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First:
The definition and/or essay is put here...abstract is a short summary describing the main idea or content of a work such as an article, book or dissertation.
Second:
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:
The
Terrebonne Parish Library (TPL) is a medium size public library composed
of eight branches located approximately 45 miles southwest of New Orleans.
TPL has over 200,000 printed volumes, magazines, videos and audios. Please
see Grand Caillou and
Grand Caillou for information on collections, organization, policies and
services.
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: Grand Caillou
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.
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