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|GLOSSARY OF LIBRARY TERMS|
For a more comprehensive glossary, see ODLIS: Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science.
Abstract. A brief summary of an article or book.
Bibliography. A list of articles and/or books on a specific subject or by a specific author.
Call Number. The letters and/or numbers used by a library to classify and arrange materials. The call number gives the shelf location of an item.
Catalog. A listing of a library's materials (books, bound volumes of periodicals, multimedia, etc.).
Citation. The complete reference to an article or book. It contains all the details required to describe a unique item, and locate it within a library collection.
Classification System. A way of organizing items on the shelves. The two most common classification systems in the United States are the Dewey Decimal System and the Library of Congress Classification System.
Database. See Periodical Database.
Descriptor. A single word or phrase used by the indexer of a database to denote a particular subject. All documents in the database related to that subject will be filed under that word or phrase. Often used synonymously with the term, "subject heading."
E-book. An electronic book. Usually, it is a book that has previously been published in paper, reproduced in electronic format, and made available on a database such as netLibrary.
Entry. A record in a library catalog representing a book or other item in its collection.
Full-Text. The complete word content of a document.
Galileo. An acronym for Georgia Library Learning Online, Galileo is Georgia's virtual library. Galileo contains over 100 databases that allow access to the full text of around 7,000 journals and index the contents of many more, link to over 18,000 e-books, and provide other useful and timely information. See also Periodical Database; E-book.
Holdings. The book, periodical, and/or multimedia contents of a library; the library's "inventory."
Hypertext Link. A connection from a hypertext document to the URL of an Internet document. The link can be embedded in a portion of the text itself (such as a word or phrase) or in an icon. Text links are usually underlined and appear in blue.
ILL. The acronym used to describe the computer system of interlibrary loans.
Index. A printed or computerized system that arranges articles or books by subject, title, author, and/or keyword. Some examples are Reader's Guide Full Text, Academic Search Premier, Research Library, and ABI/Inform Complete. See also Periodical Database.
Intercampus Loan. This is when a branch campus library borrows a book or other item from another branch campus library at the same college or within the same library system. Contrast with Interlibrary Loan.
Interlibrary Loan. This is when a library borrows a book or other item from another unaffiliated library. The acronym for interlibrary loan is ILL. Contrast with Intercampus Loan.
Internet. The series of interconnected networks allowing communication of data among millions of computers worldwide.
ISBN. The acronym for "International Standard Book Number." There is a unique number for each published book.
ISSN. The acronym for "International Standard Serial Number." There is a unique number assigned to each periodical.
Link. See Hypertext Link.
netLibrary. A collection of over 15,000 full-text electronic books that may be accessed online. These include many reference, scholarly, and university press books. netLibrary's catalog has some particularly useful features; not only are standard subject, author, and title searches supported, but keyword searching may be performed within the text of a single e-book or throughout the entire collection. netLibrary is a subsidiary of Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). See also E-book; OCLC.
OCLC. The acronym for Online Computer Library Center. This organization provides detailed bibliographic records for nearly fifty million books and other items. Libraries that subscribe to its services can download these records directly into their online public access catalogs. In addition to cataloging support, OCLC provides its member libraries with access to its automated interlibrary loan system and other services.
Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC or PAC). The online version of a library's catalog. See also Catalog.
Peer Review. A method of selecting manuscripts for publication in which a body of professionals or scholars is given the task of reviewing the submitted materials. In the popular press, by contrast, an editor or publisher chooses manuscripts for publication. The term "refereed" is synonymous with peer reviewed.
Periodical. A magazine, journal, newsletter, or newspaper produced on a regular or periodic basis. Libraries often arrange periodicals in a separate location from books and other types of materials.
Periodical Database. A computerized system that arranges articles by subject, title, author, and/or keyword. Some examples are Reader's Guide Full Text, Academic Search Premier, Research Library, and ABI/Inform Complete. See also Index.
Primary Source. A "first-person" account of an event.
Record. A unit of information in a computer database. In libraries, it includes data such as author, title, date, publisher, and subject headings.
Refereed. See Peer Review.
Reference Book. A book to which people often refer for brief information, but is not meant to be read cover-to-cover. These usually consist of general encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, directories, etc. See also Reference Collection.
Reference Collection. A collection of books that provide general or background information, usually housed in a different room or section of a library. Books in the reference collection cannot be checked out because they are needed often for quick answers to reference questions. See also Reference Book.
Reference Librarian. 1. A librarian who specializes in assisting library users with research. 2. A teacher of information literacy.
Reference Service. The act of assisting a library user to become a self-directed, independent learner. Reference service involves teaching users to understand and to navigate the information environment.
Secondary Source. An accounting of events or experiences (an article, a book, a news story, etc.) not personally observed or experienced by the writer.
"See" Reference. A note in a library catalog directing a user from an unused term to a used term. See also Used Term; Subject Heading.
Source, Primary. See Primary Source.
Source, Secondary. See Secondary Source.
Subject Encyclopedia. An encyclopedia focused on a particular discipline, field, or subject. A general encyclopedia, by contrast, provides information on a broad range of subjects.
Subject Heading. A single word or phrase used by the indexer of a database to denote a particular subject. All documents in the database related to that subject will be filed under that word or phrase. Often used synonymously with the term, "descriptor."
URL. An acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the "address" of a page or file on the Internet. It usually begins with "http://".
Used Term. A single, precise term employed in an index, catalog, or database to denote a concept or category. Indexers use only one term per indexed item to avoid confusion. See also Subject Heading.
World Wide Web (WWW). An interconnected network of hypertext links through the Internet. See also Internet; Hypertext Link.
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