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Library Lingo:
Some Common Library Terms Defined

Do you sometimes feel that the library staff is using a different language than you are?
Find out the definitions of some common terms used in the library.

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Abstract
A brief summary of the contents of a journal article or book.

Almanac
A reference book, usually published annually, containing lists, charts and tables of useful factual and statistical information either on a wide variety of topics or a single subject.

Annotated Bibliography
A bibliography (see Bibliography) that includes a brief description of each article or book listed. The description should help the reader evaluate the content and usefulness of each item.

Anthology
A collection of works (poems, stories, articles) by various authors and collected in a single volume.

Archives
Documents created by a person or organization in the course of the conduct of affairs and preserved for their historical value. Also the location where archival materials are kept. At UTSA, the Archives Department is located in the Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) Building. UTSA Archives.

Bibliographic record
An individual record in a database that describes and identifies a specific item (such as a book or journal) by fields (e.g., title, author, publication date, etc.).

Bibliography
A list of citations to journal articles, books and other materials on a particular subject or by a particular author. A list of references given at the end of research reports, journal articles, and books.

BIC (Bibliographic Instruction Center)
Meeting room on the third floor of the John Peace Library Building, JPL3.02.34, used for library classes, training, workshops, demonstrations and other library functions.

Boolean operators (logical operators)
Terms such as "and," "or," and "not" used to express the relationship of one term to another when searching databases.

Examples from UCAT library catalog:
violence and television -- (finds ALL keywords)
violence and (television or media) -- (finds 1st keyword and either one or both other keywords)
violence not television -- (finds 1st keyword, excludes the other)

Borrower Cards
UTSA maintains a number of cooperative agreements with other local and state libraries to extend borrowing to UTSA students and faculty. For the most current information, consult staff at the Circulation Desk.

Browser
Software program used to view and interact with various types of Internet resources available on the World Wide Web. Netscape, Firefox and Internet Explorer are three common examples.

Call Number
The unique combination of letters and numbers on the spine of each book in the library to group materials by similar subjects and enable the material to be found on the shelves. For broad subject classification, see Library of Congress Subject Headings.

Cataloging
The department in the library responsible for entering all the information necessary about library materials in the online catalog.

CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory)
An index or reference work that is stored on a compact disc and accessed and searched through a computer.

Checked out
A term indicating that a particular item is on loan to a patron.

Circulation Desk
The counter where patrons check out and return library materials. Renewals, recalls, holds, reserves and interlibrary loan requests are also handled here.

Citation
A reference or footnote to a book, article, or other material that contains all the information necessary to identify and locate the work. A book citation includes author, title, publisher and year of publication; a journal citation includes author, article title and periodical title, date, volume and page numbers of the particular article. This is the information you will need to write your bibliography.

Controlled Vocabulary
Assigned standardized terms used in searching a specific database or catalog. These terms will differ for each database. Sometimes called "subjects" or "descriptors."

Copyright
Legal privilege granted to an author, composer, etc. for exclusive rights of publication and distribution of a work. Libraries have a special interest in fair use of copyrighted material.

CORAL (Council of Research and Academic Libraries)
A consortium of libraries in San Antonio, San Marcos, Seguin and Kerrville formed to develop and strengthen information and research resources and services in the greater San Antonio and South Texas area through the development of cooperative programs and services.

See also: TexShare.

Database
An organized collection of information, data, or citations stored in electronic format that can be searched for specific information or records by techniques specific to each database.

Default operator
The specific relations between words (and, or, phrase) that is assumed by a database if none is specified. This can have a major impact on how the words you enter are searched.

Descriptor
Another word for subject heading used in many electronic journal databases.

Dissertation
A text written in completion of requirements for a doctoral degree at a university.

Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI)
An index which lists summaries of dissertations. This is available online through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text

Documents
See Government Documents.

Encyclopedia
A book or set of books of information articles usually arranged in alphabetical order.

Essay
A short literary composition on a single subject expressing a personal view.

Fields (Electronic databases)
A particular section of a bibliographic record, containing specific information such as the author, title, or publication date of an item.

Folio
Refers to oversized books and materials. At UTSA Library, these are shelved in separate sections from regular size materials.

Format
The physical form of information as opposed to the content. Examples of formats include books, journals, newspapers, electronic, and microforms.

Full-Text Database
A database where the entire text of an article can be viewed, printed or downloaded directly from the computer terminal.

Government Documents
Any materials published by local, state, federal, foreign or international government including books, serials, statistics, reports, bills, pamphlets, maps, microforms, CD-ROM or web pages. Also called government publications.

Hits
Results retrieved from a search in an electronic database.

Hold
A service provided by the Library where a patron can put a "hold" on an item that is checked out to another patron. When the item is returned it will be held at the Circulation Desk.

Index
A printed or electronic publication that lists citations to journal articles or books.

In-Process
A term that appears in the UCAT library catalog that indicates an item has been received at the library but not yet catalogued. Ask at the Reference Desk for information about obtaining the item.

In-Process Locator
A service where a patron can obtain materials received by the Library but not yet cataloged or assigned a call number. Ask at the Reference Desk.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
A service that allows current students, faculty and staff to request books and articles from other libraries if the material is not available at UTSA Library. Forms for requesting materials available online.

Internet
A group of interconnected worldwide computers using an agreed on set of standards and protocols to request information from and send information to each other.

ITC
Location code used in the UCAT online catalog for the Institute of Texan Cultures Library.

Journal
A publication containing scholarly articles written by experts on current research in a particular field. Articles are usually accompanied by an abstract and bibliography.

JPL
Location code used in the UCAT online catalog for the John Peace Library, 1604 Campus.

Keyword Search
A search method that allows the search for the occurrence of a word anywhere in a record. (Compare to Subject Search.)

LEC (Library Electronic Classroom)
Open computer lab for current students and staff when not in use for classes. Located on the third floor of the John Peace Library Building (JPL3.02.32).
LEC Web Page.

Librarian
A professional especially educated and trained to assist you in finding and using information.

Logical operators
See Boolean operators.

Magazine
A periodical published primarily for the general public rather than for scholars.

Microfiche
Flat, plastic sheets containing microimages of pages and read using a special machine.

Microfilm
A film containing reduced images of printed matter and stored on a reel. Readable on a special machine.

Microform
Printed material that has been photographed and reduced to a film format to help preserve the material and decrease the space needed for storage. Special equipment is needed to read stored information. Typical formats include microfilm and microfiche.

Monograph
Library term for a book on a single topic.

Multimedia Center
The department where audio and visual materials are kept and checked out.
Multimedia Center Web Page.

Off-Campus Access
See Remote Access.

Online Catalog
A searchable, computerized database of materials owned by a library and displaying the call number and location of the material. The current UTSA Library system is called UCAT.

Peer-Reviewed Journal
See Refereed Journal.

Periodical
A publication with a unique title that is issued at an established interval (weekly, monthly, quarterly). Examples include journals and magazines.

Plagiarism
Using another person's work as your own and without attributing to the original author.

Recall
A request for the return of checked out library material before the due date. This is done at the Circulation Desk.

Record
See Bibliographic Record.

Refereed Journal
A journal where articles are reviewed and selected by professional colleagues for publication. Check Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory (JPL Reference Desk Z6941 .U5 or online through Ulrichsweb) to determine if a publication is refereed.

Reference Desk
Service area or information desk in the library where patrons can get help from library staff in using the library, locating library materials, searching library databases and answering general questions.

Reference Stacks
The room where non-circulating, frequently used materials are kept. These include indexes, encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and other reference materials.

Remote Access
The ability to log on to and access resources on a computer network from a distant location. The UTSA Library’s resources and databases are available off-campus to current students, faculty and staff using their last name and Banner ID. More information.

Renewal
Extending the loan period or due date of materials. Ask at the Circulation Desk.

Research 101
UTSA's interactive online tutorial introducing students to research skills. The tutorial covers research basics, including how to select a topic and develop research questions, as well as how to select, search for, find, and evaluate information sources. http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Research/research101/

Reserves
A library service that manages the circulation of certain required course materials selected by instructors and made available for short-term loans. Items may be listed in UCAT and picked up at the Circulation Desk or made available electronically in WebCT.

Scholarly Journal
See Journal and Refereed Journal.

Serial
Library term for publications issued at regular intervals. This can be a periodical, journal, magazine, newspaper, annual report or a conference proceeding.

Subject Heading
A standard search term assigned to an item record to identify its primary content. Finding and using the appropriate subject terms are important parts of an effective search.

Subject Search
A search technique which requires using the database's own exact, pre-determined vocabulary. See also Subject Heading. (Compare to Keyword.)

Terminal
One station that is part of a computer system; an individual computer station.

TexShare Card
See Borrower Cards

Thesaurus
A list of subject headings or descriptors assigned in a particular database, index, or online catalog that can be used to search that database.

Truncation
In a keyword search, a word root followed by a truncation symbol to retrieve variant endings.
Example in UCAT library catalog: chican? -- (to find chicano or chicana or chicanos or chicanas)

Tutorial (Online)
A computer-assisted, interactive course of study in which new information is introduced on a step-by-step basis with periodic quizzes offered to monitor learning. The UTSA Library tutorial is called Research 101.

UCAT
UTSA Library's online catalog of books, journal titles, maps, CDs, government documents and other materials owned by the library.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator. The unique address of every item on the Internet and used to locate and retrieve a particular page.
Example: http://www.lib.utsa.edu/

World Wide Web (WWW)
An information system using the Internet to access information stored on computers worldwide.