[Web4lib] Friendly language

[Hammons, James W.]

We definitely use plenty of unhelpful jargon, but this case throws me for a loop. Every university I've studied or worked at since 1983 has called material made available in the library for specific classes "reserves." Is the problem really marketing?

Jim


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James Hammons, M.L.S.				
Head of Library Technologies
Library Information Technology Services	voice: 	(765) 285-8032
Bracken Library				fax: (765) 285-1096
Ball State University			e-mail: jhammons at bsu.edu
Muncie, IN 47306		http://www.bsu.edu/library
U.S.A.

Ball State University Libraries
A destination for research, learning, and friends
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib-
> bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Coral Sheldon-Hess
> Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:49 PM
> To: web4lib
> Subject: [Web4lib] Friendly language
> 
> Hello!
> 
> My library (or, well, our Web Team) has started talking about using
> "friendlier" terms on our website. Most immediately, we'd like to find
> a more intuitive name for "Course Reserves." None of our students seem
> to know what that term means, so, of course, it gets very little use.
> I know a number of libraries have looked into de-jargonizing (how's
> that for a word) their websites, lately, though I don't know whether
> they've had good results or not. I'd love to hear from any librarians
> working on that kind of project!
> 
> To the crowd at large, though, do you have any thoughts on what else
> to call "Course Reserves"? The best we've got, now, is "Course
> Materials." Do you have--or have you seen--any really good examples of
> "friendly" academic library website language?
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> --
> Coral Sheldon-Hess
> Web Services Librarian
> UAA/APU Consortium Library
> 
> "... the library is not a place but a service." --Allen B. Veaner
> 
> 
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