By Roy Tennant http://www.thedigitalshift.com/author/rtennant/ We all have our pet peeves, so here are some of mine, many of which were sparked by ideas from the Twitterverse (attributions below), so . These are words that in our opinion long ago outlived their usefulness, especially in a digital library realm, but that we still can’t seem to shake: - *OPAC* — Some days I think I will die a happy man *if I never, ever hear this again*. The shelf life of this pronounceable acronym should have been somewhere on the order of 3 years — instead, we’ve been saddled with it *for 30*. Why? I have no idea. It was ridiculous to begin with. Let me break it down for you. OPAC stands for Online *Public Access*Catalog. Why, pray tell, the “public access” bit? Because in the very earliest days, most automation systems in libraries were back room affairs. They simply automated the check out process, but they weren’t initially designed for the public to see or use. So when we decided to expose it to the public, the words “public access” were added. Brilliant. So now, some 30 years later, librarians *still* say “OPAC” as if that has any rational meaning to anyone presently living. So STOP already. - *Webmaster* — There are so many synonyms for managing a web site I hardly know where to begin, but this one seems to me to be the most prevalent. The only good part of this to me is that it prevents me from seeing such atrocities as *Webwizard*. It’s Web Manager, people, or something similar. You aren’t what most definitions of “master” mean, *nor do you wield magic*, you have a set of technical skills that are well between your average reference desk librarian and your hard-core coder. Get over yourself. - *E-Reading* — Yes, this monstrosity is out therehttp://www.google.com/search?q=ereading. It’s *reading*, people. Who cares what device, printed volume, street sign, codex, or disk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaistos_Disc you are performing this act upon. You are *reading* — making sense of symbols, whether they are chiseled into a tablet or lit up by the latest e-paper technology. - *Bibliographic Instruction* — I mean really. Who on this planet would rush to take part in *bibliographic instruction*. “Oh, wait, me! Pick me!” And this is from someone who did his fair share of this at one point in his career. I guess I know how deadly it can be. Don’t ever let this leave your lips around real humans, or prepare to be a pariahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcast. By the way, three different people nominated this on Twitter. I think it’s time to put it away for good. - *Library 2.0* — At the risk of sparking a religious war, I (and at least two of my Twitter followers) nominate this term for the dustbin of history, never to be seen again. Believe me, I get the motivation. I subscribed to *Business 2.0* before it met an untimely demise in the wake of the dotcom crash. I understand it is meant to signal a different way of doing things. From that aspect, it speaks to me, since I’ve been advocating a different way of doing things since oh, let me see, *the last 35 years*. But “Library 2.0″ never really spoke to me, and I found myself bristling at the idea that libraries were unchanging institutions before the Library 2.0 crowd came along. Well, let me take you back to the early 1980s — before the Internet, even before personal computers. Libraries have been changing *a lot*. I know, since I’ve lived it. But then I guess the Young Turks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Turksalways need to revolt against the *status quo*. You won’t find me manning the parapets of the *status quo*, but you might find me arguing with the terminology of those attacking said parapets. - *Copy cataloging* — I know that this has stood us in good stead for many years, but they were *pre-Internet* years. Of course we needed to put a copy of a record in our local systems. But with the Internet, libraries are increasingly questioning the need to *have* a local system. Why have the headaches? Just identify what you have in some catalog in the sky and get on with it. At least that’s what I would do. - *Cybrarian* — I’m shocked to have this here, but since at least two people nominated it, it must still have some kind of life. What a ridiculous term. I remember from the early days of the Internet, where someone at UC Berkeley took on the moniker of “CyberBear”. I mean, puhleeeze. *Shoot me now*. So say it with me, “We solemnly swear to never let these words or phrases escape our lips or typing fingers for as long as we shall live.” There. Now it wasn’t all that difficult, was it? ------------------------------------------ Warm regards. Jayadev P Hiremath Independent Libraries Professional (Former Librarian - IBS,Kuwait) E-mail : jayadevh@hotmail.com LinkedIn : http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jayadev-p-hiremath/44/12a/2a0 Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/people/Jayadev-P-Hiremath/603802230 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.