Glossary of Library Terms
ABSTRACT: A short written summary.
AUDIO-VISUALS: Materials such as slides, cassettes, filmstrips, films, and videotapes that convey information through sight and/or sound.
Example - I need an audio-visual for my class presentation on modern art.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: A list of publications (books, periodical articles, pamphlets, audiovisuals, etc.) on a specific author.
Example - The library has several of the books listed in the bibliography on child abuse.
BOUND VOLUME: A book that contains the paper issues of magazines and/or journals.
Example - The library has the December 1960 issue of National Geographic in a bound volume.
CALL NUMBER: A group of numbers and letters assigned to each book in a library and used to locate the book on the library shelves.
Example - You need the book’s call number in order to find it on the shelf.
CATALOG: A listing of the materials contained in a library’s collection.
Example - Hartfield Library has an online catalog.
CHECK OUT: The process of borrowing library materials.
Example - You may check out three videos at a time from Hartfield Library.
CIRCULATION DESK: An area in the library where books are checked out and returned and where reserve materials are kept.
Example - If you wish to take library materials home, you must check them out at the circulation desk.
COPYRIGHT: A method for protecting the creative works of authors, artists and musicians. Copyright material may not be duplicated without the consent of the author and/or publisher.
Example - Under the new copyright law, you may not make multiple copies of articles.
CROSS-REFERENCE: Directions given in publications such as catalogs, indexes, and encyclopedias which refer readers to additional information within that publication.
Example - When I looked up "gerontology" in the catalog, there was a cross reference to "aged."
DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM (DDC): A system for arranging books on library shelves.
Example - Hartfield Library does not use the Dewey Decimal Classification System.
ENTRY: An item (book, article, pamphlet, audiovisual, etc.) That is listed in a catalog or index.
Example - There is only one entry in the catalog under the subject heading "tigers."
FORMAT: The way in which information is arranged and presented.
Example - The teacher required that the class find information on its research topic in the following formats: audiovisuals, books, magazines and newspapers.
INDEX: A section located in the back of a book that lists the names, places, and subjects within the book and gives the page numbers where they can be found.
Example - He looked in the book’s index to see if it contained information on his research topic.
ISSUES: Paper copies of magazines and newspapers.
Example - The library has issues of the Rolling Stone going back to 1982.
- Back issues: Older copies of magazines and newpapers.
- Current issues: The most recent copies of magazines and newspapers.
JOURNALS: Periodicals that specialize in a specific subject area.
Example - Modern Fiction Studies is a journal in the field of literature.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (LC): A system for arranging books on the shelves of libraries.
Example - The Hartfield Library uses the Library of Congress Class System
MICROFORM: A type of material produced when printed works (usually magazines and newspapers) are photographed, and reduced in size, so that a machine is required to read them.
Example - Back issues of newspapers are on microform in Hartfield Library.
- Microfiche: A microform produced as a card.
- Microfilm: A microform produced as a reel of film.
NON-PRINT: See AUDIOVISUALS.
OUT-OF-PRINT: A publication that is no longer available from the publisher.
PERIODICAL INDEXES: Lists of articles from magazines, newspapers and journals that are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Example - I found many articles on the subject "acid rain" by using a periodical index.
PERIODICALS: Publications such as magazines, newspapers, and journals that are published at intervals-usually daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
Example - You may check our list of periodicals to see if we own the magazine you need.
READER / PRINTERS: Machines used to read microforms and to make copies of articles contained on the microforms.
Example - Sylvia read the article in the 1981 microfilm issue of Newsweek on the reader/printer and then made a copy to take to class.
REFERENCE BOOKS: Books such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes, almanacs, and handbooks that are kept in a special section of the library and cannot be checked out.
Example - The World Almanac is a reference book and cannot be taken out of the library.
REFERENCE DESK: A place in the library where you can speak to a librarian and gain assistance in finding your research topics.
Example - The librarian at the reference desk explained how to find information on the Ogallala Aquifer.
SEARCH STRATEGY: The means by which you systematically locate relevant materials on a topic.
Example - By following a search strategy, I was able to complete my paper by the time it was due.
"SEE": A term used in catalogs, indexes, and encyclopedias to direct readers from a subject heading that is not used to one that is used.
Example - When I looked up the subject "Test tube babies’ in the periodical index, it said to "see-Fertilization (in vitro)."
"SEE ALSO": A term used in catalogs, indexes, and encyclopedias to direct readers to related subject headings.
Example - A card catalog lists the following "see also" references under the subject heading "GERONTOLOGY -- Aged, Aging, Geriatrics and Old age."
STACKS: Shelves in libraries where books and other materials are kept.
Example - You may go to the stacks to find the books you need.
SUBJECT HEADING: A term (word or group of words) used in library catalogs and indexes to describe a specific subject.
Example - What subject heading should I look under to find information on drunk driving?