Mark Lenker
Assistant Librarian for Reference and Instruction/
Assistant Professor
Greenwood Library, Longwood University
Redford and Race Streets
Farmville, VA 23909
tel: 434.395.2257   fax:  434.395.2453
email: lenkermn@longwood.edu

I've put together a quick reference sheet for librarians staffing IM Reference.  Although recent research suggests that college students use obscure acronyms and abbreviations far less frequently than previously thought (Baron, 2005), there is a good chance that we might run across a baffling expression from time to time.  This list emphasizes those terms we are most likely to see in a reference context.  From what I've learned from IM Lingo sites on the Web, most of the really bizarre expressions are more social in nature.  The chances are remote that we will ever have to worry about such acronyms as "IWALU" ("I Will Always Love You") or "PMP" ("Peed My Pants").