Glossary of Library Terms: Glossary

Abstract

A short summary of an article, book, etc., that can help you figure out if it contains the information you are looking for. Research databases often have abstracts to help you decide which articles to read.

Annotation

1. A note that describes, explains, or evaluates; especially such a note added to an entry in a bibliography, reading list, or catalog.

2. Process of making such notes. Annotation is the end product of making such notes.

Article

A brief work (between 1-40 pages) on a topic, published as part of a journal, magazine, or newspaper.

Authentication

A security process that typically employs usernames and passwords to validate the identity of users before allowing them access to certain information.

Author

The person(s) or organization(s) that wrote or compiled a document. Looking for information under its author's name is one option in searching.

Bibliography

A list containing citations to the resources used in writing a research paper or other document.

Book Drop and Book Return

A slot or chute through which you can deposit library materials you wish to return. We have a slot in our Circulation Desk and also a book drop at the entrance closest to the Circle Drive.

Boolean Operator

A word—such as AND, OR, or NOT—that commands a computer to combine search terms. Helps to narrow (AND, NOT) or broaden (OR) searches.

Browser

A software program that enables users to access Internet resources. Microsoft Bing, Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox are all browsers.

Call Number

A call number is like an address for a book on the shelf. At CWC we use the Library of Congress Classification System, which is a combination of letters and numbers. Call numbers for books are assigned according to what the book is about, so that books on the same topic are shelved together. It's called a call number because in some libraries, it's what was "called" to a library worker who retrieved a requested book.

Catalog

An online database listing and describing the books, ebooks, journals, government documents, audiovisual and other materials held by a library. It can be searched in various ways— such as by keyword, author, title, subject, or call number— to find out resources a library owns. All items in the catalog will include the title, call number, author, location, and description.

Check Out

To borrow/rent/loan/issue an item from a library for a fixed period of time in order to read, listen to, or view it. Check-out periods vary by library. Physical items are checked out at the circulation desk.

Circulation and Circulation Desk

1) Activities related to the lending of library materials to patrons.

2) The library department that provides these services.

3) The Circulation Desk, located near the front entrance, is where you go to check out books, borrow equipment, get Reserve Collection materials, and pay fines and fees (on CWC reserve items, ILLS, or laptops only).

Citation

A note that tell the reader that an idea or information came from another source. Also, information about a source like a periodical article, book, video, etc., that can identify and help you locate that particular work. A citation can include information such as the title of the article or book, the author, the periodical in which an article was published, the date of publication, and page number. See our citation guide for more about creating citations in the common styles.

Course Reserve

A selection of books, articles, or other materials that instructors want students to read or view for a particular course. Print reserve materials are usually kept in one area of the library and circulate for only a short period of time.  See also Reserve Collection.

Database

Broadly defined, a database is a collection of records with information, and some means of searching those records for specific information. Library research databases are computerized information-finding tools, such as the library catalog or the online services CWC subscribes to companies like EBSCO, Credo, and ProQuest.

Descriptor 

A word that describes the subject of an article or book; used in many computer databases.

DOI 

Acronym for Digital Object Identifier. It is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by the publisher to a digital object.

Download/Save/Upload

To transfer information from a computer to a program or storage device to be viewed at a later date. Uploading to Google Drive is what you should do when you find a good article.

eBook

An electronic book that can be read on a computer or mobile device.

Editor

A person or group responsible for compiling the writings of others into a single information source. Looking for information under an editor's name is one option in searching.

Encyclopedia

A large book or eBook containing information on all branches of knowledge, offering background information with core concepts, terms, events, people, and definitions of a topic. Entries are in alphabetical order. Available through the library databases. Wikipedia is an example of a public online encyclopedia

E-Resource

Electronic resources are any information sources available through a computer system, such as electronic versions of journal or magazine articles, books, or book chapters that come from online research databases; streaming videos; or websites.

Full-Text

An electronic version of a periodical article or part of a book, that you get from an online research database. It might be formatted as a web page with the text and sometimes the illustrations from the original article, or it might be provided as a PDF which looks like the original printed article. The term "full-text" is also used to refer to databases that contain full-text content, or to periodical titles for which full-text content is available in a particular database.

Glossary

An alphabetical list of terms specialized to a field of knowledge with definitions or explanations.

Hit

An item (article, book, etc.) found in a database search. As in, "We'll have to try different search terms, because that last search only got three hits."

Hold

A request for a book or other item that is checked out, so you can get it when it comes back (or puts you on the waiting list if several people want it). 

Holdings

Books and other materials owned by the library. Also includes electronic resources (e-Resources).

Hyperlink

An image or a portion of text which a Web user can click to jump to another document or page on the Web. Textual hyperlinks are often underlined and appear as a different color than the majority of the text on a Web page.

 

Index

1) When referring to types of research databases, an index lists articles about different topics, but doesn't provide the actual full text of the article.

2) A list of topics at the end of a book that gives page numbers of where the topic is addressed in the book. 

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

A service that allows you to borrow materials from other libraries through your own library.

ISBN

International Standard Book Number – used in the publishing industry to identify specific book versions. You can search by ISBN in the online library catalog, but be aware that different versions of the same book (for example, paperback and hardcover) will have different ISBNs. You can't use an ISBN to physically locate a book inside the library – you'll need a call number to do that.

Item

An individual book, video recording, or other type of library material. If we had multiple duplicate copies of something, each copy counts as an item.

Journal

A periodical which is considered more scholarly than a popular magazine. Journal articles usually contain footnotes and/or bibliographical references and is usually published by an educational or research institution or professional society. See also magazine, scholarly journal, trade journal professional journal See also peer-reviewed journal; professional journal; scholarly (academic) journal; trade journal.

Journal title 

The name of a journal. Journal title is one common search term.

Keyword

A word you use to find information on your topic in a database. A good search uses multiple keywords that represent the main concepts of your topic.

Known Item Search

A search for an item or article when you have some or all of the citation information.

LibGuides

A web hosting service used by many libraries. We use the LibGuides system to create research guides for particular courses or subjects, how-to guides, and for other special topics. Click here to see a list of our guides. We try to use the term "guide" to avoid confusion when communicating with library users, but we might call a LibGuides guide a LibGuide because that's what we call it among the library staff.

Library Card

An identification card used for library services.

Library Catalog

The computer system that lets you check to see what books, videos, and other materials are available in the library's physical collections. Many of the library's electronic books are also in the catalog. The online library catalog is the successor to the old card catalog. To do a search of our current Library holdings use this link.

Limits/limiters

Options used in searching that restrict your results to only information resources meeting certain other, non-subject-related, criteria. Limiting options vary by database, but common options include limiting results to materials available full-text in the database, to scholarly publications, to materials written in a particular language, to materials available in a particular location, or to materials published at a specific time.

Loan Period

The amount of time the library materials may be borrowed. Loan periods vary.

Location

Identifies the area or collection in the library where the item is housed.

Magazine

A periodical that consists of popular articles written for the general reader rather than for scholars in a particular field.

Newspaper

A publication containing information about varied topics that are pertinent to general information, a geographic area, or a specific subject matter (i.e. business, culture, education). Often published daily.

Non-Circulating

Describes books and other materials that cannot be borrowed, such as books in the Reference Collection. They have to be used in the library.

Patron

A person who uses a library.

PDF

A file format short for Portable Document Format. You can download a PDF copy of your article to your computer, or email it to yourself when you find it in a database.

Peer Review

A process by which editors have experts in a field review books or articles submitted for publication by the experts’ peers. Peer review helps to ensure the quality of an information source by publishing only works of proven validity, methodology, and quality. Peer-reviewed journals are also called scholarly journals.

Periodical

Periodicals are publications like magazines, journals, and newspapers.

Primary source

An original record of events, such as a diary, a newspaper article, a public record, or scientific documentation.

Proxy server

An Internet server that acts as a “go-between” for a computer on a local network (secure system) and the open Web. Often checks to determine “right of access” to the secure environment and speeds up requests by caching frequently accessed Web pages. Can also act as a firewall. CWC Library uses Proxy servers to ensure database resources are only accessed by patrons of CWC Library.

Research

A process of learning whereby you search for information on a topic while growing your knowledge on that topic. A creative and systematic work you do to increase your knowledge and to apply that new knowledge to your thesis. The steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or an issue.

Recall

A recall is a request to have a book that is checked-out called back from the current borrower. This is usually done when a patron has a book checked out, and someone else has requested the item. Recalls can be initiated by submitting a Hold through the library catalog.

Reference Instruction

A service where librarians assist people with finding information and learning research skills. 

Remote access

The ability to log onto (or access) networked computer resources from a distant location. Remote access makes available library databases to students researching from home, office, or other locations outside the library.

Renew

To extend the loan of a library item that you have borrowed. It's like re-borrowing the item so you can have it for another loan period. There is a limit to how many times you can renew an item. Some items cannot be renewed. You won't be able to renew if someone else has made a request for that item.

Reserve

The Reserve Collection has class readings that are made available to students at the request of instructors. Some items are provided by the instructor, and some are items from the library's collection. Most items on reserve must be used in the library, while some are available to be borrowed for three days. For more information, see the Course Reserves page.

Scholarly Article

An article in a scholarly journal. Written by experts, scientists, and researchers for students and other researchers. Read the abstract, introduction, and conclusion first.

Scholarly Journal

A publication, issued on a regular basis, which contains scholarly research published as articles, papers, research reports, or technical reports. Also called a peer-reviewed journal.

Search statement/Search Query

Words entered into the search box of a database or search engine when looking for information. Words relating to an information source's author, editor, title, subject heading or keyword serve as search terms. Search terms can be combined by using Boolean operators and can also be used with limits/limiters.

Secondary sources

Materials such as books and journal articles that analyze primary sources. Secondary sources usually provide evaluation or interpretation of data or evidence found in original research or documents such as historical manuscripts or memoirs.

Serial

Publications such as journals, magazines and newspapers that are generally published multiple times per year, month, or week. Serials usually have number volumes and issues. The words journal, magazine, periodical, and serial may be used interchangeably.

Stacks

The rows of bookshelves that hold the library's collections.

Thesaurus 

A list of terms which serves as a standardized or controlled vocabulary for identifying, locating, and retrieving information.

Title

There are two ways we regularly use this word.

1) The name of a book, video, magazine, article, etc.

2) To refer non-specifically to unique books or other works. For example, if we do a search in the library catalog, and get a list of five different books as a result, we might say we found five titles. If we found only one book, but had two duplicate copies of that book, that would count as one title, two items.

User ID

A number or name unique to a particular user of computerized resources. A user ID must often be entered in order to access library resources remotely.