Definitions are taken either from the Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science ot based on how the terms are used here at NMSU
Budget -- The total amount of funds available to meet a library's expenditures over a fixed period of time (usually one or two years). In most budgets, funds are allocated by category of expenditure, called lines. In chronically underfunded libraries and library systems, budgeting can be a major source of frustration for librarians and library administration.
Databases -- A large, regularly updated file of digitized information (bibliographic records, abstracts, full-text documents, directory entries, images, statistics, etc.) related to a specific subject or field, consisting of records of uniform format organized for ease and speed of search and retrieval and managed with the aid of database management system (DBMS) software. Content is created by the database producer (for example, the American Psychological Association), which usually publishes a print version (Psychological Abstracts) and leases the content to one or more database vendors (EBSCO, OCLC, etc.) that provide electronic access to the data after it has been converted to machine-readable form (PsycINFO), usually on CD-ROM or online via the Internet, using proprietary search software.
Discount price -- In publishing, a percentage deducted from the publisher's list price for an item as an inducement to purchase.
Encumbrance --In library acquisitions, an amount charged against a budgetary fund to cover a prior commitment to purchase materials, equipment, services, or supplies, removed once full payment is made or the order is canceled. Encumbrances are tracked by the library to prevent over-expenditure.
List price -- The undiscounted price at which a new publication is offered for sale to the public, established by the publisher at the time the edition is issued. The list price is quoted in the publisher's catalog and printed on the front flap of the dust jacket in hardcover editions and usually on the back cover in softcover editions. Discounts offered to libraries, booksellers, and jobbers are computed as a percentage off list price.
Monographs – Materials in any format that only have to be paid for one time. Books, e-Books, Music CD’s, DVD’s, etc. A key concept for monographs is that they are complete in one piece.
Notify – Materials that someone wishes to be notified as soon as they are available on the shelf.
Rush – Materials that are ordered by the fastest means possible and then walked through the receiving, cataloging, and processing workflows.
Serials – Also known as Periodical or Journals, A publication in any medium issued under the same title in a succession of discrete parts, usually numbered (or dated) and appearing at regular or irregular intervals with no predetermined conclusion. In AACR2 2002, serials are classified as a type of continuing resource.
Serial publications include print periodicals and newspapers, electronic magazines and journals, annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.), continuing directories, proceedings and transactions, and numbered monographic series cataloged separately. When serials split, merge, or are absorbed, a title change may occur. Most libraries purchase serials on subscription or continuation order.
Slips – This term also refers to the electronic slips we are provided by YBP. In acquisitions, a type of approval plan in which a printed or electronic form, called a notification slip, is sent by the vendor, describing each new book that meets the library's profile, as opposed to automatic shipment of the item itself. Some vendors provide a multipart form with a tear strip, for use as order slip, file copy, etc. Electronic slips may include the table of contents of the work, a digital image of the front cover, and review information.