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 78 RPM record
Main method of recording sound from the 1890s to the late 1950s. Also known as '78s'. Discs rotate at a speed of 78 revolutions per minute (RPM) to produce sound on a record player.
 Abstract
Short summary outlining the contents of a journal article, book, or other document. Reading the abstract can help you decide whether to read the whole article or book etc.
 Access
Identifying, locating, getting, and using information or resources from the library.
 Access copy
Copy made from a collection item for you to use so that the original item can be preserved and protected from damage.
 Access microfilm
Copy made on microfilm from a collection item for you to use so the original item can be preserved and protected from damage.
 Access paper copy
Copy made on paper from a collection item for you to use so that the original item can be preserved and protected from damage.
 Access points
Ways to find or get to a collection item or resource from the library.
 Acquisitions
Items acquired for a library, or the department which acquires items for the library's collections.
 Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull
Wealthy Wellington merchant who gifted his private library to the nation when he died in 1918. His library contained around 55,000 books; and manuscripts, photographs, paintings and sketches. It forms the heart of the Alexander Turnbull Library as it is known today.
Read an essay on Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull - Dictionary of New Zealand Biography website
 Alexander Turnbull Library
The Alexander Turnbull Library is part of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. Established after Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull gifted his collection to the nation in 1918, its collections and services are now housed within the National Library building in Wellington.
 Aotearoa
Means land of the long white cloud. More commonly, term used by North Island Māori as the indigenous word for New Zealand.
 Aperture card
Punched card that holds single microfilm images (or 'frames'). A cut-out window on the card contains a 35mm microfilm image of a document, typically a blueprint or other engineering drawing. Information about the drawing (such as the title, version, page, and so on) is punched into the card and printed along the top.
 Archival master
Copy of an item that is formatted for long-term preservation and access.
 Archive
Historical records like documents, letters, or other documentary formats like sound recordings; or the place where such records are kept.
 Archive materials
Individual documents, letters, sound recordings, photographs and so on that are often unique, and that are considered of historical value.
 Audio-visual material
Items in formats other than images or words printed on paper. Examples include films, slides, audiotapes, CDs, videocassettes, and computer software.
 Authority control
Alphabetical list containing terms (or headings) which are authorised or controlled so that only one term is allowed to represent a concept or name. Also the process of making sure the headings in a library catalogue or other list are consistently applied and maintained.
 Bequest
Items left to or received by an organisation under a will when someone dies.
 Bibliography
A list of publications (books, articles, newspapers, etc.), usually on a particular subject or by a particular author. May include summary descriptions of the publications.
 Blind tooling
A decorative technique in bookbinding. Impressions are made in the covering material, but without the addition of gold, silver, foil or any other colouring material.
 Blueprint
Plans for a building or other structure.
 Bookplate
A label identifying the owner of the book in which it has been pasted or attached.
 Briefing
Detailed instructions, usually associated with business or professional exchanges of information.
 Broadside
Single printed sheet of paper, usually containing an official announcement, piece of news, or popular song or poem. Also known as a broadsheet.
 Browse
To look through a library collection, list, book, journal, website or other publication.
 Call mark
Characters written on a book or assigned to an item in a library collection, typically used to indicate where the item is located on the shelf.
 Card catalogue
List of what a library holds in its collections. The list is put on cards. Most card catalogues have now been replaced by electronic catalogues.
 Caricatures
Humorous illustration that exaggerates or distorts the characteristics of a person or thing, creating an easily identifiable visual likeness.
 Catalogue
Organised listings of books and other materials in a library. Also 'to catalogue': to create a description for an item in the listing.
 Catalogue records
Descriptions of each item in a library, such as its title, who created it, and what topics it covers. A collection of catalogue records make up a catalogue.