Definitions of Library Vocabulary and Terms

Abstract - a brief summary of an article or a book that includes bibliographic information such as author, title, source, subject headings or descriptors, etc.

Accession Number - a unique number or combination of letters and numbers that are assigned to each record in a database.

Almanacs - annual publications that contain calendars, facts, statistics, and other miscellaneous information.

Annotation - a note that describes, explains, or evaluates a particular document.

Atlases - Collections of maps.

Archives - an organized body of documents made or received in connection with the function of the institution or the library. Archives are maintained and preserved as a part of the record-keeping process and usually collected in a separate physical location.

Barcode - the code and the 14-digit number appearing on the beginning or end papers of a book. The barcode is used to charge, discharge, and renew books on the online computer system.

Bibliography - a list of books, periodical articles, government documents, or other materials systematically arranged by author, title, date and place of publication, publisher, details of edition, and page numbers. Published bibliographies on specific subjects are often found in the reference collection.

Biography - a written account of a person's life or the group of literature concerned with people's lives.

Boolean Operators - words such as AND, OR, and NOT that are called "logical operators" and are used to combine search terms to either broaden or narrow the retrieval results of a search. Boolean Searching describes the method of searching in which terms are combined to either recall more documents or to retrieve a more precise set of documents.

CD-ROM - a computer-based format that means Compact Disk-Read Only Memory and is used for storing and retrieval of information from a compact disk using a CD player and a personal computer. The information on a compact disk is in a Read Only format and cannot be amended or altered by the user.

Call Numbers - a combination of numbers or letters and numbers that indicates the address or location of an item in the library. Materials in the library are organized by call number into specific groups according to the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. The University of Akron Libraries uses LC call numbers which combines letters and numbers like PQ 1756 .I15 1990.

Circulation Desk - the service desk where books and other materials are loaned or checked out. Reference and periodicals do not circulate and are available for use only in the library.

Citation - a reference to a text or publication that includes the bibliographic information--author, title, name of journal or name of publisher, date, pages, volumes and other information that is necessary to locate a book, a magazine or journal article, or some other material.

Cross Reference - a term used in catalogs, thesauruses and indexes that leads to another term or name where additional or similar information may be found as in "Use" or "See Also." (eg. Computer Programs - See Also under topical headings and titles of actual software programs.

Database - a collection of data or file of information in a form accessible by computer or indexed in machine readable form. In a sense, a database is a computerized library in which individual records can be retrieved.

Descriptors - A word or a group of words used as a subject to describe the content in books, articles, and other materials for the purpose of indexing or organizing these items by topic. As an important element of effective research, descriptors are needed to determine the correct headings for a specific database or catalog. See also Subject Headings and Thesaurus.

Directory - a systematically organized list of persons, businesses, organizations, or associations that provides addresses, affiliations, telephone numbers, and similar information.

Field - a portion of a record used for a the storage of a defined category of data such as title (TI) which displays the title for each record in the database or author (AU) which displays the author of each record. Other fields are journal (JN), descriptor (DE), and abstract (AB).

Format - the organization or arrangement of information in a particular display or print mode; the type or manner in which information is provided, displayed, or retrieved.

Gazateer - a dictionary of geographical information and data about places.

Gopher - a computer software developed at the University of Minnesota that enables an individual searcher to locate information at remote computers at other sites. Many former gopher sites are now set up as HyperText Markup Language (HTML) documents on the World Wide Web and are not as useful as they had been in the past.

Government Document - a publication or any printed matter originating or printed by the authority of any office of a legally organized government body.

Hold - a hold allows a person to acquire material that is either currently checked out or is lost. A hold is placed on a book at the circulation desk or by using ZipLink. When the material is returned or found, the person placing the hold can receive a copy.

Holdings - a set of fields in a record that shows exactly which years and volumes of are available.

Interlibrary Loan - an interlibrary loan is a function of the lending and borrowing services that provide access to materials not owned by the University of Akron Libraries system. To borrow such materials, ask a reference librarian.

Internet - a worldwide network of computers that allows the "sharing" or "networking" of information at remote sites from other academic institutions, research institutes, private companies, government agencies, and individuals.

Journal - a periodical collection of articles or other material such as reports, proceedings, or transactions issued by a society, an organization, or an institution. See Magazine.

Keyword Searching - a method or strategy of construct a search by looking for a word or combination of words that describe a document in a natural language as opposed to the controlled language of subject of descriptor searching.

Magazine - a periodical publication for general interest such as news, current events, and popular material. See Journal

Microforms - a general term used to describe the microfilm, microfiche, or microform formats used for the storage of documents that have been photographed and reduced in size to reduce in order to conserve space or to preserve materials that deteriorate rapidly. Newspapers, magazines, journals, college catalogs, government documents, and Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC) documents are some examples of the materials stored on microform.

Periodicals - publications issued in successive parts at regular intervals, including journals, magazines and newspapers. Current periodicals are ones that have arrived recently within the last six months to two years. Bound periodicals are back issues which have been sent to the bindery, covered with a binding, and placed in the stacks. See also Serials.

Periodical Index - an access tool that locates and lists articles which have appeared in journals, magazines, or newspapers that is organized by subject. A periodical index lists the author, title, name of periodical, volume, pages and date of publication. Some indexes supply abstracts that summarize the content of articles. Both indexes and abstracts are located in the reference department and are available by using print volumes, CD-ROMs, the Internet, or an online database.

Primary Source - Manuscripts, records, or documents providing original research or documentation. See Secondary Source.

Recall - a notification that is sent out to inform a borrower that material currently checked out has been requested by another individual. Recalled materials should be returned as soon as possible or usually within a week.

Renewal - an extension of the loan period for material that has been previously checked out. Renewals can be made in person at the circulation desk or by phone.

Reserve Reading - a selection of specific books, periodical articles, and other materials that a faculty member has set aside for all students to read for a particular course. These materials are usually kept together in one area of the library and circulate only for short periods of time. Reserve materials can be located using ZipLink--see the RESERVE Lists" selection--or ask at the circulation desk. Each library has its own reserve system.

Reference - a department within the library where librarians can provide assistance or help in locating information or researching a topic. The reference department also contains a selection of materials such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, directories, or statistical sources as well as periodical indexes, and subject bibliographies. Computer workstations provide access to the ZipLink catalog, OhioLink, and many Research Databases.

Reference Librarians - specialists in the field of information retrieval who hold Masters degrees in library and/or information science. As subject specialists, reference librarians generally have other graduate degrees as well. They are available at the Reference desks to help people find the information they are looking for.

Record - a collection of related data that is arranged in fields forming a unit. The data for a book in the ZipLINK catalog or for an article in a CD-ROM database such as ERIC makes up a record.

Search Strategy - a logical series of steps for planning and preparing an efficient way to collect pertinenent information on a given topic. A search strategy varies depending upon the topic, the nature of the subject, and what types of information is needed.

Secondary Source - materials or sources that contain information that has been cited, translated, or based upon another--primary or original source. See Primary Source.

Serials - publications issued at regular intervals--daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or biennally-- and are generally intended to be continued indefinitely. Serials include Periodicals as well as annual publications, proceedings, and transactions.

Stacks - the sections or areas of the library where the collection is stored. Books and periodicals are arranged on shelves in the stacks and grouped by call numbers.

Subject Guides to Literature - a list of sources--directories, indexes, journals, and other reference works--for the literature of a specific discipline or subject area. See Bibliography.

Subject Headings - a word or groups of words that are assigned to books, articles, and other materials in order to indicate the subject matter and to group or organize similar materials by topic. As an important element of effective research, subject headings are needed to determine the correct headings as indexed within a specific database or catalog. See also Descriptors and Thesaurus.

Terminal - an electronic device such as a computer or a workstation that communicates with a host computer or system. The terminal can send or receive data as well as display output in either on screen or in a print format.

Thesaurus - a list of words or group of words that can be used as subject headings or descriptors in a particular database, catalog, or index. The Library of Congress Subject Headings book is used as a thesaurus for the ZipLink Library Catalog.

Truncation - The method of using a special symbol at the end of a word to retrieve the stem or the root and all possible endings of that word. To truncate a word while searching ZipLINK or OhioLINK, use an asterisk (*). In other databases, the question mark (?), the pound sign (#), or the dollar sign ($) can be used to truncate terms. In ZipLINK, entering comput* will retrieve compute, computes, computing, computer, computers, and so on.

User Friendly - Easy to use format implying the dialogue or interface capabilities between a computer user and the computer is simple to understand.

World Wide Web - a client-server information system that uses the Internet to access computers containing millions of hypertext documents.

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