Content style guide | University of Arizona Libraries

This style guide is for library employees to use when writing digital or print content, whether it is a web page, a research guide, an evite, a PDF, an email, a slidedeck, or a social media post. It includes word usage, preferred terms, formatting guidelines, and more. See also:

For grammar help in your writing, we recommend Grammarly (a free browser add-on).

For how-to tips on creating and formatting content on our website, LibGuides, and elsewhere, see Creating & editing web content.

This style guide is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license.

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A

abbreviations and acronyms

With few exceptions, abbreviations and acronyms aren't acceptable in text. Avoid acronyms not commonly used. Spell out abbreviations or acronyms if your reader won’t recognize them the first time you mention it, such as ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries). Then use the short version for all other references.

See library acronyms (staff only).

affiliates

Avoid unless there isn’t a succinct, descriptive alternative. Try first:

students, faculty, and staff
the university community
members of the community
people

all caps

Avoid ALL CAPS on the web. They make text harder to read and can sound like you are shouting. Use all caps sparingly in print, and only for short titles or headlines.

ampersands

Use an ampersand when it is part of a formal name or title. Avoid using it as a substitute for "and," unless space is very limited in a design layout or when it is being used to create quick impact as in a headline.

For formats such as print and digital, use ampersands if they are a part of the official title of workshops, events, programs, or names of information resources (books, databases, etc.).

For web page titles, menu items, and headings with only two items, use an ampersand (e.g. “Visit & study”). If there are three or more items, spell out “and” (e.g. “Research, write, and publish”). Spell out “and” in body content.

archival materials

Describes primary sources and rare materials at Special Collections. This is the preferred term to describe these materials. However, in certain contexts, primary sources, rare, or historic materials can be used as helpful synonyms.

Ask Us desk

Use this instead of "Ask-us desk" or "Ask-Us desk". Avoid using "front desk" on the website.

audiovisual materials

Avoid. Use "audio and video recordings" instead. Refers to audio and visual materials at Special Collections.

B

bold

Use bold for emphasis when needed, but use it sparingly.

bullets

See lists.

buttons

When creating online content, you can use buttons for calls to action and to take people to the next step in a process. As much as possible, use active verbs for button labels and be explicit. Avoid general or vague terms such as "More" and "Click here." Good button label examples:

Request a space
View the calendar
RSVP

On web pages, avoid more than two buttons per page. The buttons should be the most important, primary call to action.

See also calls to action and links and labels.

C

calls to action

A web page’s primary call to action is usually expressed as a link or button. On something like a flyer, the call to action might be a web link or a phone number. To make it easy for the user, label the call to action starting with an active verb, such as:

Request a book
Reserve a space
Contact your librarian

capitalization

There are a few different forms of capitalization that should be used depending on the format.

Sentence case capitalizes the first letter of the first word. Use this for web page titles and headings and web news headlines (e.g. "Requesting articles," "Behind the scenes at the library.")

Title case capitalizes the first letter of every word except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. Use this for titles of books, movies, collections, workshops, events, and for press release headlines (e.g. "Women's Hackathon.")

Don't capitalize words in the middle of sentences unless it’s part of a proper name. Pay attention to people who use lower-case letters in their name and works that intentionally don't use capitalization.

See also college, library buildings, and people.

CATalyst Studios

See library spaces.

check in and out

checkout; check-in (noun; adjective):

They’re available for a 4-hour checkout.
Upon check-in, you will get a receipt.
The express check-in machines are near the exit.

check out; check in (verb):

You can check out a laptop.
We will check in the laptop and give you a receipt.

circulation

Avoid. Use borrowing.

classroom

Don't use this unless you are referring to a designated campus classroom. No rooms in the library can be called "classrooms."

click

Avoid using "click" or "click here" within link labels. Instead, use more meaningful link labels. You can use "click" if you are writing instructions, though try using "select" to see if that works instead. (Touch screens don't allow for "clicks" so the term is a bit outdated). For example:

Select the "Sign in" button
Select your choice from the list

collection

Use to refer to collections of materials. When linking to a specific collection, use the collection name. Don’t add “collection” to the end of the name unless it’s formally apart of the collection’s title.

Examples:

collection area

Groups of collections at Special Collections. Format collection area names in title case.

Examples:

Political Affairs
Arizona Queer Archives

collection guide

Describes what’s in a collection at Special Collections. Use instead of finding aid.

college, department, program, school, major/minor

Use "the College of Engineering." When several colleges are mentioned, it's "the colleges of engineering, science and fine arts." The same rule applies to schools.

The word department is capitalized in formations such as "Department of History." It is not capitalized when the formation is "the history department." The exception is any department with a word that is always capitalized, such as the English department.

Program names are capitalized, as are graduate programs of study, such as the Race Track Industry Program. Not all programs use the word "program" in their official names.

Majors and minors are not capitalized unless the major/minor name is a proper noun (English, Spanish, etc.).

commas

See Oxford commas.

contact us

If referring to a contact person, link to their staff directory page for additional information and contact options rather than only providing an email. For general contact information, direct people to the contact us web page. For example:

Contact our copyright librarian, Ellen Dubinsky.
If you have questions, contact us.

COVID-19

Use “COVID-19” rather than “COVID," "Covid," or “coronavirus.”

customers

Avoid. Use instead:

you
students
students, faculty, and staff
people
visitors

D

databases

Usually, call them research databases to be explicit when referring to our subscription databases. This might depend on context.

data management

Not capitalized. On first reference, you may want to use "research data management" to be more explicit.

dates

Always spell out the days of the week. Abbreviate months only when a specific date is used, such as Nov. 28. Never abbreviate March, April, May, June or July.

When referring to a month in a specific year, but not a specific date, always spell out the month and do not separate with a comma: July 1977.

When using specific dates, it should be "June 20" – not "June 20th" – unless the month and date are not contiguous. "She will travel on the 20th of June."

decades

Abbreviate decades when referring to those within the past 100 years. Add "s" to make plurals: the 1960s. When shortened, an apostrophe stands in place of omitted numerals: the '60s.

dropdown

Use “dropdown” rather than “drop down” or “drop-down.”

E

ebook

Not hyphenated.

email

Use “email” rather than “e-mail.” When writing an email address, use all lowercase, for example:

lbry-askddt@arizona.edu

If referring to a person, link to their staff directory page for additional information and contact options rather than only providing an email, for example:

Contact our copyright librarian, Ellen Dubinsky.

exhibit

Use instead of exhibition. Refers to in-person and online exhibits, mostly at Special Collections.

F

faculty

Faculty is a collective noun and takes a singular verb. For example:

The library faculty is exceptional.
The library faculty members are experts in their fields.

Only use faculty if you are just talking about faculty; if you are talking about instructors, which includes graduate teaching assistants, use instructor.

finding aid

Avoid. See collection guide.

font

Use either Calibri or Times New Roman per UA Branding. Make sure your font size is large enough to be read easily.

full text

Use “full text” rather than “full-text,” whether an adjective or noun. For example:

The database provides full text.
Ebooks are available in full text.
We have hundreds of full text databases.

G

H

headings

If your content is more than a few paragraphs, break things up with headings. This allows your users to scan to find what they are looking for. If your content is on the web, mark up your headings appropriately using heading level structure (e.g. H1, H2, H3). This applies the correct visual styling and ensures your content is accessible to screen readers. Don’t try to make your own headings visually by bolding, using ALL CAPS, or using italics.

Tips for headings:

Use sentence case—only capitalize the first word and proper names.
Don’t end headings with periods or colons; the only time to include punctuation is if it ends with a question mark
Make headings parallel in grammatical structure (e.g. imperative verbs, gerunds, questions).
Use active verbs when appropriate.
Don’t skip heading levels. If you have an H3, for example, you should also have H1 and H2 levels.
Avoid using more than three heading levels. If you need more sub-headings, consider rethinking your content structure.

Example:

H2. Borrow materials

H3. Books & journals

H3. Laptops & technology

H2. Renew materials

See also accessibility of headings and ampersands.

Health Sciences Library locations

To format the Health Sciences Library locations, use a hyphen in between "Health Sciences Library" and the location of "Tucson" or "Phoenix." Include a space before and after the hyphen.

Example:

Health Sciences Library - Tucson

Health Sciences Library - Phoenix

homepage

One word, not capitalized.

hours

Avoid “building hours.” Link to the relevant hours page instead of writing out hours to avoid outdated content, except for on sub-site homepages. Write out hours on the Health Sciences Library and Special Collections sub-site homepages, then link to the detailed hours pages.

Name links to hours pages something like:

Check detailed hours
Check our hours
See library hours

I

in-library use only

Use to refer to materials that are available to borrow and use in the library only.

in-person; in person

Hyphenate it when it’s used as an adjective before a noun. Otherwise, don’t hyphenate it.

in-person (adjective before a noun):

In-person meeting
In-person conversation

in person (doesn’t appear before a noun):

Visit us in person
Borrow technology in person at the Main Library

information commons

Don’t use.

instructor

Use to refer to those who teach.

interlibrary loan

Don’t capitalize or hyphenate, and don’t abbreviate to ILL.

internet

Avoid. Use the web.

italics

Use bold to bring emphasis and avoid italics unless they serve a unique purpose, such as highlighting quotations or citation formatting. Keep in mind italics are harder to read, especially in longer sections of text.

J

K

key terms

Two words.

keywords

One word.

L

learning studios

Capitalize when referring to a specific room, such as Learning Studio 112. Don't capitalize when referring to our suite rooms. Use "learning studios" instead. For example, "Our learning studios are equipped with large screens and flexible seating. Learning Studio 112 is located on the first floor." Never use "classroom" to refer to these rooms.

liaison librarian

Use liaison librarian (not capitalized) or your librarian. Avoid "liaison" by itself or "library liaison." Depending on context, you can also use expert or specialist.

LibGuides

Avoid. See research guides.

Libraries

Most of the time, you can just use first person (“us” or “we”) to refer to the library or library staff and second person (“you” or “your”) to refer to the reader. The context of the library website, library newsletter, or social media makes it unnecessary to spell out “University of Arizona Libraries.” For example:

We offer a variety of technology for students and faculty.
Our staff are collaborative, supportive, and dedicated to student success.

When that context isn’t apparent and it’s important to formally refer to our organization, use:

First reference: University of Arizona Libraries or University Libraries
Second reference: UA Libraries or Libraries

For example:

The University of Arizona Libraries offer a variety of technology for students and faculty. The Libraries are dedicated to student success.

Subject-noun agreement

The University Libraries are ....
The Libraries are...
We are…

Possessive

The University Libraries' policy for computer use is...
Or better yet: Our policy for computer use is...

When using library as an adjective, it’s ok to use singular, lower-case “library,” and in many cases this is the best choice (in particular if a plural noun follows). Don’t ever capitalize “library” when it’s singular. For example:

library late fees
library hours
library printers
library staff

library buildings and locations

Spell out the locations in full, except for Weaver Library which can be shortened depending on context. Never use acronyms for locations*.

Use	Avoid
Health Sciences Library	HSL AHSL UAHSL
Main Library	MN Main
Weaver Library (preferred) Weaver Science-Engineering Library Albert B. Weaver Science-Engineering Library	Science Engineering Library Science and Engineering Library SEL WSEL
Special Collections	SC Spec Coll

*It's okay to use the abbreviation for the Health Sciences Library (HSL) in the sub-site menu. Avoid in webpage content and titles.

On second reference, use singular, lower-case “the library.” For example:

The Main Library is located in the center of campus. The library collects a broad range of materials…

library departments

Avoid using department acronyms for external-facing content. Spell out the full name on first mention and list the acronym in parentheses if you use it later in the same piece of content. As appropriate link to the department page. For example:

The Office of Digital Innovation & Stewardship (ODIS) can help you at every stage of your research.

library search

Simply say “search the library” or “library search.” Don’t capitalize it and avoid mentioning more jargon terms such as Primo, Library Services Platform (LSP), OPAC, and catalog. For example:

Use library search to find books and articles.
Use advanced library search and limit to material type Books.
Search the library for books and articles.

library spaces

Use	Avoid
the desk Ask Us desk(s) Ask Us	service desk circulation desk reference desk help desk Information Commons Help Desk
CATalyst Studios CATalyst Studios at the Main Library	CATalyst Catalyst Catalyst Studios
Scholars’ Corner	Scholar’s Corner
Tubbs Tech Toolshed	Tech Tool Shed
Terry Seligman Virtual Reality Studio Virtual Reality Studio	VR/AR Studio
Maker Studio	Makerspace iSpace
Data Studio	Data Studios
Learning Studio 112	Learning Studio 112A IC Classroom Information Commons Room
long-term study room	Long-Term Study Room Long Term Study Room
Main Library, 1st floor	Information Commons IC ILC Learning Commons
reading room	Reading Room
bookshelves	stacks

Library Tools

Avoid Library Tools Tab (LTT) and Superwidget. Depending on context, you can describe it as:

Library Tools within D2L
Library Tools link

links and labels

Write clear, descriptive text for links and buttons so that users know where they are going. This is critical for those using screen readers. Don’t describe the mechanism behind following a link (e.g. click, click here, select) and use the minimum amount of text to be meaningful. Avoid generic labels such as: learn more, click here, find out more.

Active verbs often work well. Provide needed information so there are no surprises (e.g. if a password is required).

Examples:

Reserve a room (students only).
Register for the workshop by March 8.
To give us feedback, fill out the survey.

Don’t spell out URLs unless it is for a print piece or social media.

lists

Use lists to help make your text easier to scan and digest. Use bullets for lists of related items, lists of examples, and lists of options. Capitalize the first letter of each item.

An example of using bullets:

To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you:

Use another person's idea, opinion, or thought
Use any information that isn't common knowledge
Quote or paraphrase another person's actual spoken or written words

In bulleted lists, only use punctuation if the items are complete sentences:

Our commitments include:

We believe in social justice and equity.
We advocate for open access.

Only use numbered lists for instructions or steps in a process. Use punctuation at the end of each step, assuming they are complete imperative sentences. If your instructions include the names of links, buttons, or other navigation elements within a website, bold them. Make sure you reflect the element title exactly, including any capitalization. An example of using a numbered list:

View your checked out items.
Select the Transaction Number for the item you want to renew.
Select Renew Request.

Login

See sign in.

M

N

names

See also college, library buildings, and people.

NetID

On first reference, say "UA NetID." After first reference, shorten to "NetID."

numbers

Spell out numbers under ten (zero, one, two...nine), and spell out numbers when they’re the first word in a sentence. Use numerals for ten and beyond (10, 11...35). Use commas for numbers over three digits, but abbreviate them if there are space restraints, as in a tweet or a chart: 1k, 150k, $5M. For content that uses percentages, use the % symbol or “percentages” depending on context. Spell out fractions or use decimal points when a number can’t easily be written as a fraction.

Ten new employees started on Monday, and 12 start next week.
I ate three donuts at Starbucks.
Two-thirds of students don’t buy the required textbook.
47.2 percent of faculty use Google Scholar as a primary search tool.
We hosted a group of 11th graders who are learning to code.
999
1,000
150,000

O

open access

Not capitalized or hyphenated.

open educational resources

Not capitalized or hyphenated. Shorten to OER only if you spell out it out in full on first mention and list the acronym in parentheses. For example:

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources in the public domain or released with an open license. Anyone can freely use, copy, adapt, and reshare OER.

Oxford comma

In most cases, use the Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) when writing a series of things. This means you include a comma after the second-to-last item. For example:

David admires his parents, Oprah, and Justin Timberlake.

For official communications such as press releases, library reports, and strategic plans, don’t use the Oxford comma. This is the style preferred in the UA style guide. For example:

The Libraries include the Main Library, Albert B. Weaver Science-Engineering Library, Fine Arts Library, Health Sciences Library and Special Collections.

P

patrons

Avoid. Use instead:

you
students
students, faculty, and staff
people
visitors
members of the community

people

In general, avoid salutations (e.g. Mr., Ms., Dr.) and use full names. In future mentions, use only the first name. If including someone’s title, capitalize it. For example:

Dean Shan Sutton spoke at the luncheon.
Data Management Specialist Fernando Rios delivered a workshop. Fernando has worked at the Libraries for five years.

See titles.

pickup

pickup (noun): Locate books for pickup.

pick up (verb): Go to the hold shelf to pick up your book.

Never hyphenate pick-up.

primary sources

Refers to original documents and materials hosted at Special Collections. See also archival materials.

pronouns

Use “he/him/his,” “she/her/her,” or “they/them/their” pronouns that reflect the individual’s gender. If your subject’s gender is unknown or irrelevant, use “they,” “them,” and “their” as a singular pronoun. Don’t use “one” as a pronoun and don’t use “s/he” or “him or her” which implies binary gender expression. Examples:

Jay Smith will present on virtual reality projects in the classroom. They have been teaching at the university for five years.
The person in this role will collaborate with a team daily. They will deliver workshops, provide consultations, and create training materials.

punctuation

Follow AP Style on punctuation. Use one space, not two, after punctuation between sentences. For example:

The University of Arizona Libraries offers a variety of technology for students and faculty. The Libraries are dedicated to student success.

Q

R

reference

Avoid, unless discussing the reference collection. See also research.

research

Use to describe reference help and consultations. For example:

We can help you with your research.
Contact us for research support.
Ask us a research question.

research data management

Not capitalized.

research guides

Use to describe LibGuides and web pages that guide users through research. Related options include:

subject guide
course guide
topic guide
tutorial

rooms and spaces

See library spaces.

S

sign in

signin (noun): Use the signin.

sign out (verb): Sign out of your account.

signout (noun): Use the signout.

Never hyphenate “sign-in.” Avoid “login” and “log in” unless it applies to a system that uses that term and is necessary for clarity and consistency.

staff

When referring to library employees, use:

library staff member (individual)
library staff (collective noun)
library employee(s)

staff directory

Use “Browse our staff directory” as the call-to-action for buttons that link to our staff directory. Use instead of “Meet our staff” or “Contact our staff.” Link to the relevant department page.

sub-site

Don’t use for external audiences. Use website or web page instead. Examples:

Health Sciences Library website
A Special Collections web page

Health Sciences Library and Special Collections have “sub-sites” that are part of the Main Library website. Each sub-site has two levels of navigation: the Main Library menu and its unique sub-site menu.

We use “sub-site” internally at the Libraries to define these websites. Be sure to add a hyphen in “sub-site.”

T

For longer pages on our website, we can add a table of contents at the top using anchor links to provide an overview of the content. An anchor link takes you to directly to a section on a page.

Use the the H3 heading “On this page” and bullet points to list the links to different sections. See the table of contents on the Find & use collections page as an example.

telephone numbers

On the web, use parentheses for the area code and a dash within the phone number: (555) 555-5555.

On print or digital content beyond the web, numbers can also be: 555.555.5555 or (555)555.5555.

The University of Arizona

In marketing communications, it is "the University of Arizona" on first reference and "the university" or “Arizona/at Arizona” on second reference.

Here’s how six incredible women in science, technology, engineering and math at Arizona are making the world better.
Discover life at Arizona — the clubs, classes and activities that will help you be your best self.
@UArizonaCAPLA (social media handle)

For communications intended for internal audiences, it is "the University of Arizona" on first reference and "the University" or “Arizona/at Arizona” on second reference.

“UArizona” is reserved for news communications for external audiences, social media handles, campaigns or titles.

See University of Arizona Style Guide.

time

On the web, keep it as simple as possible by using numerals and am or pm without a space. For example: 7am, 7:30pm.

For print or other digital content, use periods: 7 a.m., 7:30 p.m.

Use a hyphen between times to indicate a time period. For example: 7am-10:30pm (web), 7 a.m.-10:30 p.m. (print). Never include :00 for on-the-hour time.

Specify Mountain Standard Time when writing about a local event that includes a remote option. For example: 12pm MST.

titles (for people)

When using a person's job title, only capitalize if it precedes their name. For example:

Director of Marketing Communications Kenya Johnson is leading the effort.
Kenya Johnson is the director of marketing communications.

See people.

titles (for web pages)

Make the title of your content meaningful to users. For content on the web, this will improve their findability and is how they will appear in search results. Keep titles succinct and use active voice when possible. Web page titles should be sentence case. Examples of good web page titles:

Find materials
Apply for a library card

U

underlining

Never underline text when writing digital content since users will interpret underlined text as a link. In print, underlined text isn't good for legibility.

If you want to emphasize something, try using bold.

The University of Arizona Press

First reference: The University of Arizona Press or in the middle of a sentence the University of Arizona Press
Second reference: Press

For example:

The University of Arizona Press is the premier publisher of academic, regional, and literary works in the state of Arizona. Founded in 1959, the Press is a nonprofit publisher of scholarly and regional books.
Since 1974, the University of Arizona Press has published exceptional works in the field of space science.

Subject-noun agreement:

The University of Arizona Press is
The Press is...
We are…

URLs

When creating a new URL for a web page:

Keep it short and simple yet meaningful
Use all lower-case letters
Don’t use punctuation, apostrophes, or other symbols
Don’t use spaces
Don’t use underscores
Use a hyphen between words if you like
Use only one or two words, unless absolutely necessary
Use short and commonly known words and abbreviate if it will make sense to the user

For example:

/faculty
/accidental-plagiarism
/past-events

V

W

web

Use to refer to the internet. Avoid “internet” and “world wide web.” For example: