Basic Library Terminology
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Abstract
This can be used in three ways:
- A short summary of an article in a scholarly journal. It usually appears at the beginning of the article.
- An index to journal articles that not only provides citations to the articles, but also gives a brief summary of each.
- A summary of a paper presented at a conference. The full text of the paper may or may not be published.
Archives
Public records or historical documents, or the place where such records and documents are kept.
Article
An essay or research report, usually brief, published in a document that contains several such works. Examples of resources that contain articles include magazines, journals, newspapers, and encyclopedias.
Audiovisual
Information presented in a form other than words printed on paper. Examples include films, compact discs, audio tapes, and videos. Also called "media." In the Library, most of these materials are located in the Media Center, on the 4th floor.
Top of Page
Bar Code
A small white label with closely spaced black stripes that can be read by a computer. Bar codes on books and other materials are used to check out these items from the library.
Bibliography
This can be used in two ways:
- A compilation of citations used while doing research for an article or book. A bibliography is normally placed at the end of the work, with entries arranged alphabetically by author.
- A publication that consists of a list of books, articles, and other works on a particular topic.
Boolean Operators
Words (specifically AND, OR, and NOT) that may be used to join or arrange keywords in a search statement in order to narrow or expand the search.
Bound Periodical
Several issues of a journal or magazine that are fastened together between hard covers so that they resemble a book.
Top of Page
Call Number
A number given to each book acquired by the library. Every book has a unique call number, much like every house in a city has its own address. The call numbers at the Xavier University Library are in the Dewey Decimal Classification System, named after its creator, Melvil Dewey. The Dewey decimal system, using numbers, letters, and decimal places, coordinates materials on the same subject and on related subjects to make items easier to find on the shelves.. All knowledge is divided into ten main classes as follows:
| 000 |
Generalities |
| 100 |
Philosophy & psychology |
| 200 |
Religion |
| 300 |
Social sciences |
| 400 |
Language |
| 500 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
| 600 |
Technology (Applied sciences) |
| 700 |
The arts |
| 800 |
Literature and rhetoric |
| 900 |
Geography and history |
Each of the above classes each has ten divisions. These divisions are further divided, and then further divided. Each division becomes more specific. The more numbers, the more specific the subject. In this way, the Dewey decimal system progresses from the general to the specific. The decimal place is used to make the number even more specific. The call numbers for various editions of a book bear the year of publication as a suffix. Call numbers sometimes also have prefixes to identify a special location where the book or other material is shelved, such as R, for Reference (Floor 1) or RB, for Rare Book (University Archives and Special Collections, Floor 3). |
Check Out
To borrow materials from the library. This is done at the circulation desk, 1st floor. You will need your campus identification card to check out library materials.
Check In
To return borrowed materials to the library. This is done by bringing the items to the Circulation Desk 1st floor next to the main entrances.
Circulation Desk
The counter where you borrow books and other library materials, renew items that you have checked out, place a hold on items already checked out, and so forth. In the Xavier University Library this is located on the 1st floor.
Citation
Complete information about a specific item. A citation for a book includes author, title, place of publication, publisher, and year. A citation for an article in a periodical includes author, title of the article, title of the periodical, volume number, pages, and date.
A single citation is sometimes called a "reference." A group of citations gathered together is usually called a bibliography.
Compact Shelving
Library stacks that can be moved to eliminate the aisles between them, so that more materials can be stored in a small area. A shelf section may be moved electronically by pushing a button at the end of the unit. In the Xavier University Library, compact shelving is used in the Government Documents area (2nd floor), the Archives (3rd floor), and the Pharmacy Library (4th floor).
Copyright
The legal protection granted to authors, composers, and others to allow them to control the reproduction and distribution of their works. Almost all books, articles, and other library materials are copyrighted. Generally speaking, it is legal for you to make one copy of an article, or a portion of a book or other item, for your personal research use. However, you should not make more than one copy, or create computerized versions of them, without permission from the copyright holder. If you have questions about copyright, ask a librarian for help.
Course Reserve
A collection of materials set aside by professors for use by students in particular classes. Due to high use, loan periods for course reserve materials are very short, usually for two hours or overnight. A large fee will be assessed for keeping an item past its due date.
Top of Page
Database
An electronic collection of information, often of citations to materials on a particular subject.
Document
This can be used in three ways.
- Materials published by governments or governmental agencies, often referred to as "Government Documents." These may be produced by nations (the United States, Canada), by individual states within the U. S., or by international organizations such as the United Nations.
- In a broader sense, any historical material, such as a letter, a deed, a marriage certificate, or other first-hand or eye-witness testimony, is a "document," including unpublished materials.
- As a verb, "to document" means to record all the items used in doing your research, to compile a bibliography.
Due Date
The date stamped in the back of the book that reminds you when it must be returned to the library. If you need to use the book for a longer time, you may renew it. Renewal can be achieved through XACWeb. NOTE: You must be logged in to XACWeb to renew a book. If a book is returned after its due date, you will have to pay a fine.
Top of Page
e-Book or e-Journal(or e-Anything)
The "e" means "electronic." These are books, journal articles, images or other information sources that are available on CD-ROMs, on the World Wide Web, or through other computerized means.
Top of Page
Folio
The larger of two categories of oversized books housed in special shelving to accommodate their size.
Full-Text (also “full text”)
An article or book that is available electronically in its entirety. A computerized abstract (definition 1) is not the full text of an article or book.
Top of Page
Genre/Form
A library search term used to find examples of a type of literature instead of books about that topic found through a subject search, i.e. fantasy, mystery, and the like.
Group Study Room
A small room available for use by students to study together as a group. The Library provides about 12 of these rooms. The rooms can accommodate 6 to 8 students. To reserve a room, come to the Reference Desk on the 1st floor.
Top of Page
Hold
A request that an item checked out to someone else will be saved for you when it is returned to the library. You may "place a hold" on an item at the circulation desk. You may also request a hold on an item in XACWeb.
Note: You must be logged in to XACWeb to make this request.
Holdings
This term often applies solely to the issues of a magazine or journal owned by the library, but it can also refer to all the materials (books, periodicals, audiovisual resources, databases, and thenlike.) in the library's collections.
Top of Page
ID
ID is an abbreviation for "identification." Patrons use their Email information to log into XACWeb. The Email user tag is everything to the left of the @ sign in the email address.
Iliad
See Interlibrary Loan.
Index
This can be used in two ways.
- A list of subjects discussed in a book, usually printed at the end of the book.
- A list of journal articles arranged by subject and/or author. The Xavier University Library has indexes of this second type on many different subjects. Talk to a librarian at the reference desk for assistance in finding appropriate indexes.
Interlibrary Loan
Getting materials such as a book or a copy of an article from another library. You can use this service by clicking on “Interlibrary Loan” - ILL- on the library's web site.
Top of Page
Journal
A periodical that contains scholarly articles written by professors, researchers, or other experts in a subject area. An abstract and a bibliography may appear with each article in a journal.
Top of Page
Keyword
A word that you use in order to find an item when searching an electronic database. Keywords are not the same as subject headings, and often are not as effective in locating relevant documents. Using a thesaurus can help identify appropriate search words.
Top of Page
Library Catalog
The central list or index of materials in the Xavier University Library. It is also called the "Xavier Automated Catalog on the Web (XACWeb)."
Loan Period
The length of time library books and other items may be borrowed. The time varies depending on the type of material and whether you are an undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty member, or staff member.
Locked Case
A collection of circulating library materials housed in a closed room to prevent mutilation, theft, or other loss.
Top of Page
Magazine
A periodical intended for general-interest reading rather than for scholarly research. An abstract and a bibliography will rarely appear with an article in a magazine.
Media
This can be used in two ways:
- As a synonym for audiovisual, to describe materials that are something other than books or periodicals.
- In a broader sense, "media" can refer to almost any information resource, as in "the news media" that includes newspapers, radio, television, and magazines.
Top of Page
Overdue
A book (or any other library item) that has not been returned by the due date. You will pay a fine for all items that are overdue.
Oversize
Books too tall or long to fit in regular shelving.
Top of Page
Password
See ID.
Periodical
A publication that appears on a regular basis. Examples include newspapers (daily or weekly), magazines, and journals.
Top of Page
Quarto
The smaller of two categories of oversized books housed in special shelving to accommodate their size.
Top of Page
Reference
See citation.
Reference Desk
A place where librarians give you directions, answer your questions, and show you how to find and use materials. The Xavier University Library has two reference desks - 1st Floor by the entrance, 4th Floor Pharmacy Library. Each is staffed most hours that the library is open.
Renew
To extend the due date for materials borrowed from the library.
Top of Page
Search Engine
A program on the World Wide Web used to find information using search terms or keywords. Some of the largest and best known are Goggle, Yahoo, and Bing.
Serial
A publication that is issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals. Examples include periodicals, journals, magazines, newspapers, annual reports, series, some conference proceedings, and annual reviews.
Sorting Shelves
Areas of the stacks used by library employees to sort and organize books in order to return them to their proper locations. If a book is not on a shelf where it should be, you may be able to find it by looking at the sorting shelves nearby.
Special Collections
Library materials that are not part of the open stacks. Most of these are items other than normal books and periodicals, such as rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and historical artifacts that require special care and attention. In the Xavier University Library, the Special Collections area is within Xavier Archives on Floor 3. Materials in Special Collections may be used only within that section of the library.
Stacks
The shelves that hold the library's books. In our library, the stacks are located on the 3rd floor. As in most American libraries, the stacks are “open,” which means that you may take books directly from the stacks; you do not need to ask a librarian to get the books for you.
Subject Heading
A word or phrase that accurately and succinctly describes the subject of a book or article (or other information source). A book may have more than one subject heading listed on its record in the library catalog.
Subject Librarian
A person with exceptional education and experience in a particular subject or academic discipline. They maintain the collections and provide expert assistance with research in their respective specialties. To contact a subject librarian, inquire at a reference desk.
Swipe
To slide your student identification card through a slot attached to a photocopier or piece of computer equipment. You do this yourself for some activities, such as to copy or print a document. A library worker will swipe your card to check out a book.
Top of Page
Thesaurus
A list of terms used to describe the ideas in a particular group of materials. It suggests synonyms for effective searching of its associated database, and indicates relationships between and among ideas. Thesaurus terms may be called "descriptors" or subject headings.
Trace
If you cannot find an item where it is supposed to be located, you may request that the library staff search for it. When it is found, you will be notified. You may request a trace at a reference desk.
Truncation
To replace the final letter (or letters) in a search term with a symbol (such as *) to broaden the results of the search. The computer will find all words that begin with the letters remaining. For example, "teach*" could find records with all these words: “teach, teacher, teaches, teaching, and teachable.”
Top of Page
Volumes
Library materials that are part of a single title but appear as separately bound items. When individual issues of a periodical are bound together into a single unit, this is called a "volume." (Usually, this equals one year of that periodical.) Also, large works such as encyclopedias are divided into volumes.
Top of Page
Last modified: 04/22/2013 02:52 pm
