Glossary of Library Terms

Abstract-- A summary of an article or book.

Archives--Also referred to as special collections. This is the library's collection of rare and historical information. This primarily includes books, letters, and photographs about McNeese State University, Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana.

Bibliography--A list of books or other published writings. The list may be of books by one author, or on one subject.

Biography--A person's life story. If that person writes it, it is called an autobiography.

Bound Periodical--Several magazines or journals arranged together under one hard cover. These are located on the North end of the second floor of the library.

Call Number--A group of letters and numbers given to each book that acts like an address. Books are arranged in the library by call number. We use the Library of Congress System at this library.

Circulation--The loaning out of library materials. Also the name of the department in charge of the loaning of library materials. Located on the first floor of the library.

Citation--The information that a researcher uses to uniquely identify the different resources used in writing an article or book.

Current Periodical--Issues of a magazine or journal published during the last few months. These magazines and journals are kept on the South side of the second floor of the library.

Dissertation--Lengthy, formal composition on a particular subject, especially one written by a candidate for a doctoral degree at a university

EBSCOhost--A database containing citations to articles on various academic and general topics. Full text is available for some articles. Available from the Frazar Memorial Library Web Site.

Friends of the Library--A group of people who support the work of the library with financial contributions. A yearly membership fee allows those who are not faculty, staff or students to check out materials.

Full-text--Referring to databases which provide the text of articles or books online, rather than just citations to the articles or books.

Government Documents--Publications of federal, local, and state agencies and governments. Government Documents are located on the fourth floor of the library and staff are available to retrieve items for library patrons.

Grey Literature--That which is produced by government, academics, business, and industries, both in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishing interests and where publishing is not the primary activity of the organization

Index--A print or computerized resource that groups together citations to journal, magazine or newspaper articles on a particular subject. Print indexes are available in the Reference Department on the first floor. Computerized indexes are available from any computer workstation in the library.

Inter-Library Loan (ILL)--The service the library provides to faculty, staff, students and Friends members to borrow books and get copies of articles available at other universities.

Journal--A periodical of a scholarly nature published by an institution or professional society.

Library and Information Instruction--Formal group instruction conducted by library staff on the use of library materials for research.

Library Catalog--Index of the books, government documents, and periodical titles available in the library

LOUIS--The Louisiana Library Network combines the resources of Louisiana's public and private academic libraries, along with a centralized support staff located on the LSU campus, to produce a dynamic library consortium.
 
Monograph--Detailed written study of a single specialized topic

Online Catalog--A library catalog that is available through a computer instead of a card file.  Catalogs list the library's  holdings, where the item is located and if the item is checked out.

Periodicals--Another term used for magazines, journals, and newspapers.

Reference Department--Provides instruction and assistance to library patrons in the use of the library, and particularly the reference materials.

Reference materials--Reference materials are usually used to find definite items of information. To provide quick access to everyone, these items cannot be checked out. Reference materials include almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and indexes. Reference materials can usually be found on the first floor of the library.

Serials--Material that arrives in installments and continues to do so indefinitely. These would include journals, magazines, and newspapers. The majority of these materials are located on the second floor of the library.

Serials Department--Assist library patrons with the use of journals, magazines and newspapers. Located on second floor.

Thesis--Proposition supported by supporting evidence

Definitions compiled with the aid of:
Egbers, Gail. Library Terms. Pacific Lutheran University. Available: http://www.plu.edu/~egbersgl/lingo.html.  November 2002.
Young, Heartsill, ed. The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science. Chicago: American Library Association, 1983.

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This page last updated on April 17, 2007.