Niagara University Library: Glossary of Library Terminology

Niagara University Library
Glossary of Library Terminology

ABSTRACT: A brief summary of a book or article, usually without criticism, and accompanied by a bibliographic reference to the original work. Example: Criminal Justice Abstracts is a database that identifies books and articles in the field of Criminal Justice. Every reference includes an abstract or brief summary.
ACQUISITIONS AND SERIALS: The department that orders books and periodicals for the Library collection. Sometimes also referred to as the Periodicals Department.
BARCODE: Labels on ID cards and books with machine-readable numbers. Significance: If you wish to use the Library Catalog to review your own Patron Record or place a hold on a book, you will need to type in your ID card barcode number.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INSTRUCTION: See Library Instruction.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: A list of writings (books, articles, etc) on a given subject or person. An annotated bibliography provides critical or descriptive notes about the writings.
BOOK DROP: A bin located outside the Library in which you can drop books you wish to return when the Library is closed.
BOOLEAN OPERATORS:: The logical or algebraic operators formulated by 19th century British mathematician George Boole. Significance: You search databases using AND, OR and NOT. Example:
(capital punishment or death penalty) and new york.
BOUND PERIODICAL: A bunch of loose issues of a periodical held together in a single hard-back volume. Significance: Current issues of periodicals are kept in loose form on the shelves in the Current Periodicals Display Area. Then after they have sat there a while, they are sent to a bindery where they are bound into volumes, then shelved in a section of the Library that is separate from where the current issues are.
CALL NUMBER: The alpha numeric code on the spine of a book used to arrange books on the shelf. Call numbers appear:
CATALOGING DEPARTMENT: The department which physically processes, catalogs, and classifies new Library materials and maintains the Library's book catalog.
CIRCULATION DESK: Located near the front entrance, the Circulation desk is the place you go to check out Library books and reserve readings.
CITATION (ALSO, BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION): The information which identifies a book or article. For a book the citation includes the author, title, date, publisher, and place of publication. For a periodical article it includes the author, the title of the article, the title of the periodical, volume, issue, pages, and date.
DESCRIPTORS: See Subject Headings
DISPLAY AREA: The section of the Library where the most current periodicals are displayed. If you turn left after you enter the Library, you will see the Display Area.
EBSCOHOST: EBSCOhost is the name of a database system that helps you locate magazine and journal articles.
FIRSTSEARCH: FirstSearch is the name of a database system that provides access to more than 40 databases.
FULL TEXT: Usually refers to a magazine, newspaper or journal article where the actual article (rather than just a reference to it) can be viewed and printed from a computer. In the past, most databases just identified articles; you still had to go to the shelf to retrieve them. Now some database provide full text articles.
HOLD: You can place a hold on a Library book that is checked out. When the book is returned, it will be held for you, and you will receive a notice informing you that it is now available. Holds can be placed by you directly using the Library Catalog, or you can ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk.
HORIZON: HORIZON is the name of the company which created Niagara University's Library Catalog and circulation system. You will sometimes hear the Library staff refer to the computer system simply as HORIZON.
INFOPASS CARD: See LAP/INFOPASS Card.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL): The process by which materials are made available by one library to another. Significance: If Niagara University Library does not own the book or article that you need, we can try to obtain it for you from another library. Consult the Interlibrary Loan FAQ for more information.
ISBN (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER): A ten-digit number assigned to a book title before publication as a means of identifying it concisely and uniquely. It is most commonly used when buying books. An ISBN Number looks like this: 0-06-461026-8
ISSN (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD SERIAL NUMBER): An eight-digit number assigned to a serial (another name for a Periodical) which identifies it concisely and uniquely. It is used when libraries subscribe to periodicals or order articles through Interlibrary Loan. An ISSN Number looks like this: 0315-7997
JOURNAL: A journal is a type of periodical that contains scholarly articles and current research in a particular subject field. Compare to: Magazine.
LAP/INFOPASS CARD: LAP stands for Library Access Project. You can check out books from other college libraries in Western New York after obtaining a special card called a LAP/INFOPASS card from the reference desk of Niagara University Library.
LIBRARY CATALOG: A computerized listing of books and periodical titles owned by the Library. You can search the Library Catalog in a variety of ways and also determine if the book you need is checked in. The Library Catalog in available in the Library and through the Internet. Also referred to as Online Public Access Catalog or OPAC, for short.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM: The call number system used by Niagara University Library. See the Guide to Understanding Call Numbers.
LIBRARY INSTRUCTION: A service designed to teach you how to use the Library and locate information more efficiently. It most commonly occurs in group settings, but is offered to individuals as well. Library Instruction is also referred to as Bibliographic Instruction or BI.
MAGAZINE: A periodical designed to be read and understood by general readers, who are not necessarily experts in the subject being discussed. Compare to: Journal.
MICROFILM/MICROFICHE: A term for information that has been microphotographed and placed on small reels or flat sheets. Significance: Older issues of some newspapers and magazines are kept on microfilm rather than in print format. You use a microfilm reader to view them. You can make also make copies of articles using the microfilm machines located behind the Reference Desk.
MONOGRAPH: Essentially just another name for a book. Technically, it is a one-time publication that is complete in itself, unlike a magazine or journal which is published continuously.
OCLC (ONLINE COMPUTER LIBRARY CENTER): A non-profit company that produces the database that Niagara University Library uses to request materials from other libraries via Interlibrary Loan. If someone says to you: "We could not find your Interlibrary Loan request on OCLC," what they mean is that the item could not be found in the Interlibrary Loan database. (which is actually quite a rare occurrence). OCLC is also the company that produces the FIRSTSEARCH database system.
OVERSIZE BOOK: A book that is too large to fit on the regular shelving, so it is located in a separate oversize section on the basement level of the Library. Significance: books on the same subject are not always next to each other, because some books may be in the Oversize collection.
PATRON RECORD: The file of your Library transactions, including what books you have borrowed or placed on hold, and what overdue fines you may owe. You can view your own Patron Record through the Library Catalog.
PERIODICAL: The generic name for a publication issued on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly), like a magazine, journal or newspaper.
PERIODICAL INDEX: A subject and author index to the articles in a selected list of periodicals. You use a periodical index to identify articles in journals and magazines. When summaries of articles are included, the periodical index is called an Abstracts, as in Criminal Justice Abstracts, for example. Most subjects have one of more specialized periodical indexes or abstracts devoted to them. The Library has periodical indexes in print and electronic formats.
PROQUEST DIRECT: PROQUEST DIRECT is the name of a database system that helps you locate magazine, journal, and newspaper articles.
REFERENCE BOOK: A book limited to use within the Library, mainly because it is usually consulted for brief information. Examples are dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, almanacs, etc.
REFERENCE DESK: The place you go to when you need assistance locating information. It is located on the first floor of the Library.
REFERENCE LIBRARIAN: A professional with a Master's Degree in Library Science, who specializes in providing assistance to Library users. Reference Librarians are on duty during all the hours the Library is open and can be found on the first floor of the Library at the Reference Desk.
RESERVE: A collection of books and articles temporarily segregated from the general collection and assigned shorter loan periods so as to allow greater availability to students in a particular class, all of whom have the same assigned readings. Items on Reserve can be checked out at the Circulation Desk, but must be used in the Library.
SERIAL: Another name for periodical.
STACKS: A fancy word for book shelving.
SUBJECT HEADINGS: Standardized words or phrases used to find information by subject (sometimes also called descriptors). Significance: It is important to match your subject terminology with the actual terminology being used by the system you are searching. For example, searching for Death Penalty may turn up nothing if the standardized subject heading is actually Capital Punishment. Standardized subject headings are only valid for a particular system, and may or may not change when you search a different system. For example, The Library Catalog might use Death Penalty and Sociological Abstracts might use Capital Punishment, so you need to be willing to experiment.
WNYLRC (WESTERN NEW YORK LIBRARY RESOURCES COUNCIL): The regional grouping of closely cooperating libraries of which Niagara University is a member. The LAP/INFOPASS card program is made possible by WNYLRC.