Resource Guide
Library-Ese
Teaching
LIBRARY-ESE GLOSSARY
Library-ese—Strange
language spoken by reference librarians and library staff. Not the native tongue of most students.
Bibliography—The list of
works cited by an author at the end of an article, paper, book, or other
research-based writing. There are also
specialized subject bibliographies, published separately as books.
Call number—The letters and
numbers assigned to a book to give it a unique location in the library. EXAMPLE:
E184 A1 E58 1993
Circulating—This means that
the item may be checked out. Some reserve
materials circulate only within the library.
Citation—A notation
identifying a work or part of a work where information can be found. Citations are used in periodical indexes and
in bibliographies. The citation may include
the article title, periodical title, book title, place of publication,
publisher, volume, pages, and date.
Refer to a style manual to learn how to format citations for your
own bibliographies.
Database—A collection of
information, usually electronic.
EXAMPLE: ProQuest
Dictionary—A book that
give definitions of words. Dictionaries
may be general (Webster’s New Collegiate
Dictionary) or specialized (Dictionary
of Sociology).
Encyclopedia—A compendium of
information. Like dictionaries, these
can be general (World Book Encyclopedia)
or specialized (Encyclopedia of Drugs and
Alcohol).
Index—A listing by
subject or author included in a book often found at the back of the book. Also, locates articles in periodicals
by subject or author. EXAMPLE: Readers’
Guide to Periodical Literature.
Journal—A periodical
that is scholarly or academic in content and purpose. EXAMPLES: Journal of Applied Psychology or American Anthropologist. Compare with magazine.
Librarian—Your best
resource in the library is the librarian.
Ask for the librarian when you need help using the library. The librarian sits at the reference desk. Not everyone who works in a library is a
librarian.
Library of
Congress Classification System (LC)—The system of letters and
numbers used by most academic libraries to assign a call
number to materials.
Magazine—A
general-interest periodical that has a broad, wide audience. EXAMPLE:
Time or Glamour.
Compare with journal.
Microform—Refers to microfiche (rectangular) and microfilm (roll) formats whereby print text
is transferred onto film for preservation.
Usually, older issues of periodicals
are transferred to microform.
Online Catalog—A database that
provides a list of books, media, and pamphlets owned by both college
libraries. You can search by author,
title, subject, and keyword access.
OPAC—Online Public
Access Catalog – Often called simply online catalog.
Periodicals—A generic term
for anything published periodically, including magazines, journals,
and newspapers.
Periodical
Index—A research tool used to find articles by subject, time period, and
author.
Print—Ink on paper;
not electronic. A book is a
print source. Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature in
book form is a print index.
Reference
Desk—Desk in the central area of the library where librarians can be found
to assist students with research needs.
Reference
Book—A work prepared to furnish specific items of information rather than to
be read through completely, for example, dictionaries, encyclopedias, indexes,
etc. These books may not be taken out
of the library, as a rule, and are shelved separately from the circulating
stacks.