Volunteers @ the Library: N and O

NETWORK - A group of libraries who exchange information via communication links. Can be regional local or national (e.g., OCLC). See also cooperative system, multi-type library system.

NLM - National Library of Medicine. A unit of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services which aids in the dissemination and exchange of medical and public health information and is the home of MEDLINE.

NON-FICTION - Prose works portraying events which actually occurred and characters or phenomena which actually exist, or which existed in the past. In libraries that use Library of Congress classification or Dewey Decimal classification, nonfiction is shelved by call number.

NON-PRINT MATERIALS - Any library materials that do not come within the definition of a book, periodical, pamphlet, or other printed material and which require special handling, such as audio-visual items, microforms, and computer software.

OCLC - Online Computer Library Center, Inc. is a nonprofit membership organization offering computer-based services to libraries, other-educational organizations, and their users. The OCLC Online Union Catalog is the world's largest and most comprehensive database of bibliographic information, with over 28 million items. This shared database supports cataloging and interlibrary loan.

ONLINE SEARCH -A literature search of databases through a computer, usually performed by an online searcher as a part of reference service.

OP - Out of Print - The term used for a book which the publisher no longer stocks and no longer intends to print.

OPAC - Online Public Access Catalog. An electronic "card catalog" with access through computers.

OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Act. The mission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is to save lives, prevent injuries and protect the health of America's workers. See http://www.osha.gov/

OUTPUT MEASURES - Methods devised for measuring a library's performance, as determined by use of the library's resources and services.