Glossary of Library Terms

A

Abstract - A brief summary of the content of an article or book.

Acquisitions - Another name for materials acquired by the library or the department in the library that acquires them.

Adobe Acrobat Reader® - A piece of software used to view PDF files that can contain full-text, pictures, charts, etc.

ARC - Academic Research Collaborative, Worcester area academic library group. Obtain a card at the Circulation desk to use at other area libraries.

B

Barcode - A small white label with closely spaced black stripes that can be read by a computer. The Gordon Library uses the barcode on your WPI ID when you check out materials.

Bibliographic Record - What we call an entry in the library catalog.

Boolean Searching - Using three basic Boolean operators (AND, OR , NOT) to link concepts in database searching.

C

Call Number - A group of numbers (and letters) given to each book in the library to designate its location. At Gordon Library, we use Library of Congress Classification system.

Check Out - When you check out materials you are borrowing them for use outside of the library.

Circulation - Library-speak for the lending of materials for use outside of the library.

Citation - Information (author, title, pages) that precisely identifies a book or journal article.

Collection Development - Term used to describe the activities involved in selecting library materials for purchase.

Copy Card - A thin plastic card that can be used in the library's photocopiers and microform reader/printers.

D

Database - An electronic collection of related, up-to-date information stored in a computer or on a disk.

Document Delivery - A service which allows users to order copies of materials. See also, Interlibrary Loan.

DOI - Digital Object Identifier. Some database vendors use DOIs as a way to reconnect to a particular full text article.

Due Date - Date by which borrowed materials should be returned to the library.

Durable URL - Durable Uniform Resources Locator, or a link to an article or web site that will not change and can be linked within course web sites or myWPI. Also called Persistent URLs.

Embargo - An embargo on a journal/magazine title in the Journal Search means that there is no online access to the stated number of "current" years of a specific journal title. Always look first for the WPI icon for subscribed titles. Sometimes the current issues are not available so you will have to use Interlibrary Loan to request the specific article you need and we will try to obtain it from another library for you.

ETD - Electronic Theses and Dissertations.

F

Field Searching - Allows searchers to focus on a particular part, or "field" of a record. Sometimes called segment searching.

Full-Text - Indicates that the entire text of an item such as a journal article is available in electronic format.

G

Grey Literature - Technical reports and other internal documents that have not been formally published.

H

Hardcopy - Another word for printed material, as opposed to material in electronic form.

Hold - A hold is placed on a circulating item by a borrower so that it may be held upon its return for another user.

Holdings - Refers to all the materials owned by a certain library. Most often used to reference periodicals, and the dates or coverage of materials owned by the library.

I

Index - A list of citations to journal articles and/or books arranged by subject, author or title. Often called a periodical index.

Information Literacy - The ability to locate, evaluate and use information effectively. See Association of College and Research Libraries definition.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) - A service which allows library users to request materials from other libraries.

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) - A unique ten-digit number identifying a specific edition of a book.

ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) - A unique eight-digit number identifying a specific journal or magazine.

L

Library of Congress Classification system - A call number system used by most academic libraries.

Literature Review - often at the beginning of an academic paper describing, summarizing, evaluating and clarifying the literature (journals, conference papers, books) published in the area of research. The idea is that a researcher would build their research on work of others, and the new paper would be different or unique approach.

M

Meta-analysis - Usually a journal article or conference paper which reviews all research on a specific topic and attempts to synthesis the results and trends of years of research.

Microfiche - A flat piece of film that stores periodicals or other documents.

Microfilm - A roll of film that stores periodicals or other documents.

Microform - Generic term for any medium that contains images that are too small to be read with the naked eye.

Microform reader - Machine available in the library to read these films.

N

Nesting - Use of parenthesis ( ) to group similar terms is often called nesting. Used in library databases and some search engines such as Google. Example: (NBA OR National Basketball League) would search for either term.

O

OCLC - A service used by libraries to share bibliographic records used to catalog materials. The WorldCat database is their searchable interface to this catalog of library catalogs.

Oversized Items - These items are shelved apart from regular sized books in each call number or collection.

P

Patron Record - Information about a specific borrower in the library circulation system.

Periodicals - Term for a magazine, newspaper, or journal, these items come out periodically.

Popular Magazine - A illustrated serial publication that is intended for a general audience. Contains many advertisements, written by journalists.

Primary Source - An original manuscript, record or document created at the time an event occurred.

Proxy Server - A connection between the user's web browser and a web site. If connections run through the proxy server, they appear to be from the WPI campus, even if the user is connecting via his or her home Internet service provider or from another remote location.

Public Domain - open for free use to the public, either their copyrights, patents or patents have expired. Also, many government publications are considered public domain, but this does not mean they should not be properly referenced in your research. In the case of software, the creator may give up his/her right, in order to make it freely used and distrubuted.

R

Refereed Journal - A scholarly or academic journal in which articles are reviewed by subject experts before publication.

Renew - When you renew an item you are extending its due date.

S

Scholarly Journal - A periodical publication which contains articles written by professors, researchers, or other experts in a subject area. Articles usually contain many references or footnotes and are lengthy (8+ pages).

Search Engines - Tools that let you explore databases containing the text from tens of millions of web pages.

Secondary Source - A work that critiques, comments on or builds upon primary sources associated with an event.

Serial - Publication that is issued in parts indefinitely over time.

Special Collections - Those rare and archival collections owned by an institution. The Gordon Library has an archives with a Dickensian collection among others.

Subject Headings - Words or phrases used to describe topics. This controlled vocabulary is created by the Library of Congress, or often database vendors, to help users access the information within their databases. There are even Medical Subject Headings (MESH) used by health/medical researchers.

T

Truncation - Searching for the root form of a word followed by a symbol such as an asterisk (*) or an exclamation point (!) to denote any ending is acceptable. In our library catalog, environ* would search for: environs, environmental, environmentalism, etc.

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Last modified: Nov 17, 2004, 13:08 EST