Glossary of Library Terms

Below is a list of terms that you will hear being used  when conducting  research at Gutman Library.  Many of these links take you to external sites that explain the terms in greater depth. 

Abstract - a summary of an article, or, sometimes, of a book. Abstracts can be either indicative or informative.

Bound periodical - multiple issues of periodicals that have been gathered together and bound, like a book. If PhilaFind indicates that a back  issue of a periodical is in Paper format, then that issue is shelved on the Library's Ground Floor, with the Bound Periodicals.

Call number - combination of numbers and letters, used to assign library materials to specific locations in the library. Call numbers for specific items that are the "same" may vary between different libraries, according to how that particular library has decided to catalog the item, or on the classification system being used.

Circulating Collection - the parts of a library's holdings that can be checked out and removed from the library, or "circulated". At Gutman Library, periodicals and Reference books do NOT circulate.

Citation - the information reported in a Bibliography, "Works Cited", "Sources" or "References" page,  to award credit to the works one has used to produce a piece of research, such as a term paper. The parts of a printed book citation include the author(s), the title of the book, edition, the publisher, place of publication and the year of publication. For a printed periodical article, the author(s),  the title of the article, the title of the magazine or journal, the volume and issue numbers, the month and year, and the page numbers on which the article appears would be included in the citation.

Classification system - the Dewey Decimal Classification System and the Library of Congress Classification System are two of the  systems used to classify  and assign call numbers to library materials. A classification system works to group similar items together: you should be able to "browse the stacks" (wander around in a particular section if a library) and see the materials about a topic all next to each other on the shelves.

Controlled vocabulary -  the specific words and phrases used by a database to describe particular concepts. The Library of Congress Subject Headings used in online and card catalogs are an example of a controlled vocabulary. Subject Headings, Descriptors, and Identifiers are sometimes used to denote a database's controlled vocabulary terms.
 
Descriptor -  see Subject Heading

Dewey Decimal Classification System - (DDC) a numeric classification system used to assign call numbers to library materials. Click here to see an overview of the Dewey classification scheme, from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Library System. Also see Classification system.

Dictionary - contains words and their definitions, listed in alphabetical order. Dictionaries can be general, such as Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, or specialized, such as  The Dictionary of Finance. A dictionary can be one volume or several volumes long,  such as Grove's Dictionary of Art (34 volumes!).

Encyclopedia - contains (usually) alphabetical entries    Encyclopedias can be general, like Encyclopaedia Britannica or Encarta, or specialized. An encyclopedia might be several volumes (general encyclopedias) or just one volume, like The Encyclopedia of Wood. For  basic background information that is more in-depth than that in a general encyclopedia, see if there is a specialized encyclopedia pertaining to your topic, for instance, the Encyclopedia of Textiles.

E-Res -  Electronic Reserve System. Instructors have mounted reserve readings and images on the web, using E-Res. If your instructor is using E-Res, they will provide you with the password to view the materials. Connect to E-Res from the Library homepage, under E-Res Course Reserves.

Field - a searchable part of a database record: Author, Title, Subject, for example.

Format - physical description of the material, such as print, microfilm, bound periodical or online database.

Full-text - means the article is available in its entirety, sometimes also with the original graphics. "Full-text" can pertain to either a database itself or an article in a database.  Not all  databases are full-text: some databases are only indexes, offering citation information but not the actual documents themselves. 

GIF - "graphic interchange format" A gif is a type of image file commonly used on  web pages. This image file has the .gif file type extension.

Holdings - the volumes owned--or "held"-- by a library, in all formats. Holdings information in a library's online catalog is usually provided for both books and periodicals (magazines and journals). In an online periodical database, the holdings information refers to the specific issues that are included in that database, and whether or not the articles in those issues are full-text.
 
Identifier - see Subject Heading

Index - a finding tool that points you to information, by indicating where that information is. Many books have indexes in the back, which provide the page numbers within the book where the words you are looking for are located. The Avery Index is a print and online (electronic database index) that tells you what articles in which publications might have information on your topic. Instead of pointing to the pages inside of a single book, as the "back-of-the-book"  index does, an indexing tool like Avery Index points you to articles published within a variety of Architecture publications. The articles themselves are not provided by Avery Index, Avery just directs you to the articles, by providing their citations. 

Indicative abstract - provides a general overview of the content of the article, but lacks in-depth discussion of the content of the article.
 
Informative abstract - provides more detailed, in-depth information, and can be written by a specialist familiar with the subject matter involved. Typically associated with scientific papers, summarizing key points and findings.

Interlibrary Loan - ("ILL") a service used to obtain materials from other libraries. This service is usually free. Gutman Library has ILL agreements with several libraries.

Internet Directory - Librarian's Index to the Internet is an example of a directory.  The information is organized hierarchically, and is included in the directory according to some sort of  criteria, established by the directory's creators.

JPEG - a type of image file commonly used on web pages.  A jpeg has the .jpg file type extension.

Journal - the term "journal" implies that a publication is academic, scholarly, and perhaps even peer-reviewed.  This is in contrast to a mass-market type of "popular" publication. See the chart describing different types of publications.

Library of Congress Classification System - The alphanumeric  classification system devised by the Library of Congress to describe and classify materials. Click here for an overview of LC classes. 

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) - the controlled vocabulary, or "official" words, used by the Library of Congress to describe the content of an item that they have cataloged. When conducting a Subject search in PhilaFind, these are the terms you see being displayed. In PhilaFind, all the subject headings are hyperlinks: use them  to lead you to more materials in PhilaFind that are better focused on your topic. There is an edition of the LCSH (4 volumes) behind the Reference Desk. 

Magazine - a publication written for a general audience, and usually available on a newsstand or supermarket checkout counter.  Magazines employ staff writers and guest writers, who are not necessarily recognized experts in any particular field.

Media Services - is located on the library's ground floor. Media Services offers a variety of production services for students, and also handles all requests for audio-visual equipment. All audio-visual materials are housed in Media Services.

Microform - microfiche or microfilm. Microforms are more compact to store than the actual printed materials. Many periodicals at Gutman are available only in microform. Back issues of other periodicals are stored on microform. All the microforms are housed in Media Services.

PDF -  (.pdf) "portable document format". A format, like a Word document (.doc) or a plain text document (.txt) that looks like a scanned or photocopied image of the page from the actual magazine or journal. Some online databases offer full text articles in .pdf format. The files require a piece of shareware called Adobe Acrobat Reader to be loaded on the machine on which you want to view (open) the document.

Periodical - publications that are issued "periodically", more than once a year. There are different types of periodicals: magazines, journals, trade publications. Periodicals in any format at Gutman Library do NOT circulate. See Serial.

Peer-reviewed journal - (refereed journal) Peer-reviewed journals are written by and for practitioners and experts in a field of study or profession. Articles in peer-reviewed journals are oriented towards research and development, and new trends and breakthroughs in the field. The articles submitted to a peer-reviewed journal undergo a reviewing process, administered by the journal's editorial board. This editorial board is composed of other experts in the field, or the author's "peers", who judge ("referee") the articles. Articles deemed to be contributions to the literature of the professional  the journal represents are included for publication. Many "scholarly journals" are also peer-reviewed journals.
 
Plain text - Unformatted text, text that has no boldface or italics, etc. Notepad and Wordpad are two wordprocessing applications that display documents in plain text.  Plain text is usually the best way to save a record from an online database.

Reader-printer -  the device used to view microforms and make photocopies of selected pages. The microform reader-printer is located in Media Services.

Record - an entry in a database. In full-text library databases, the entire full text article would be the "record". In bibliographic (not full-text) databases, the citations or the citations and abstracts would be the "records". Another example would be the entries you find when searching PhilaFind: when you opt to "Show Details",  you are "opening" or "displaying the record".

Refereed journal - a journal  including articles that have undergone the rigorous refereeing process of that journal's editorial board. The members of the editorial board are recognized as respected scholars/professional in their fields. Feature articles in a  refereed journal are generally accepted as being based upon sound research practices that give credence to the claims and findings the author has made. Refereed and scholarly journals may also contain book reviews, software reviews, or website reviews that are not subject to the refereeing process.

Reference Section or Reference Collection - materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, indexes, handbooks and directories. The Reference section is located on the Library's Main Floor, directly to the left of the Reference Desk. Materials in Gutman library's Reference Section do NOT circulate.

Reserve Section - materials that instructors have placed on Reserve are kept behind the Circulation Desk. These materials do NOT circulate, but can be checked out for use inside the library for up to 4 hours.

Scholarly journal - a publication that includes articles written by experts in the field.  A scholarly journal is often a peer-reviewed or refereed journal

Search engine - sometimes called a "spider," a "web crawler" or a "bot", search engines are non-human tools used to find information on the Internet. A search engine operates on a specific algorithm to locate information. 

Serial - a publication that is released "serially," or in a series. Sometimes used interchangeably with the term "periodical." "Serials" is an inclusive, broad term, that  can refer to a library's holdings of newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters and trade publications. In PhilaFind, the designation SE means a publication is a Serial, as opposed to a Book (BK). 

Source - the publication itself: the title of  the periodical in which an article is published, as opposed to the title of the article in the source. Can also refer to  the title of a book.

Subject heading - the specific terms used to describe the items in  print indexes, in online databases and online or card catalogs. Subject headings can consist of a single word, or of a phrase. In online databases, subject headings are sometimes called Descriptors or Identifiers.  Subject headings are referred to as "Controlled Vocabulary" terms.

TCLC - Tri-State Library Cooperative. Gutman Library is part of this group of libraries that share resources with one another. Members of the Philadelphia University community have borrowing privileges at the member libraries in TCLC.  Obtain a Letter of Introduction at the Reference Desk before going to TCLC libraries.

PhilaFind - Gutman Library's online catalog.

Thesaurus -  a list of the specific subject headings (the controlled vocabulary) used in a particular online database. The quality of a search can be improved by knowing which subject headings to use to describe to the online database what you are trying to find.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator, or the "address" of a webpage. For example, the URL of the page you are viewing right now is http://www.philau.edu/http://www.philau.edu/researchguide/generalresearchguide/glossary.htm   To learn about the structure of URL's  click here.

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