Syracuse University Library Style Sheet

Preface

The Syracuse University Library Style Sheet supplements the Syracuse University Publications Handbook: A Guide to Style and Usage(1996).* The Style Sheet was produced by the Style Committee (Wendy Bousfield, Mary Beth Hinton, and Charles Tremper) in spring 1999. It contains entries that either do not appear in the University’s handbook or have tended to be problematic for Library staff, such as specialized library terms. We included a list of SU libraries, departments, and subunits with a view to standardizing their treatment. Also note that there is an addendum on creating documents. The entries are in alphabetical order. When an entry stands alone, it represents the correct spelling or usage of the word.

Whenever you write something for the Library, please consult both the University’s Publications Handbook and the Style Sheet. Hard copies of these publications are available in each department. You can also select the Style Sheet from the Library Staff Home Page, at http://libweb.syr.edu. The Publications Handbook can be found, under "SU Editorial Style Guide," at http://www.syr.edu/publications/style/.

Authorities on style often disagree. The Syracuse University Publications Handbook and the Syracuse University Library Style Sheet are based primarily on The Chicago Manual of Style, 14^th ed.; on Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10^th ed.; and on the New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage (1994). By following these widely respected authorities, we do not claim to have made the right style decisions in the Style Sheet; we have tried, rather, to make reasonable decisions that respond to the need for clarity and consistency of style within the Library and the University.

We intend for the Style Sheet to be a living guide, modified by feedback from its users. Please forward suggestions for revision of this document to Mary Beth Hinton (mbhinton@library.syr.edu).

* A new revision of the Publications Handbook is expected to appear in summer 2000.

acronyms and initialisms An acronym is an abbreviation that spells out a pronounceable word, e.g., ERIC. An initialism is a set of initials representing a name, organization, or the like, with each letter pronounced separately, e.g., ETC, ALA, ARL.

If an acronym or initialism may be unfamiliar to readers, spell out the full name on first use, and put the acronym in parenthesis, e.g., Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Be especially careful to define an acronym or initialism that has more than one meaning: MLA can stand for Modern Language Association, Music Library Association, or Medical Library Association.

ampersand Do not use to replace and (e.g., Science and Technology Library) unless it is part of an official name (e.g., AT&T). To save space, it is okay to use an ampersand in display type (type designed to stand out), such as a clickable item on a web page, e.g., Health & Medicine, or a heading on a handout, e.g., Visual & Sound Media, but never in a sentence.

bibliographies When listing sources in bibliographies, use the style that is appropriate to the discipline. You can find model bibliographies in the following style manuals:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 4th ed. Washington: American Psychological Association, 1994.

bulleted or vertical lists (punctuation with) If items in such a list are complete sentences, end them with periods. Otherwise, use no punctuation at the end of the individual items.

capitalization of departments vs. functions When Interlibrary Loan refers to the department, it should be capitalized. The function described as interlibrary loan should not be capitalized.

capitalization of terms used descriptively Do not capitalize a term like reference collection. Uppercase names of committees, e.g., the Collection Development Committee.

catalog Not catalogue.

 

CD-ROM

commas Use a comma before and in a series.

dash Use either a long (em) dash (MS Word for Windows inserts dashes automatically) or two hyphens with no space before or after.

database Spell as one word.

departments (and two divisions) within the Library Capitalize formal titles, e.g., "The Serials Department is large." But lowercase division or department when those words are used alone, e.g., "The department has many people.

e.g., i.e. The abbreviation e.g. (exempli gratia) means for example. The abbreviation i.e. (id est) means that is. These abbreviations are usually followed by a comma. Do not use a colon before e.g. or i.e., unless what follows consists of one or more grammatically complete clauses (containing both a subject and a verb). If you list two or more items after e.g., do not put etc. after them—examples are by definition not inclusive.

ellipsis Avoid using gratuitously, e.g., "For further information . . ." Use three dots to indicate an omission within a quoted sentence or fragment of a sentence. When the last part of a quoted sentence is omitted and what remains is still grammatically complete, use four dots—a period followed by three ellipsis dots—to indicate the omission. (For more detailed guidance, consult The Chicago Manual of Style, 14^th ed., sections 10.48 to 10.63.)

e-mail Lowercase e-hyphen-lowercase m.

home page Use two words.

hyphens In general, compound words formed with prefixes are closed, e.g., nonprint, prerequisite. Compound adjectives that begin with numbers are usually hyphenated, e.g., one-hour class, first-floor exhibition, 19^th-century art. Words used as compound modifiers are often hyphenated, e.g., off-campus location. See Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary or Table 6.1 in The Chicago Manual of Style, 14^th ed., for further guidance.

I and we It is permissible to use the first person when it is obvious who I is or we are.

I.D. Use periods, whether you are referring to an SU I.D. or an interdepartmental order.

i.e., e.g. See e.g.

Internet

italics Italicize the title of any separately published work, including the Library’s blue- and orange-banner publications.

Jr. Use no comma before Jr. or Sr., e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.

libraries (names of)

Library The use of capital L in Library when referring to the Syracuse University Library is an exception to the University’s Publication Handbook.

listserv Use mailing list, announcement service, distribution list, or list instead of listserv, which is a registered trademark of L-Soft International, Inc.

lower level (of E. S. Bird Library) Do not use initial capital letters.

numbers Spell out one through nine and first through ninth. If space is very tight in a handout, it is okay to use arabic numerals under ten (e.g., 2^nd floor, in a column listing locations), as long as they do not occur in a sentence.

oversize Not oversized.

passive voice Prefer the active voice to the passive voice. The University librarian formed a committee is livelier and more direct than It was decided that a committee should be formed.

possessives Form the possessive of singular nouns—even ones that end in s or z—by adding an apostrophe and an s, e.g., Pegasus’s commands. Form the possessive of plural nouns by adding an apostrophe only, e.g., librarians’ concerns.

proper nouns (combining them in the same category) Uppercase Universities in "Cornell and Columbia Universities," and Committees in "Special Events and Publications Committees."

quotation marks (punctuation with) Put periods and commas inside quotation marks. Semicolons and colons go outside final quotation marks.

range of dates or times Use a space on either side of the hyphen in lists. Examples: Monday – Thursday, 1 a.m. – 2 a.m. But do not, in a sentence, write, "from December 1 – 7." Write, "from December 1 to 7."

seasons Lowercase the names of seasons unless they are part of a formal name or designate an issue of a periodical, e.g., Winter Olympic Games, the Fall 1985 issue of Poetry. He graduated in the spring semester.

service points and collections

SU, SUL Use no periods.

SUMMIT Not Voyager.

terminology Research carried out recently at a major university library found that patrons understood only 50 percent of what librarians said or wrote. Depending on whether a publication is aimed at international students, beginning undergraduates, graduates, or experienced researchers, we may wish to offer explanations of terms pertaining to libraries, databases, books, or computers. For definitions, consult Harrod’s Librarians’ Glossary, Edited by Ray Prytherch (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 1995); or The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, edited by Hertsill Young (Chicago: American Library Association, 1983).

The following are some strategies for communicating library concepts to patrons:

local terms

times Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes, e.g., 3:30 p.m. On the hour omit the colon and zeroes, e.g., 3 p.m., 5 a.m.

titles of persons (capitalization of) Capitalize formal titles (ones you would use as forms of address) when they are used directly before a name, e.g., Dean Palmer. Otherwise, do not capitalize the title, e.g., the dean. The only University-wide exception to this guideline is the Chancellor. The Library makes an exception for the University Librarian, or, in the short version, the Librarian. (See the Publications Handbook for more details.)

titles of works (capitalization of) Capitalize all words except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions of less than four letters, e.g., Canine Legend and Lore Through the Ages. (Catalog records use different rules for capitalizing titles.)

titles of works (italicizing) Italicize the title of any separately published work, including blue- and orange-banner Library publications.

troubleshooting

URLs In printed material, italicize a URL, e.g., http://library.syr.edu/.

University Capitalize University when referring to Syracuse University.

web Use a lower case w.

web page

World Wide Web (WWW) Use no hyphen. Do not join words. Use web for short.

you It is okay to use the second person in Library publications that give guidance.

 

ADDENDUM: Creating Documents

Document Types and Their Uses

• Use memos to address people within the Library or the University about a specific topic. Get to the point quickly and make it clear what response, if any, you expect. At the top of the page, type the recipient’s name and title, the writer’s name and title, the date, and the subject. Type the body of a memo as you would a letter, but instead of signing it, initial your name. If you want others to receive copies, list their names and titles after cc at the bottom of the page. A memo need not be on stationery, but it should say "Syracuse University Library" at the top of the page.

 

• Use letters to communicate with people in other organizations. Letters should have a return address, a date, an inside address, a salutation (e.g., Dear Mr. Jones), a complimentary close (e.g., Sincerely yours), a name and title, and a signature. Letters can range widely in their degree of formality and complexity.

 

• Use reports when you wish to communicate in a formal way with a broad audience, such as the whole Library staff, Library users, the University at large, or a web-page audience.

 

Providing a Context for Readers

The following guidelines are designed to provide sufficient context for a reader who may be distant in time, place, or responsibility from the author(s).

• All but the most informal communications should say "Syracuse University Library" at the top of the first page.

 

• All documents, whether memos or reports, should clearly indicate at the beginning who the document is addressed to, who it is from, the subject, and the date. If a document is from a committee, name each committee member in or near the from statement.

 

• In general, add titles to names (e.g., in naming authors, in specifying cc recipients) to indicate functional responsibility. Letters should show the name and title of the person writing the letter.

 

• Form letters should include the sender’s name and a contact point, not just a department name or function name. (When form letters are printed in advance in large quantities, a personal name may not be practical, but contact points should always be indicated.)

 

• Number the pages (except, perhaps, for the first page). Consider providing the number of pages in the entire document on each page. Consider dating each page, using a header or footer.

 

• Regarding revisions and revision history: when issuing documents in revised form, indicate both the original issue date and the revision date. Consider whether a revision history would be useful. For example, the revision history of this document would appear as follows:

 

rev.: 1/18/99

rev.: 1/13/99

rev.: 1/7/99

first draft: 12/8/98

final: 5/10/99

rev.: 3/30/00

• The word draft should only be used for documents under discussion and subject to modification. An approved draft should be reissued without the word draft, even if there are no other changes.

• On internal documents avoid title pages and other unnecessary uses of paper.

 

A Note on Stationery

Soon Library staff will have access to the type fonts, the SU seal, and the templates needed for printing Library stationery on plain paper. In printing stationery, follow the guidelines given in SU’s Graphic Identity Standards Manual. You may request a copy from the University’s Publications Office or access the online version at http://www.syr.edu/publications/. According to this manual, the SU seal must be used on letterhead stationery, envelopes, business cards, etc. The SU logo is not permitted on standard stationery items. Other logos could be used on flyers and other nonstationery items, but the University does not encourage this practice. Library stationery templates will be subject to approval by the assistant University librarian for administrative services.