Special Term |
Description of Meaning |
archival image
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An uncompressed or lossless compressed higher quality image provided to users for reproduction or held for future reprocessing as compression or other image-processing standards change.
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bibliographic records
catalog records
descriptive information
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Records created to describe items and primarily used for discovery may include subject and item information, physical descriptions, title, and creator information. Official Library of Congress records are in MARC format.
The American Memory collections have a combination of MARC-format records, delimited database records, and register-style finding aids. Bibliographic records, catalog records, and descriptive information terms often used interchangeably in referring to American Memory online collections may be generally taken as synonyms for NDLP purposes.
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digital item
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Any part or version of a work that is available to the public in electronic format on the Web. Thus, a book with 150 pages could be 151 digital items, including all the page images and a converted text file. See also "library item."
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Division
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Organizational entity within the Library of Congess with custodial, public-service, or technical-support responsibility for the collection.
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DTD |
Document Type Definition, a plan for encoding text documents with Standard Generalized Markup Language(SGML). Printed texts for American Memory are keyed as ASCII text and encoded according to the American Memory DTD for Historical Documents.
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EAD
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Encoded Archival Description DTD, a standard for encoding archival finding aids.
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format |
Always qualify the use of the word "format" to specify which of its two meanings is intended:
(1) The physical medium of the original Library item. Formats include pictorial images, sound recordings, moving images, maps, and manuscript documents, as well as books and pamphlets.
(2) A type of file for the storage, compression, and exchange of digital information. JPEG, GIF, or TIFF are referred to as image file formats requiring specific software for viewing and editing.
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framework
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A set of illustrated HTML (HyperText Markup Language) text files that serve as the collection home page or home page group. The framework is so named because it provides an intellectual frame for the collection and embraces the other collection elements.
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GIF
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Graphics Interchange Format, an image file format. The American Memory interface uses GIF images for thumbnail versions of pictorial materials or page-turner versions of text materials.
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HTML
| HyperText Markup Language, the encoding scheme for World Wide Web pages. HTML is a subset of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).
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JFIF
| JPEG File Interchange Format. A standard for transmission of an
image in JPEG format (see below).
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JPEG
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Joint Photographic Expert Group, a file format for compressing
color or grayscale images. Many Web browsers easily display JPEG format
images. The NDLP uses JPEGs as a means of providing a "reference image" or
a "service image" (see terms below) for online viewing.
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LCSH
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Library of Congress Subject Headings, an authority list of subject terms used in bibliographic records to standardize vocabulary for searching.
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library item
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A work held physically by the Library of Congress and identified in an online collection by a descriptive record, e.g., a book, a photograph, a box of photos, a letter, a folder of letters, a map, an audio recording, a motion picture. See also "digital item."
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MARC
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Machine-Readable Cataloging record. MARC formats are officially described as "standards for representation and communication of bibliographic and related information in machine-readable form." Today's library automation systems use MARC as a universally understood data exchange format.
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multiformat
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A multiformat online collection contains digitized library items whose
original formats were
varied. An example is The Evolution of the Conservation Movement,
which contains documents, prints, photographs, and a motion picture.
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online collection
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An NDLP/American Memory collection, which may be:
- a coherent archival entity (e.g., the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, Manuscript Division);
- a cumulative grouping held by a Library special collections division (e.g., the Paper Print Collection, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division); or
- an anthology collection assembled by the NDLP itself.
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rekeyed text
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Text that has been transcribed into an electronic file in order to render it searchable.
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repository
| (1) The name of the organization that has custody of the original work. This information can help to locate or cite the original.
(2) A system for tracking, maintaining, and storing digital objects and metadata.
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RFP
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Request for Proposal, a description of work that is used to solicit bids from contractors outside the Library. The NDLP RFPs describe the work to be preformed and requirements for digitization.
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service image
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Service images are accessed by clicking on the GIFs appearing in the bibliographic records of online collections using images. Pictorial online collections often include a second set of images known as reference images.
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SGML
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Standard Generalized Markup Language (ISO 8879), a formal notation for
describing parts of a document and the relationships among them.
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special presentation
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A document (essay, timeline, sampler, etc.) prepared for an online collection to show its highlights or historical significance or to give essential historical background.
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TGM1
(LCTGM1)
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Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms, an authority list of
subject terms used to standardize vocabulary in bibliographic records
for pictorial materials other than motion pictures. (TGM2 refers to the
companion volume, Thesaurus for Graphic Materials II: Genre and Physical
Characteristic Terms.)
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thumbnail image
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A small image, typically presented with a bibliographic record, that users can look at in order to judge whether they wish to take the time to retrieve a higher quality image.
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TIFF
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Tagged Interchange File Format, an image file format. The American Memory collections use TIFF Group IV compression for bitonal images primarily for printed materials and TIFF uncompressed for grayscale and color images of manuscript and printed materials.
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