library talk2
LIBRARY TALK
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CONTROLLED VOCABULARY: An indexing system in which the indexer selects from a list of preferred terms. All other synonymous and closely related terms function as lead-in vocabulary, indicated by an instruction to "See" or "Use" the preferred term.
COPYRIGHT: The exclusive legal right granted by a government to an author, editor, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to publish, produce, sell, or distribute a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work, within certain limitations. Copyright law also governs the right to prepare derivative works, to reproduce a work or portions of it, and to display or perform a work in public. Such rights may be transferred or sold to others. A work never copyrighted or no longer protected by copyright is said to be in the public domain.
DATABASE: An electronic collection of information. Example: CINAHL.
DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (DDC): A system that assigns numbers to assign call numbers to library materials. This system is used primarily in public libraries and school libraries.
ENCYCLOPEDIA: Reference materials that are a compendium of information. Encyclopedias can be used for general information (Encyclopedia Britannica) or specialized information (International Encyclopedia of Statistics).
ERIC: Database that contains information for education.
ELECTRONIC: A database that can only be accessed via a computer. CD-ROM and online databases are both electronic.
FULL-TEXT: Refers to database or other electronic resource which provides the entire text of a significant proportion of the works it contains, for example, a periodical database containing the complete text of a significant
proportion of the articles indexed, in addition to the citation and abstract of each work.
FULL-TEXT SEARCHING: The capability of searching every word in set of documents or database entries, as opposed to searching only in the title and/or abstract, or in the keywords, headings, or descriptors assigned to each item.
GENERAL COLLECTION: Location listed in OPAC under availability. General Collection is the downstairs stack area where all circulating books are shelved.
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS: Publications of U.S. federal government, including hearings, bills, resolutions, statutes, reports, treaties, periodicals (example: Monthly Labor Review), and statistics (U.S. Census). In libraries, government documents are usually shelved in a separate section by SuDocs number.
GPO: An acronym for U.S. Government Printing Office.
HOLDS: If a circulation book is currently checked out of the building, you may place a hold on the book and will be notified when the book is returned.
INDEX: A tool that is available in electronic and print formats which identifies articles in periodicals by author and subject. Example: Social Science Index.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL):Process by which another library will lend materials to another library for use.
ISSUE: In the context of periodicals, an issue is a collection of articles that are published together at regular intervals. A number of issues comprise a volume. For instance, Twelve issues of The American Journal of Botany are published every calendar year and make up a volume. These are numbered consecutively, e.g., 96:1, 96:2...96:12., where 96 is the volume number and 1-12 are the issue numbers.
JOURNAL: A periodical that is scholarly or academic in content and purpose. Example: American Anthropologist.
LAN: Local Area Network. This network connects computers or workstations allowing users to access the same information simultaneously.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (LC): The classification system used by the Corette Library, and most academic libraries. LC uses letters and numbers to classify material by subject, and secondarily by author's name or title.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS (LCSH): Standardized subjects used to classify materials in library catalogs.
MAGAZINE: A general interest periodical that has a broad audience. Example: Time Magazine.
MICROFORMS: Includes both microfilm and microfiche formats. Periodicals and newspapers available in film for preservation and storage.
MONOGRAPH: A book.
ONLINE: Accessing a remote computer via a terminal.
ONLINE PUBLIC ACCESS CATALOG (OPAC): The electronic equivalent of a card catalog. Database that lists library materials by author, title, subject, key word, call number. The OPAC also lists whether the book is on the shelf or checked out to another library users.
PERIODICAL: Anything published in a regular or irregular cycle that includes magazines, journals, and newspapers.
PERIODICALS HOLDING LIST: The list of journal titles that the Corette Library receives.
PRINT INDEX: A periodical index that is only available in paper, not electronically.
REFERENCE: The process of answering questions for library users about research or finding information.
REFERENCE BOOK: A book that contains facts, statistics, biographical information,etc. that provides background information on a subject and lists sources for additional information. Reference books are for use in the library only, and are shelved in the Reference Collection on the main floor of the library.
REFERENCE LIBRARIAN: A person who has a Masters of Library and Information Sciences degree. A librarian is skilled in using print and electronic resources and is the person to ask for assistance when conducting research.
RESEARCH: Diligent and thorough inquiry and investigation into a subject. This includes using all appropriate print, nonprint and electronic sources, asking reference librarians for assistance and making use of bibliographies and other specialized reference materials.
RESERVE DESK: Where materials are put on reserve by faculty for particular classes. These materials may or may not be owned by the library. All formats of materials may be put on reserve. The faculty member sets the time period that the material may be used for.
STYLE MANUAL: A guide that informs how to format a paper, with regard to margins, footnotes, bibliographies, etc. Ask your instructor which style manual you are to use in each class. Each department prefers a specific style manual to be used.
SUBJECT HEADING: A word or phrase assigned in a bibliographic record to indicate the subject of the work, which serves as an access point in a catalog, index, or database.
SUDOC NUMBER: In libraries, publications of the U.S. government are usually assigned call numbers based on a classification system maintained by the U.S. Superintendent of Documents. SuDocs call numbers begin with letters that indicate a department of govenment, not numbers like a Dewey call number.
THESAURUS: A book of terms, usually arranged alphabetically, which provides a grouping or classification of synonyms, and may also indicate hierarchical and other relationships of meaning, for example, broader terms (BT), narrower terms (NT), and related terms (RT).
VERTICAL FILE: A collection of clippings, pictures, illustrations, pamphlets, or other papers, which because of their size and format, or ephemeral nature, are filed on their edges in drawers or in a box.
VOLUME: In the context of periodicals, a volume is a set of issues that are numbered consecutively and published in a particular amount of time, e.g., a volume of The American Journal of Botany is comprised of twelve monthly issues that are published in a single year. Each volume is numbered consecutively, e.g., the issues in 2006 are volume 96, the issues in 2007 are volume 97, etc.WILDCARD: In some databases, a special character may be inserted in the middle of a search term used in a keywords search to retrieve words containing any character, and sometimes no character, in the designated position. This feature can be useful in retrieving irregular plurals and variant spellings of a word. The wildcard symbol varies from one proprietary search software system to another, but can usually be identified by reading the help screen(s). Library Talk Page 1