Vocabulary – LT100

  1. Abstract - A brief summary that gives the essential points of the contents of a book, pamphlet, article, etc.
  2. Access - Ability to get to information
  3. Annotation - A sentence or two describing, explaining, or evaluating an item in a bibliography
  4. Bibliography - An organized list of books or other material providing author, title, publishing information, etc.
  5. Browser - A software program that allows you to navigate the Internet and view Web documents, examples: Netscape, Internet Explorer
  6. Call Number - A unique set of letters, numbers, or symbols assigned to books and other materials designed to specify   location and collocation.  Collocation refers to arranging materials on a similar topic together.
  7. Catalog - A catalog is a collection of bibliographic records for the materials a library owns.  It may be in card or computer format. 
  8. C D ROMS - Compact Disc Read Only Memory introduced in 1985.  Information on one CD ROM may equal about 300,000 pages of print information.  There are bibliographic CD ROMs like Info Trac as well as all types of books on CD ROM.
  9. Circulation - The checking in and checking out of items from the library collection.
  10. Citation - The listing of a work in a bibliography, footnote, or index.  A citation has enough bibliographic information to enable someone to easily locate the same work.
  11. Classification - The system used to organize a collection of material.  The two major classification systems used in libraries are Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal.
  12. Closed Stacks - Any library shelf area that is not open to the general public.  Sometimes closed stacks are open on a selective basis.
  13. Copyright Date - The year in which the author's application to the Library of Congress for copyright is granted.   The copyright date is usually on the verso of the title page.  It is data included in the imprint information.
  14. Database - A file of records which may contain any variety of information such as recipes, names/addresses/phone numbers, bibliographic information or statistics.  The information is arranged by fields.  Some databases are referral only providing information that points you to some other information such as Psych Lit.  Source databases contain data (information).  They may be print or electronic.
  15. Domain Name - The official name of a computer connected to the Internet.  Domain names include a host name and are followed by a domain category, i.e. .com for commercial enterprises or .gov for government.
  16. Electronic Journal - (e-journals) Journals which are available only in electronic form.  They may be on a variety of topics just as print journals are.
  17. HTML - HyperText Markup Language is used to format documents delivered by Web servers.  It uses a set of tags that allows the creation and formatting of Web pages and screens
  18. Holdings - The material held by a library.
  19. Hyperlinks - Words or images usually highlighted in a Web document that contain links to another document on the Web.
  20. LMTA - Library Media Technical Assistant.  The two-year training program began in the 1970's to train paraprofessionals to work in a variety of capacities in a library.
  21. List Serv - A mailing list on the Internet to which anyone with a common interest may subscribe.  Messages posted on a listserv are received by all other subscribers to the list via e-mail.
  22. Monograph - book.
  23. OPAC  (PAC) - On-line Public Access Catalog.   Electronic catalog which contains bibliographic records for the materials a library owns
  24. Open Stacks - Any library stack area where library patrons have unrestricted access to library materials.  Also called open shelves or open access.
  25. Paraprofessional - Library employees with a professional certificate or entrance-level educational requirements who are assigned supportive responsibilities.  They are usually supervised by a professional staff member.
  26. Patron - A person who uses the library's materials or services.
  27. Periodical - A publication such as a newspaper, magazine, or journal that is intended to appear in successive numbers or parts at regular intervals for an indefinite period of time.
  28. Pseudonym - An author assumes another name to conceal or obscure his or her true identity.
  29. Realia - Real objects that a library may include in its collection.
  30. Reconsideration - The activity of determining if material in a library's collection should be removed after it has been challenged by a patron.
  31. Reserve Hold - Material that has already been checked out may be placed on reserve hold for the next patron desiring that material.  The patron requesting the material will be informed when it is next available.
  32. Serial - A regularly issued publication including periodicals, annual reports, yearbooks, etc.
  33. Shelf Reading - Examining books and other library materials in stacks or other areas to assure that all items are in their proper call number sequence.
  34. URL - Uniform Resource Locator.  A standard method to describe the address of a particular document on the Internet.
  35. WWW - World Wide Web.  A global hypermedia-based system on the Internet that allows
    you to easily access all types of documents, images, sounds, and videos. Before the World Wide Web,
    only plain text documents were available on the Internet, and you had to know computer programming
  36. Weeding (Deselection) - The process of deciding whether to replace, repair, place in another collection, place in storage, or discard a library item.   The decision is partially determined by the age, use, and condition of the material.

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Original Content by Carolyn Funes
Last updated: Oct. 2001