Volunteers @ the Library: E and F

E-MAIL - Electronic mail. Messages sent through a communications network from one computer to another.

E-MAIL SIGNATURE - The tag-line at the end of e-mail messages. For example, e-mail software can automatically list the sender's name, phone number, and e-mail address at the bottom of every message.

END USER - A library user who requests and uses information obtained from an online search.

FAIR USE - The special conditions (such as criticism, news, teaching, or research) under which all or portions of a copyrighted work may be reproduced without infringing upon the copyright laws.

FEE-BASED INFORMATION SERVICE - A term covering individuals and enterprises providing library and information services for a fee, such as information brokers and freelance librarians.

FIBER OPTICS - A communications system which uses very thin strands of glass to conduct information coded in pulses of light.

FICTION - From the Latin fictio meaning "to make" or "to counterfeit." Prose literary works portraying characters and events created in the imagination of the writer to entertain and expand vicariously the reader's experience. In historical fiction, characters and events usually bear some relationship to what actually happened, but any dialogue is reconstructed or imagined by the author

FILE - Any organized collection of data, documents, or records.

FISA – Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act. Enacted by Congress in 1978 this law which prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers" (which may include American citizens and permanent residents suspected of espionage or terrorism).

FLOOR LOAD CAPACITY - The weight of material that a floor can safely accommodate. Of special importance in areas holding library stacks and vertical files.

FLSA - Fair Labor Standards Act (federal). Establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards.

FONT SIZE - The dimensions (height and width) of the body size of a type font, usually given in points. Here are examples of 8 point type and 14 point type.

FORMAT - Refers to the overall physical appearance of any printed document or publication, including its size, proportions, quality of paper, typography, illustrations, and style of binding. In a broader sense, the sum of the physical characteristics of any print or non-print document.

FRIENDS OF LIBRARIES - Non-profit, charitable groups formed to support libraries in communities. Friends of Libraries groups are often involved in fundraising, advocacy, volunteerism, public awareness campaigns, and literacy programs.

FTP - File Transfer Protocol which allows files to be copied directly from one computer to another over the Internet without having to attach them as in e-mail.