecial Libraries Association. An advocacy, professional development and continuing education group for private, corporate, government and other types of special libraries.
SMCOSenate Majority Communications Office.
SMPOSenate Majority Policy Office.
SSDISocial Security Death Index.
STARSState Archives and Research Services. A national research service for state publications and documents.
SuDoc Superintendent of Documents. Classification system used by the GPO for federal government documents.
T
THOMAS Library of Congress Web site of federal legislative information.
TDDTelecommunications Device for the Deaf.
U
UMIUniversity Microfilms Inc. Now ProQuest. Vendor of online databases and microfilm resources.
USFUniversal Service Fund. Federal program to give schools and libraries discounts on telecommunication fees and Internet services. Administered by the FCC. Result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
USNPU.S. Newspaper Project.
W
Wi-FiWireless fidelity. Refers to 802.11 wireless networks.

Updated 04/14/2011

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