MPR: Style Guide

The OCLS Style Guide is based on the Associated Press Stylebook with some modifications. For guidance on spelling not found here, defer to the Webster's New World College Dictionary.

Information on this style guide is meant as a reference for all written communication, both digital and print, including event listings in Communico and on library posters.

This guide will be regularly updated to reflect current usage in the Associated Press Stylebook and as language evolves internally at the library.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, contact Wayne Middleton at wmiddleton@ocls.info.

ages

• always use numerals for ages; [15 years old, not fifteen years old]
• use hyphens for ages expressed as an adjective before a noun; [a 5-year-old girl, but the girl is 5 years old]
• use the phrasing ‘Recommended for ages #-#’ or ‘Recommended for ages # and up’
• standardized age ranges are:
  • Recommended for ages 0–18 months.
  • Recommended for ages 18–36 months.
  • Recommended for ages 3–5.
  • Recommended for ages 6–12.
  • Recommended for ages 13–18.
  • Recommended for ages 18 and up.
  • Recommended for families.
• events intended for all ages do not need ‘all ages’ listed in the description
• age range descriptions like ‘Recommended for babies, preschoolers, tweens, upper elementary, adults’ have been discontinued and should be replaced with the above number ranges

and

• spell out ‘and’ in most cases
• in titles and headlines ‘&’ can be used
• use ‘&’ for dates and times; [10 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Tuesdays & Fridays]

bestseller; bestselling

• no hyphen

bold / italic / underline

• do not use bold, italic or underline for emphasis
• italicize titles of books, movies – See Composition Titles

bookstore

• one word
• The Friends of the Orange County Library System Bookstore

book sale

• two words

capitalization

• only capitalize proper nouns such as a person’s name, book title, etc.
• do not capitalize improper nouns for emphasis; [Vietnamese beef phở not Vietnamese Beef Phở]
• in headings and titles, do not capitalize articles, prepositions with fewer than three letters or conjunctions with fewer than three letters unless they start or end the title
  • a, an, the
  • for, of, up, etc.
  • and, but, for, nor, or, so, etc.

composition titles

• capitalize book, movie, album, etc. titles – See Capitalization
• italicize all book, magazine, newspaper, movie, album titles; [The Outsiders, Orlando Sentinel, Shrek 2]
  • in instances where a text editor does not allow for italic text, quotes can be used, but should be avoided if possible; [“The Outsiders”]
• do not italicize the titles of reference works, video games, board games or software; [Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Microsoft Office, Monopoly, Super Mario Bros.]
• do not italicize the names of media networks; [The Associated Press, PBS, ABC]
• do not italicize series names; [The Empire Strikes Back is part of the Star Wars series]
• do not italicize character names shared with a title; [Shrek is a character in the movie Shrek]

dates

• spell out days and months; in general do not abbreviate
• if space is needed for posters, abbreviating months is okay
• dates should be formatted Day of Week, Month Date, Time; [Monday, January 2, 3 p.m.]
• multiple dates can be combined; [Mondays, January 2–23, 3 p.m. or Mondays, January 2 & 16, 3 p.m.]

decades

• 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s [not 1990’s]
• ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s, ‘10s [not 60’s]

do’s and don’ts

first come, first served

• not ‘first come, first serve’; [Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.]

gender; sexuality

• gender refers to a person’s social identity; sex refers to biological characteristics
• not all people fall under one of two categories for sex or gender
• LGBT; LGBTQ; LGBTQIA; with or without a +; used as an umbrella term, use specific terms for individuals and groups
  • lesbian
  • gay
  • bisexual
  • transgender
  • queer and/or questioning; queer is acceptable only if the individual or organization uses it to refer to themselves
  • intersex
  • asexual, agender and/or aromantic
• always check with individual presenters and partners for their preferred language

hyphens

• Use hyphens to join compound modifiers or to remove ambiguity 
• examples where a hyphen can be used to remove ambiguity:
  • He recovered his health.
  • He re-covered the leaky roof.
  • The story is a re-creation.
  • The park is for recreation.
• examples of compound modifiers, two or more words that proceed a noun that express a single concept:
  • small-business owner
  • better-qualified candidate
  • little-known song
  • French-speaking people
  • low-income workers
  • award-winning author
  • motor-development skills
• in general, hyphenate three word modifiers
  • step-by-step list
• Prefixes that generally require hyphens include self-, all-, ex-, half-.
• Suffixes that generally require hyphens include -free, -based, -elect.
• for most compound phrases there are not set rules on whether to hyphenate or not, err on the side of clarity or reference Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

internet

• do not capitalize

library

• do not capitalize in generic usage, even as shorthand for Orange County Library System or individual branch locations; [library staff, the library not Library staff or the Library]

library location names

• do not use ‘the’ when referring to Orange County Library System or branch locations [Southeast Branch not the Southeast Branch]
• always capitalize branch in location names; [Alafaya Branch not Alafaya branch]
• do not use shortened forms of branch names; [Join us at Alafaya Branch for… not Join us at Alafaya for…]
• do not use alterations of location names; [Alafaya Branch not Alafaya Library]
• only use acronyms like OCLS and TEC after the first use of the official name in a paragraph
• branch locations should be referred to as:
  • Alafaya Branch
  • Chickasaw Branch
  • Eatonville Branch
  • Fairview Shores Branch
  • Hiawassee Branch
  • Horizon West Branch
  • Lake Nona Branch
  • Orlando Public Library
  • North Orange Branch
  • South Creek Branch
  • South Trail Branch
  • Southeast Branch
  • Southwest Branch
  • Washington Park Branch
  • West Oaks Branch; West Oaks Branch and Genealogy Center
  • Windermere Branch
  • Winter Garden Branch
• internal departments / locations should be referred to as:
  • Youth Services
  • The Melrose Center; The Dorothy Lumley Melrose Center; The Dorothy Lumley Melrose Center for Technology, Innovation and Creativity
  • Marketing & Public Relations
  • Friends of the Orange County Library System Bookstore
  • Questline
  • Learning Central

numbers

• use numerals for numbers 10 and up
• spell out numbers under 10; [one, two, three, etc.]
• ages should always use numerals; [ages 6–12, 5-years-old] See ages

race; ethnicity

• do not hyphenate terms such as African American, Asian American, Mexican American, etc., capitalize in all cases
• capitalize Black when referring to race, ethnicity and culture; [celebrating Black inventors]
• do not capitalize white when referring to race
• the terms African American and Black are not interchangeable
• the terms Asian American and Pacific Islander are not interchangeable
• the terms Latino/Latina/Latinx and Hispanic are not interchangeable
• the terms American Indian and Native American are acceptable, but preferences differ among groups and individuals
• only use the term Indian when referring to the south Asian country, do not use it to refer to Native American / American Indian people
• always check with individual presenters and partners for their preferred language

registration

• use the phrase ‘Registration required’
• the phrase ‘Space is limited’ may be used if an event has a very low capacity
• do not use ‘Registration recommended’ or terminology such as ‘Please register!’
• do not use ‘No registration required’

serial comma; Oxford comma

• do not use for simple lists in sentences; [They ate apples, pears and bananas.]
• if a sentence may be confusing to the reader without a serial comma, they may be used; consider rewriting or rewording to improve clarity

step-by-step

• always hyphenate

storytime; storytimes

• one word

tai chi; qigong

• do not capitalize unless part of a formal title such as an organization or celebrations like World Tai Chi and Qigong Day
• tai chi is two words, no hyphen
• qigong is one word, no hyphen

trademarks, registered symbols

• do not include ™, ℠, or ® for brand names or products.

phone numbers

• use periods to separate phone numbers; [407.835.7323]
• do not use parentheses or hyphens

punctuation

• do not use double spaces after a period
• use a space before and after an ellipsis; [Antici … pation]
  • an ellipsis is exactly three periods
• avoid using exclamation marks! especially in every sentence! why are we yelling!?

time

• lowercase and use periods
• use Noon instead of 12 p.m.; use Midnight instead of 12 a.m.
• don’t use zeros after even hours or before single digit hours; [2 p.m. not 02:00 p.m.]
• use an en-dash or hyphen with no spaces for time ranges; [6 a.m.–7 p.m.]
• drop any double a.m./p.m. from time ranges; [8–11 a.m. not 8 a.m.–11 a.m.]

titles

• In general, only use capitalization formal formal titles used directly before an individual's name, lowercase elsewhere
• Lowercase and spell out titles that are not used with a person's name
• Titles offset by a comma are always lowercase [Omar Robinson, the undersecretary for economic affairs; The vice president, Kamala Harris, was elected in 2020]
• Examples of formal titles:
  • Pope Francis
  • President Joe Biden
  • Vice Presidents Yukari Nakamura
  • Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
  • Dr. Benjamin Spock
• Examples of informal titles that serve as occupational descriptions:
  • astronaut Sally Ride
  • poet Maya Angelou

they; them; their (singular)

• use singular they/them/their pronouns for persons of unknown gender, those that do not identify as either male or female, and those that ask not to be referred to with gendered pronouns

web addresses / URLs / domain names

• do not use http:// and www. for URLs; [ocls.info not http://www.ocls.info/]
• addresses should contain hyperlinks when used on digital platforms
• addresses should use Arial Bold when used in print

website; webpage

• lowercase, one word