Records and Fields

Records: Records describe information sources.

The record includes the citation and often also includes a summary, or abstract, of the item. Citations give you the information you need to locate items (sources like articles and books) in electronic, print, or microfilm formats using tools such as UCAT, E-Journal Locator, or Find It @ UTSA Library.

Fields: Fields are the building blocks of records; these are the pieces of a record where information is stored.

For example, your driver’s license or ID card is a record about you with fields describing your name, eye color, height, address, and so on. Field names vary, but in library databases common fields include author, title, subject or descriptor, publisher, and publication date.