Word List

am / pm

9:00am to 1:35pm. Lowercase am and pm, with no space beforehand. Alternatively, 9am–1:35pm (using an n-dash).

More about this: Libraries Communications' Style and Usage page notes that we usually conform to The Chicago Manual of Style. In the case of writing "am" and "pm" on the website, we are deliberately not using the Chicago's manual's "a.m." and "p.m." Key web pages, including the hours page and all workshop listings, have dozens of instances of "am" and "pm," and dropping the periods makes those pages cleaner, simpler, and easier to read.

Ask Us

When referring to our Ask Us service, both words should be capitalized.

Remember that "Ask Us" is a phrase with meaning even outside of the way we use it to describe our services. When you use it in a user-facing sentence, it should make sense as the phrase "ask us."

Additionally, Ask Us is only at the Hill and Hunt Libraries. At the branch libraries, the equivalent of the Ask Us desk is the "service desk."

Borrow

Use this word when referencing loaning or lending materials to patrons, since "borrow" is more user-first. Try to mirror patrons' language. They often ask, "How long can I borrow this?"

Business day

View weekday.

Dates

Dates should be formatted as day of the week, month, numeric date, and year (Wednesday, August 1, 2022). Avoid using numeric only date formats (8/1/2022). This date could be read as August 1, 2022 or January 8, 2022.

Ebook

Ebook at the start of a sentence, ebook in the middle of it. Never eBook or e-book.

Email

Email at the start of a sentence, email in the middle of it. Never e-mail.

Fall / Spring

Capitalize Fall and Spring when followed by a year to denote a semester. Don't use a comma or "of" between the season and year. Leave uncapitalized otherwise.

First floor, second floor

In text, spell out the number of the floor: second floor, not 2nd floor. On a map, refer to the floor as 2 or Floor 2.

Phone Numbers

Use parenthesis around the area code, followed by a space, and the remaining digits. (919) 515-3364.

The Hill Library, the Hunt Library

Use the definite article before the name of the library, whether it's shortened (the Hill Library) or the full form (the D. H. Hill Jr. Library). More examples on Confluence.

The Libraries

Refer to NC State's two main libraries and three branch libraries as the Libraries, with a capital L. Treat the Libraries as a singular, collective noun, like the group.

QuickSearch

Capital Q, capital S, all one word. Not Quicksearch or Quick Search.

View vs. see

When creating a link that could be phrased "See our hours," use view instead.

Why? Not everyone can see, but with one's eyes or assistive tech, everyone can view. This distinction is made by some accessibility advocates.

Web page

We use web page, two words, not webpage, following the Chicago Manual of Style.

Weekday (Mon-Fri)

When describing turnaround time for a request or service, use weekday (Mon-Fri) instead of business day.

Why? Our user research has shown us that users have various (mis)conceptions about what a business day is. For example, some users think it's a day when the business is open, so they assume the Libraries' business days include the weekends.