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This glossary is a list of words that you will hear in the library including:
A
Abstract: a paragraph that tells you briefly what an article will talk about
Access: to be able to get to a resource
Account: your personal record through the library
Allusion: to refer to something casually or informally
Analyze: to think critically about the information you find
Annotation: notes that explain more about a book, article or text
Application: a program that helps you do something
Archive: a place that stores resources such as documents, files, or objects
Articles: a piece of non-fiction text that is published in a periodical
Attachment: a computer file linked to an email message
Attribution: giving credit to someone for their work
Audio: something that you listen to; sound
Author: the creator of an information resource
B
Bibliography: a list of information resources used to write a research paper
Boolean Searching: words or symbols used to make a search more efficient
Borrow: to take a resource out of the library
Broad: a search that has a large number of hits; more general
Browse: to look around without knowing exactly what you want
C
Call Number: a code that labels a resource to make it easier to find
Carrel: a small desk area for individual study
Catalog: a comprehensive list of library materials that you search when you are looking for information resources
Check-in: to return a resources you borrowed from the library
Check-out: to take out or borrow a resource from the library
Circulation Desk: where you borrow and return library resources
Citation: a reference to a particular resource
Collection: a group of items that have something in common
Computer lab: a room with computers available for use
Copy: to duplicate an information resource exactly often using a machine
Copyright: the legal rights granted to create and distribute information resources
Course Reserve: resources your teacher puts in the library or you to access temporarily
D
Database: an online search application that allows you to find periodical articles
Dictionary: a reference tool that explains the meanings of words, terms, and topics
Digital: an electronic resource format
Document: a recorded work or file
Download: to transfer a file onto a computer
Due Date: the deadline for returning a resource to the library
E
eBook: a book in digital or electronic form
Email: electronic mail; messages sent through the Internet
Encyclopedia: a reference tool containing brief articles on a variety of topics
Evaluate: to decide if a resource is good or bad
Evidence: information that supports a thesis or argument in a paper
F
Field: an area
Flashdrive: a memory device to save electronic files on
Full-text: the entire contents of an article
G
Google: a popular search engine
H
Help Desk: the place where you can ask librarians questions
Hits: the number of times a search term appears in database or on the web after you do a search
Homepage: the first or default web site when you open your internet browser
HTML: the computer language used to create a website
Hyperlink: a website address that you click on to go to that website
Hypertext: a word or phrase that you click on to go to another website
I
Index: an alphabetical list of topics or subjects that refers you to a page or site
Information: the data being communicated by a resource
Interlibrary Loan: a system of borrowing resources from other libraries
Internet: the network that interconnects computers to networks around the world; it is used to send email or look at web sites.
Interpret: to make sense of information
J
Journal: a periodical that gives you information from research or a study in a particular field
K
Keyword Search: to use a specific term to conduct a search in a database on the web
L
Late Fees/Fine: money you owe the library when you return a book after its due date
Lend: to let someone borrow materials or resources
Librarian: the trained professional who works in the library
Library of Congress Classification System: a system of organizing books originally established by the US Congress in 1800
Link: a word, phrase or picture that connects you to another web site or page when you click on it
Loan Period: the length of time you are allowed to borrow a resources
Log in: to gain access to a computer through a username and password
M
Magazine: a popular interest periodical containing articles on many different topics; not scholarly
Microfiche: a small plastic card that stores text and images from old publications
Microfilm: a small plastic film that stores text and images from old publications
N
Narrow: a search that has a smaller number of hits; more specific
Newspaper: a regularly published printed daily or weekly; not scholarly
O
Off-Campus Access: a way to use the school library website from a computer that is not on campus
Online: on the Internet
Organize: to put in order
Overdue: when a borrowed resource has been returned after the due date
P
Paraphrase: to write the information in your own words
Password: your secret combination of numbers and letters that allows you to log-in
PDF: portable document format; the full-text of an article is often this type of digital file
Peer-Reviewed: a scholarly article that was evaluated when submitted for publication in a journal
Periodicals: publications such as journals, magazines, and newspapers
Phrase Searching: when you search using a group of words that together have their own idiomatic meaning
Plagiarism: when the work and ideas of another writer are used or copied as if it were your own; stealing
Primary Source: an original, firsthand document or record
Print: to put a copy of the digital document or file onto paper
Printer: the machine you use to print out documents and files
Q
Query: a request for information submitted as a search
Quote (direct): to report or copy someone's exact words; requires quotation marks
Quote (indirect): to report or copy what someone has written or said, but not in their exact words; does not require quotation marks
R
Recall: when the library asks you to return a book that you borrowed before its due date
Record: a written account documenting facts or information
Refereed: an article that is peer-reviewed
Reference Desk: where you can ask a librarian for help finding specific information
Reference Materials: resources that have a lot of information, like an encyclopedia, and cannot be borrowed
Reflect: to think about how the information you've read relates to you and your ideas
Relevance: words or ideas that are related
Renew: to get more time borrowing a book from the library from its original due date
Report: a written record usually based on research findings
Research: an investigation of a topic or field of study
Research Question: the question you want to answer with the information you find while doing research
Resource: books, periodicals, files, and other materials found in a library
Review: an evaluation of a book or other kind of resource
S
Save: to keep an electronic copy of a document or file
Scholarly: a journal that publishes academic research and reports on studies conducted
Scope: the range of subjects or topics covered in an research
Search: a systematic way of looking for information
Search Engine: a device on the Internet that helps you search for a key word or phrase
Select: to choose
Slideshow: a group of PowerPoint slides
Source: the material containing information
Stacks: a group of books on shelves
Statistics: information or data in the form of numbers or percentages
Style Manual: a guide to a set of rules for writing a research paper
Subject: what you are researching
Summary: putting an author's words in much shorter form
T
Text: a written form
Thesaurus: a book that tells you words that have similar meanings (synonyms)
Title: the name given to a book or article
Topic: the subject you are talking about in your research
Tutorial: a printed or online instructional tool
U
URL: the location or address of an online resource
Username: the code you use to log in
V
Video: an electronic medium that shows images and usually has sound
Volume: a source of information that is part of a series such as a journal or magazine
W
Wikipedia: an online encyclopedia
World Wide Web: a global network of internet servers