Abstract:
An abstract is a short summary describing the main idea or content of a work such as an article, book or dissertation.
Annotation:
Unlike an abstract, which is an objective description or summary of a work, an annotation is a critical or subjective evaluation of a piece of work, usually included in a bibliography or citation.
Archives:
A special collection or collections that house the records of organizations, governments, universities, etc. An archive can also contain collections of the personal papers of an individual or family, photographs, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, etc. Archives usually house materials of an historic nature.
Article:
Sometimes referred to as a paper, an article is a brief composition on a subject, usually appearing in a magazine or journal.
Audio-Visual Materials:
Audio-visual materials convey information mainly via sound and image instead of by text. Although they may have some text, they are not meant to be strictly read.
Barcode Number:
The 14-digit number appearing beneath the barcode found inside the front or back cover of a book. Barcode numbers for Terrebonne Parish Library (TPL) books begin with the numbers "3 9902 1007" and are used to charge, discharge, and renew books on the online computer system.
Bibliography:
A bibliography is a list of citations which appear at the end of a paper, article, chapter or book. There are also books entirely made up of bibliographies. These are usually a compilation of citations on a particular subject or by a particular author.
Book Return:
A place to return books borrowed from the library. The book return is a box located outside the library.
Boolean Operator or Boolean Logic:
Boolean operators, otherwise known as logical operators, are used to construct more complex searches in a database. They help make a search more accurate. There are 3 logical operators: AND, OR and NOT.
Browser:
Software program used to view web pages. Browsers like Microsoft's Internet Explorer (MSIE) or Netscape allow you to click on a link to another document, and get information from a different computer where that resource is stored.
Call Number:
A call number is a combination of letters and numbers that is given to each item held in the library. The letters and numbers assigned to the work describe its subject matter and serves as its address on the shelf. TPL uses the Dewey Decimal Classification system to assign its call numbers. Following is some examples of call numbers:
xF: This is the acronym used in the library field to identify fiction, usually picture books which are appropriate for young children
x: This is the acronym used in the library field to identify fiction books for children
YA: This is the acronym used in the library field to identify books for young adults
B: This is the acronym used in the library field to identify books that are biographical
Fic: This is the acronym used in the library field to identify books that are fiction
Non-Fic: This is the acronym used in the library field to identify books that are not fiction
CD-ROM:
A thin disk (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) which holds thousands of pages of information.
Check out:
The process of borrowing materials from the library. In order to check out materials the user must present a TPL Knowledge card to a staff person at the circulation desk along with the materials to be checked out.
Circulation Desk:
The circulation desk is the place to check out, return or renew books. The staff can also help you locate items that you cannot find. You pay overdue fines at this desk too.
Citation:
A citation is a reference to a work, such as a book or a journal article. When you look at a bibliography or search an index, you retrieve citations. They provide the author, title, publication place, and year of a work. Often many other pieces of information, such as journal title and page number, are added in order to make it easier to locate the work.
Cross-reference:
Directions that lead you from one subject or name to another in a catalog or index.
Database:
A database in an organized collection of computer records. The most common type of database consists of records describing articles in periodicals otherwise known as a periodical index. By entering search terms related to your topic, you will be able to retrieve information about articles of interest from the database.
Sometimes all the information you need is in a database record and sometimes you will have to take the information from the record and search further. When you are searching a periodical index (or database), you will get a citation giving you such information as title and author of an article as well as which journal it appeared in. In order to locate the journal and to read the article, you might have to search the TPL Catalog.
Due Date:
The date on the receipt that tells when the book must be returned to the library. If the book is needed longer, a renewal may be requested. If books are returned late, a fine is charged.
Field:
When looking at a citation from an index or database, each piece of information is a field. For example, many citations are made up of an author field, a title field, a publisher field and a date field. What fields are called and what is in them can vary from database to database.
Full text:
A full text database is a resource that provides access to the complete text of item. In a full text periodical resource, both the bibliographic descriptions and the articles themselves will be available. An example of this type of resource is Proquest and Infotrac which are a part of the Louisiana Connection Database.
Hold:
A library user may place a hold on a book charged out to another person; this ensures that the person placing the hold will be next in line to receive the book when the book is returned. Holds are placed at the Circulation desk.
HTML:
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is programming language used in the creation of Web pages.
Hypertext:
Transparent linkage of textual documents to other related documents on the World Wide Web.
In Processing:
Refers to a book or other item which is in the Library but not yet placed on the shelves.
Index:
An index is a guide to the contents of a file, document, or a group of documents. An index is used to point to the contents of something. For example, there are indexes in the back of books that describe and point to the contents of that book. There are also very large indexes that describe the contents of journals and give you enough information to locate an article in a journal. Indexes are usually arranged by subject, author or keyword. They can come in both paper and electronic form.
Interlibrary Loan:
Interlibrary loan is a mechanism for different libraries to share materials. Despite the size and comprehensiveness of the collections, some may require materials that TPL does not own. You may make arrangements to borrow library materials, principally books, from other libraries in North America or to obtain photocopies of magazine or journal articles. Interlibrary loan requests can be initiated at any branch.
Internet:
A worldwide network of computers that can be accessed via the TPL computer network. The Internet allows local computer users to find and use information resources on computers of other academic institutions, research institutes, private companies, government agencies and individuals.
ISBN:
International Standard Book Number. A unique 10 digit code assigned to a specific edition of a book before it is published.
ISSN:
International Standard Serial Number. A unique 8 digit code assigned to the specific title of a serial.
Journal:
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial and magazine have slightly different definitions, you will likely hear them used interchangeably. These are works that come out on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually) and contain articles written by various authors.
A journal contains peer reviewed articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic and refer to all types of these materials.
Keyword Searching:
A keyword search directs the computer to look for a word or a combination of words from the author, title, or subject fields in a record.
Loan Period:
The amount of time you may borrow a book or other item from the library. The time varies depending on the type of material borrowed and the status of the borrower.
Magazine:
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial and magazine have slightly different definitions, you will likely hear them used interchangeably. These are works that come out on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually) and contain articles written by various authors.
A journal contains peer reviewed articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic and refer to all types of these materials.
OPAC:
Acronym for Online Public Access Catalog. See Online Catalog.
Online Catalog:
An electronic or digitized version of a library's card catalog. The Terrebonne Parish Library's online catalog is called the TESS. It is the database that contains records that refer to the many materials held by Terrebonne Parish Library.
Periodical:
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial and magazine have slightly different definitions, you will likely hear them used interchangeably. These are works that come out on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually) and contain articles written by various authors.
A journal contains peer reviewed articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic and refer to all types of these materials.
Periodical Index:
A periodical index is a guide to the contents of periodicals. Some periodical indexes are general in coverage while others focus on a particular subject like agriculture, economics, or history. Periodical indexes can be arranged in numerous ways: by author, title of the article or subject. You would use a periodical index to find if there are articles about a certain topic or by a certain author. You would then have to go to the periodical itself to find the full article.
Rare Books:
Books that are valued for the significance of their contents, their scarcity, their imprint or date of publication, their physical characteristics or condition, or their associations (signed or annotated by a famous author, for instance).
Record:
A record is what you retrieve when you search a database. It can be made up of various pieces of information. These pieces of information can be separated into fields. In a periodical index, which is a database of article citations, each citation is also called a record. In the TPL Catalog, each reference retrieved for a particular title is also a record.
Reference Desk/Reference Collection:
The reference desk is the place where librarians and information assistants answer questions, give directions and guide patrons through their research. Often, there is a reference collection of books, computers, and other resources located near the reference desk. Librarians, information assistants and patrons use these print and electronic materials to help find answers to questions and to help in the research process. A few examples of items found in a reference collection are dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories and almanacs.
Reference Librarian:
Reference librarians are specialists in the field of information retrieval. Generally they have a Masters degree in library science, and many have other graduate degrees as well. They are available at reference desks to help you find the information you are looking for.
Renewal:
An extension of the loan period for charged library materials. Renewals may be handled in person at the circulation desk or by phone.
Serial:
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial and magazine have slightly different definitions,they are often used interchangeably. These are works that come out on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually) and contain articles written by various authors.
A journal contains peer reviewed articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic and refer to all types of these materials.
Stacks:
Stacks or stack area refer to the space in a library where the majority of library materials are shelved. Often the stacks are made up of multiple floors and contain many rows of shelving units.
Subject Headings:
Words or phrases assigned to books and articles which are used to index these items by topic
TPL Catalog:
An online catalog that contains records for materials in the Terrebonne Parish Library collection including the holdings of all 8 of the libraries in the system. The catalog contains records for books, magazine titles, sound recordings, and visual materials.
URL:
Uniform Resource Locator, or web address. Usually in the form of http://host.subdomain. Example: http://www.terrebonne.lib.la.us
Vertical File:
A collection of materials such as pamphlets, newspaper clippings, brochures, or pictures, which because of their shape and often their ephemeral nature, are filed in drawers or cabinets for easy reference.
Web Browser: See Browser
World Wide Web:
A graphical client-server information system that uses the Internet to access computers containing millions of hypertext documents. |
