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Shelf vs Library - What's the difference?

shelf | library |

As nouns the difference between shelf and library

is that shelf is a flat, rigid, rectangular structure, fixed at right angles to a wall, and used to support, store or display objects while library is an institution which holds books and/or other forms of stored information for use by the public or qualified people it is usual, but not a defining feature of a library, for it to be housed in rooms of a building, to lend items of its collection to members either with or without payment, and to provide various other services for its community of users.

shelf

English

(wikipedia shelf)

Noun

(shelves)
  • A flat, rigid, rectangular structure, fixed at right angles to a wall, and used to support, store or display objects.
  • * 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
  • Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.
  • The capacity of such an object; as, a shelf of videos.
  • A projecting ledge that resembles such an object.
  • A reef, shoal or sandbar.
  • Synonyms

    * (capacity) shelfful

    Derived terms

    * bookshelf * continental shelf * off the shelf * on the shelf * shelfful * shelvy * shelf life

    library

    Noun

    (libraries)
  • An institution which holds books and/or other forms of stored information for use by the public or qualified people. It is usual, but not a defining feature of a library, for it to be housed in rooms of a building, to lend items of its collection to members either with or without payment, and to provide various other services for its community of users.
  • A collection of books or other forms of stored information.
  • An equivalent collection of analogous information in a non-printed form, e.g. record library
  • (computer science) A collection of software subprograms that provides functionality, to be incorporated into or used by a computer program.
  • (card games) The deck or draw pile
  • A collection of DNA material from a single organism or relative to a single disease
  • Derived terms

    * Borgesian library * interlibrary * librarian * librarial * library and information science * library assistant * library catalog * library hand * library science * mobile library * record library * public library * school library