Center for the Book

 An educational outreach program established in 1977 by the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in and awareness of books, reading, and libraries and to encourage the study of books and the printed word, the Center for the Book is a public-private partnership between the Library of Congress, 35 affiliated state centers, and over 50 national and civic groups. The Center publishes Center for the Book News and sponsors the annual National Book Festival. Click here to connect to the homepage of the Center for the Book.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Centerpiece

 In bookbinding of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, an ornamental design such as a diamond tooled or stamped in the center of the front and/or back cover, sometimes accompanied by matching cornerpieces. Click here to view a 16th-century example (Special Collections, Glasgow University Library, BD1-d.3) and here to see a 19th-century example done in gilt red leather inlay (University of Miami, Florida). To see other examples, try a search on the keyword "centrepiece" in the British Library's Database of Bookbindings. Also refers to an embossed or engraved metal ornament attached to the center of the front cover of a book (click here to see a silver centerpiece on a 16th-century Book of Hours). Also spelled centrepiece. See also: cameo binding and mandorla.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Centralized Cataloging

 The preparation of bibliographic records for books and other library materials by a central cataloging agency that distributes them in printed and/or machine-readable form to participating libraries, usually for a modest fee. Also refers to the cataloging of materials for an entire library system at one of its facilities, usually the central library, to achieve uniformity and economies of scale. Also spelled centralized cataloguing.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Centralized Processing

The practice of concentrating in a single location all the functions involved in preparing materials for library use, as opposed to technical processing carried out at multiple locations within a library or library system. Centralization allows processing methods to be standardized, but increased efficiency may be offset by the cost of distributing materials to the units where they will be used.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Central Library

 The administrative center of a library system where system-wide management decisions are made, centralized technical processing is conducted, and principal collections are located. Synonymous with main library. See also: branch library.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 The hardware component of a computer that houses the circuitry for storing and processing data according to instructions contained in the programs installed on it, including the operating system, utilities to run peripheral devices, and application software. Generally speaking, the more memory and disk storage a CPU has, the more processing it can handle within a given amount of time, and the faster it can accomplish a task.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Central Records

The files of more than one unit of an organization, consolidated and maintained in a single location to allow greater efficiency than is possible with decentralized records. Also, the records of several individuals or entities consolidated under a common filing system. In such a system, the files of each unit or individual are usually maintained separately from those of other units, but organized according to a prescribed filing plan, with each file assigned a classification code under which it is filed. Click here to see an example at the level of local government. Synonymous with central files and centralized files.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Ceramic Photograph

 A photographic image made by any one of a variety of processes on a ceramic support, such as porcelain or earthenware. Ceramic photographs, often oval in shape, have been used since the mid-1800's to adorn cemetery headstones and other grave markers with a likeness of the deceased (see this example in Flickr).

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Choir Book

A book containing music sung or chanted by the choir in religious services. Medieval choir books used in services of the Catholic Church were of large size in order to be visible to the entire choir, often beautifully illuminated for display on a lectern in the sanctuary. The category includes the antiphonal, gradual, and missal. Click here to view a selection of medieval choir books (Getty Museum, Los Angeles) and here to page through the San Diego Choir Book held by Connecticut College. Compare with hymnal.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Choropleth Map

From the Greek choros ("place") and plethos ("magnitude" or "fullness"). A thematic map on which color, shading, hatching, or some other graphic technique is used to show the density or frequency of a quantifiable variable (e.g., population, mortality, precipitation, etc.) in each of several administrative or enumerative areas, based on average number of occurrences per unit of area, usually divided into classes. On these maps of the United States, color is used to indicate the topography of poverty (Centers for Disease Control). This example shows transit collisions by state in the United States for the year 2000 (Federal Transit Administration). To see other examples, try a keywords search on the term "choropleth map" in Google Images. Compare with dasymetric map.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chorus Score

The score of a musical work originally written for solo voice and chorus, which shows only the choral parts and any accompaniment arranged for keyboard instrument. See also: vocal score.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chrestomathy

    A collection of choice passages from the literary works of an author (or authors), especially one compiled as a sample of literary specimens or as an aid in the study of a language.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Christian Fiction (CF)

Novels and stories in which the author uses Christian belief as a major (sometimes predominant) theme in the development of character and plot, to promote Christian teachings or exemplify a Christian way of life. New titles are regularly reviewed in Booklist and Library Journal, and by Christian Fiction Review. See also: bible fiction and religious book.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chromolithograph

A color lithograph produced by preparing a separate stone for each color of ink and printing one color in register over another, as opposed to applying tints by hand after printing to produce a colored lithograph. For some prints, as many as 30 stones were used to create the desired effect. Introduced in the 1830s, the technique did not come into widespread commercial use until the 1860s and remained the most popular method of color printing until the end of the 19th century when less expensive photographic processes were developed for reproducing color. Click here to view a selection of chromolithographs in the Beautiful Birds exhibit, courtesy of the Cornell University Library, and here to see two examples by 19th-century American artist George Catlin (Yale University Library). See also: oleograph.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chronicle

 Originally, a detailed chronological record of contemporary events, usually recorded year by year over an extended period of time, with little or no interpretation or analysis and no pretense of literary style. The first examples, world histories beginning with Creation, relied largely on biblical sources. Local chronicles began in the 9th century during the reign of King Alfred with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, eventually covering the history of England from 60 B.C. to the 12th century. In the 13th century, vernacular chronicles began to emerge.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chronicle Play

A drama based on material from the chronicle histories of England, for example, those written by Hall and Holinshead. Popular during the Elizabethan period, chronicle plays were at first loosely structured but evolved into sophisticated character studies, exemplified by the history plays of William Shakespeare. A more recent example of a history play is A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt (1960).

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chronogram

 An inscription in which certain letters, made conspicuous, when read as roman numerals, indicate a specific date, for example, the motto ChrIstVs DVX; ergo trIVMphVs on a medal struck in 1632 by the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus, the capitals of which when added produce the sum 1632. Also, the record made by a chronograph. See this example from the Czech Republic.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chronological

The arrangement of data, records, items, headings, entries, etc., according to their relation in time, from earliest to latest. In library classification systems, the period subdivisions added to subject headings are listed in chronological order (example: --Antiquity, --Medieval, --Renaissance, then by century from the 15th to 20th). The opposite of reverse chronological.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chronological File

In archives, a file containing materials arranged by date or some other time sequence (see this example, courtesy of the University of Rhode Island). When circulated for reference, such a file is called a reading file. Abbreviated chron file and chrono file. Synonymous with continuity file and day file.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chronological Subdivision

 In library cataloging, a subdivision added to a class or subject heading to indicate the period of time covered by the work. Generally associated with historical treatment of a topic, chronological subdivisions are often used after the subdivision --History, as in the heading France--History--1789-1815. They are also used under artistic, literary, and music form/genre headings to modify the main heading, as in American poetry--20th century. Synonymous with period subdivision.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Chronology

A book or section of a book that lists events and their dates in the order of their occurrence. Most chronologies are limited to a specific period (example: Roman Empire), event (World War II), or theme (women's history). Book-length chronologies are usually shelved in the reference section of a library (example: Day by Day: The Sixties, Facts on File, 1983). Click here to see an example of an online chronology of book history. In a more general sense, a document that describes events or other information in order of their occurrence, to allow the reader to follow their development in time. Compare with calendar.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

Cipher

The initials of a personal name, written or arranged in ornamental form of such complexity and/or artistry as to form a private mark or symbol. Click here to view the cipher of William III of England, tooled in gilt on the leather binding of a 17th-century Bible (Special Collections, Glasgow University Library, Ds-c.2) and here to see the calligraphic cipher of Ottoman Emperor Suleyman the Magnificent (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Compare with cryptonym. In a more general sense, secret writing or code intended to be understood (deciphered) only by those who know the key to it. In data processing, an encrypted character that can only be decrypted with a key.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------

 Ciphertext

In cryptography, encrypted information that cannot be read without knowledge of the secret "key" or rules for converting it back into its original plaintext form, except through the process of cryptanalysis.

-------------------------------*****-------------------------------