Glossary of terms used in the Tutorial
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Abstract - A brief synopsis, usually three or four sentences, that describes the content in an article, book, or other document. Most commonly found with an item's citation information in databases.
A/V - (Audiovisual) - This part of the collection typically enclosed videotapes, DVDs, audio cassettes, and audio CDs.
Boolean search - Uses Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) to refine the scope of the search. (Webster's New World.)
Browser -
Button
Call Number - Combination of letters and numbers that, like an address, tell you where to find an item in the library.
Catalog - Tells you what books, magazines, journals, videos, etc. the library has in its collection. It does NOT tell you what articles are in the magazines or journals. To access the catalog, click here.
Check box -
A graphical user interface that requires the user to click in one or more
of the square boxes presented on the page. When the boxes are checked,
an "X" appears in them. (below)
Check shelf - When this appears in the catalog as the status of an item, it means that the item is not checked out and should be on its shelf. (See "not checked out.")
Course Reserves - Items placed on reserve by a course instructor. These are usually books or articles that the instructor wants students to read for an assignment. Course reserves are listed by course number, instructor, or article/book title. To access the Course Reserves catalog, you must have an active Owl Card/Library Card. Visit the Course Reserves web page or select the "Course Reserves" link from the library's home page.
CPM - Current Periodicals and Microforms. The area in the library that houses the most recently received/published magazines, journals, and newspapers, as well as items that are in microfiche or microfilm formats.
Database - An organized collection of related information. Databases may be in electronic or print format.
Dewey Decimal System - Named after Melvil Dewey who invented the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system. The DDC is the most widely used classification system, utilized by more than 135 countries. Its main purpose is to organize and provide access to library collections. The Dewey system is often found in public and school libraries, although a few large research libraries, such as the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, use it as well. Dewey call numbers employ mostly numbers rather than letters. (Example: 302.20973)
Domain - Represents a particular section of the Internet and is commonly represented by the last three letters of the address. Such examples include:
- .edu - educational institutions
- .org - non-profit organizations
- .com - commercial sites
- .ca - Canadian sites
- .gov - U.S. government sites
EZ-Proxy - Used to verify you as a member of the FAU community so that you may access library databases from off-campus. To learn more about EZ-Proxy, click here.
Field - A particular part of a record. Title fields display the title. Author fields display the author.
Full-Text - Some electronic databases provide access to full-text articles. This means the entire text of the article is available from the databases, minus any formatting.
Government Documents Collection - These are materials that are housed in the Government Resources department. The S.E. Wimberly Library is a Selective Federal Depository Library and receives and houses most federal documents distributed by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). It is also a State of Florida Depository Library. Florida documents can be accessed through the Florida Documents Index.
Holdings - Entire collection of books and other materials in a library.
Hyperlink - On a Webpage, a work, combination of words, or images that, when clicked with a mouse, displays another page or document.
ILLiad - the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service that allows FAU faculty, students, and staff obtain library materials unavailable at our Library. ILL is not available for items that are currently checked out. For more information, see the InterLibrary Loan home page.
Internet - A network of interconnected computer networks. The World Wide Web is a part of the Internet. Other protocols include ftp and telnet.
ISBN - (International Standard Book Number) - Uniquely identifies a book.
ISSN - (International Standard Serial Number) - Uniquely identifies a serial publication.
Keyword(s) - The word or words a user enters as terms when searching the library catalog or a database. Keyword searches look for all of the terms entered in a particular record in no particular order.
Library of Congress - The largest library in the world with more than 120 million items which includes books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts. Located on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the Library also serves as the research branch of Congress. Most items in the FAU Libraries are classified by subject under the Library of Congress (LC) Classification system. Call numbers in the LC system begin with one, two, or, very rarely, three letters followed by numbers. (Example: PN1997 .C51173 K34 2002)
L.O.T. - The FAU Libraries' Library Online Tutorial created by the Reference and Instructional Services Departments to teach students how to use the S.E. Wimberly Library on the Boca Raton campus.
Microform - Any library material that has been reduced in size and then stored on flat sheets (microfiche) or rolls of developed film (microfilm). Requires the use of a microform machine reader to view the fiche or film.
Module - A section that can function on its own as a standalone program. In the L.O.T. there are five different modules.
Non-circulating - Items that cannot be checked out or taken out of the library. Most Reference items are non-circulating. The catalog will provide this information.
Not checked out - When this appears in the catalog as the status of an item, it means that the item is not checked out and should be on its shelf. (See "check shelf.")
PDF - (Portable Document File) - Created by Adobe Systems that uses PostScript printer description language. Articles from JSTOR (Journal Storage: The Scholarly Journal Archive) and a few other databases display articles in PDF. Documents end with the extension ".pdf."
Peer-reviewed - Articles published in refereed academic journals must pass the peer review process. This means the article is reviewed by other experts in the same field, who then help determine whether or not the article is suitable or worthy of publishing.
Periodical - A magazine, journal, newsletter, or newspaper that is published "periodically," sometimes monthly, annually, weekly, bimonthly, etc.
Popular Magazine - A periodical that usually contains articles on current events and news, interviews, reviews, news columns, etc. Graphics and illustrations often decorate the glossy covers and pages. Articles are usually written by journalists and free-lance writers. (See "scholarly")
Radio buttons
- A graphical user interface that requires the user to click in one of
the round buttons presented on the page. (See "check box.")
Example of radio buttons. (below)
Recall/Hold Request - This link in the catalog under the item's status allows the user to recall or place a hold on an item that's currently checked out. For more information on circulation policies, visit the Access Services home page.
Record - A unit of information in a database collection. The information for an item in the catalog is that item's record.
Refereed - Something, usually a research article, that has been examined by someone else to determine and comment on whether or not it is suitable for publication.
Reference Department - The library department that helps patrons and teaches them to locate information in the catalog and databases. The reference department also offers assistance with academic research problems. Materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, indices, and other subject-specific are found in the reference stacks.
Scholarly Journal - A periodical that usually contains lengthy articles on a particular research, historical, or theoretical topic written by scholars, researchers, professors, physicians, etc. There are rarely any glossy graphics, but if illustrations are used, they are done so sparingly.
Stacks - The bookshelves in the library.
Subject Heading - The main subject term or terms, topics, or themes given to an item, and usually assigned by a cataloger.
SuDoc - Government publications at the FAU Libraries are arranged under the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification system. SuDoc numbers are classified according to the government agency that issues the document and not by subject like with the Dewey or Library of Congress classification systems. For example, the SuDoc number, "T22.44/2:2194B," is an item published by the Department of Treasury.
URL - Uniform Resource Locator. Helps identify the type of Internet resource and its location. Commonly referred to as its address. Many, though not all, URLs begin with http://.
WebLUIS - The Library User Information System for the State University System (LUIS) of Florida. It is often referred to as the "catalog."
World Wide Web- Hypertext system that uses the Internet to retrieve information. Documents are connected to each other through hyperlinks. The FAU library catalog is accessible through the World Wide Web. Also known as "Web" or "WWW."
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