LibGuides: How to Talk Like a Librarian: Library Talk

All the definitions on this page are provided by the Association of College & Research Libraries unless noted otherwise.

TERM	DEFINITION
Abstract	A summary or brief description of the content of another longer work. An abstract is often provided along with the citation to a work.
Annotated Bibliography	A bibliography in which a brief explanatory or evaluative note is added to each reference or citation. An annotation can be helpful to the researcher in evaluating whether the source is relevant to a given topic or line of inquiry. For more information, check out the library's guide on annotated bibliographies.
Archive	1. A space which houses historical or public records. 2. The historical or public records themselves, which are general non-circulating materials such as collections of personal papers, rare books, ephemera, etc.
Article	A brief work—generally between 1 and 35 pages in length—on a topic. Often published as part of a journal, magazine, or newspaper.
Authentication	A security process that typically employs usernames and passwords to validate the identity of users before allowing them access to certain information.
Barcode	A printed label used to identify books and other materials for circulation. The barcode is scanned when checking out materials to a patron.
Bibliographic Index	A bibliographic index is a professionally indexed database consisting of bibliographic records that hold the metadata about the item indexed, e.g. author, title, keywords, subject. Some bibliographic indexes have some full text attached to the bibliographic record and/or link the bibliographic record to a full text archive also in the the library collection.
Bibliography	A list containing citations to the resources used in writing a research paper or other document.
Boolean Operator	A word—such as AND, OR, or NOT—that commands a computer to combine search terms. Helps to narrow (AND, NOT) or broaden (OR) searches.
Call Number	A group of letters and/or numbers that identifies a specific item in a library and provides a way for organizing library holdings.
Catalog	A database (either online or on paper cards) listing and describing the books, journals, government documents, audiovisual and other materials held by a library. Various search terms allow you to look for items in the catalog.
Citation	A reference to a book, magazine or journal article, or other work containing all the information necessary to identify and locate that work. A citation to a book includes its author's name, title, publisher and place of publication, and date of publication.
Controlled Vocabulary	Standardized terms used in searching a specific database. See subject heading.
Database	A collection of information stored in an electronic format that can be searched by a computer.
Discovery Tool or Layer	Discovery is the process of locating and accessing resources on a specific topic. Discovery tools are the interfaces that index and manage the search and retrieval processes. A bibliographic index is a specialized kind of discovery tool.
DOI	Acronym for Digital Object Identifier. It is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by the publisher to a digital object.
EBSCO	A research database vendor. The library subscribes to many EBSCO databases.
ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)	Database of Master's and Doctoral Theses from participating OhioLINK member schools.
Grey Literature	Grey literature (or gray literature) is ephemeral material that is not usually peer reviewed but might have authority. Typical grey literature genres include conference proceedings and reports. 21st century definitions of grey literature might also include academic discussion blogs and other online venues.
Holdings	The materials owned by a library.
Index	1. A list of names or topics—usually found at the end of a publication—that directs you to the pages where those names or topics are discussed within the publication. 2. A printed or electronic publication that provides references to periodical articles or books by their subject, author, or other search terms.
Interlibrary Loan Services/Loan	A service that allows you to borrow materials from other libraries through your own library.
Journal	A publication, issued on a regular basis, which contains scholarly research published as articles, papers, research reports, or technical reports. See also Periodical.
LibGuides or Guide	A LIbGuide is essentially a mini-website, with boxes and tabs. We use guides to organize our databases and other resources that may be helpful.
Limit/Limiters	Options used in searching that restrict your results to only information resources meeting certain other, non-subject-related, criteria. Limiting options vary by database, but common options include limiting results to materials available full-text in the database, to scholarly publications, to materials written in a particular language, to materials available in a particular location, or to materials published at a specific time.
Local Circ. Only	Phrase meaning that the item can only be checked out by current Walsh University students, faculty, and staff. Any item marked Local Circ.Only will not be sent out to another university through OhioLINK or interlibrary loan.
Metadata	Metadata is data about other data. In the library world, an example of metadata is the bibliographic citation (author, title, etc), abstract, keywords, and so on for a specific journal article.
Non-circulating	Items in the library that cannot be checked out (i.e. journals, microfilm, etc.).
OhioLINK	1. A consortium of 120 academic libraries across the state of Ohio. The consortium provides access to physical and electronic resources (i.e. books, DVDs, electronic journals, research databases, etc.) for all 120 members. 2. The act of requesting a book or other library materials from another library in the consortium.
Online Catalog (OPAC)	A computerized database that can be searched in various ways— such as by keyword, author, title, subject, or call number— to find out what resources a library owns. OPAC’s will supply listings of the title, call number, author, location, and description of any items matching one's search. Also referred to as “library catalog” or “online catalog.”
Peer-reviewed journal	Peer review is a process by which editors have experts in a field review books or articles submitted for publication by the experts’ peers. Peer review helps to ensure the quality of an information source. A peer-reviewed journal is also called a refereed journal or scholarly journal.
Periodical	An information source published in multiple parts at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, biannually). Journals, magazines, and newspapers are all periodicals.
Primary Source	An original record of events, such as a diary, a newspaper article, a public record, or scientific documentation.
Qualitative Research	Qualitative research is a process of naturalistic inquiry that seeks in-depth understanding of social phenomena within their natural setting. It focuses on the "why" rather than the "what" of social phenomena and relies on the direct experiences of human beings as meaning-making agents in their every day lives.
Quantitative Research	Quantitative research focuses on gathering numerical data and generalizing it across groups of people or to explain a particular phenomenon. Quantitative research designs are either descriptive (subjects usually measured once) or experimental (subjects measured before and after a treatment) and focuses on numeric and unchanging data and detailed, convergent reasoning rather than divergent reasoning.
Refereed Journal	See Peer-reviewed journal.
Remote Access	The ability to log onto (or access) networked computer resources from a distant location. Remote access makes available library databases to students researching from home, office, or other locations outside the library. See also Authentication.
Reserves	1. A service providing special short-term access to textbooks or course-related materials (book or article readings, lecture notes, sample tests, DVDs). 2. Reserves is also the physical location within a library where these materials on reserve are kept. Also known as Textbook Reserve. Walsh's Textbook Reserve collection can be found on the shelves behind the front desk. To see if your textbook is on Reserve, search the online catalog. You can search by Course Number or Instructor. Also, you can do a title search. Or just stop by the desk and ask!
Scholarly Journal	See Peer-reviewed journal.
Search Query	Words entered into the search box of a database or search engine when looking for information. Words relating to an information source's author, editor, title, subject heading or keyword serve as search terms. Search terms can be combined by using Boolean operators and can also be used with limits/limiters.
Secondary Sources	Materials such as books and journal articles that analyze primary sources. Secondary sources usually provide evaluation or interpretation of data or evidence found in original research or documents such as historical manuscripts or memoirs.
Serial	Publications such as journals, magazines and newspapers that are generally published multiple times per year, month, or week. Serials usually have number volumes and issues.
Stacks	Shelves in the library where materials—typically books—are stored. Books in the stacks are normally arranged by call number. May be referred to as “book stacks.”
Subject Heading	Descriptions of an information source’s content assigned to make finding information easier.
Textbook Reserves	See Reserves.
Truncation	A search technique that provides a way to search for all forms of a word by using the asterisk () after the root of the word (i.e. educ)
Wildcard	A symbol substituted for a letter of a word in a search; used when a word might be spelled differently but have the same meaning: wom!n = woman, women; colo?r = color, colour.