| ABRIDGED | A shortened version of a book, document, etc. | |
| ABSTRACT | An objective summary of an article, book, or other written publication. | |
| ACRONYM | A word formed from the initial letters of a series of words. (e.g., IEEE is an acronym for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). | |
| ALMANAC | An annual publication containing useful facts and statistical data. | |
| ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY | A bibliography in which each citation is followed by an annotation containing a brief descriptive and/or evaluative summary, synopsis, or abstract. | |
| ANNOTATION | A brief, critical or evaluative summary of the content of an article accompanied by a bibliographic citation. | |
| ANNUAL | A yearly publication. | |
| ANTHOLOGY | A collection of published works (poems, plays, essays, etc.) by one or more authors. | |
| ATLAS | A book of maps. | |
| AUDIO VISUAL MATERIALS | Library materials in non-print form, such as audio cassettes, video cassettes, and compact discs. | |
| BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION | The information which identifies a book or article. It may include the author, title of the article, title of the periodical, volume, pages, and date. | |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | A listing of bibliographic citations to books, articles, and other materials that are related to a topic; usually found at the end of the book or article. | |
| BOOK REVIEW | An evaluation of a book, usually published in a periodical or newspaper. | |
| BOOLEAN LOGIC | Use of operators AND, OR, NOT to combine search terms (see KEYWORDS/KEYWORD SEARCHING) . | |
| BOUND PERIODICAL | Issues of a periodical grouped by year and collected together in hardcover to preserve for long-term use. [Found in a larger library such as Bracken at Ball State.] (See PERIODICALS). | |
| CALL NUMBER | Letters and numbers arranged in combination and assigned to a book to indicate its location in the library. Systems organized by subject include: Dewey Decimal; Superintendent of Documents and Library of Congress. Ivy Tech uses the Library of Congress System. | |
| CD-ROM | (Compact Disc Read-Only-Memory). Storage of information on a compact disc. | |
| CIRCULATING MATERIALS | Any library materials which can be checked out of the library. (Some materials do not circulate; i.e., periodicals and reference materials). | |
| CITATION | (See BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION). | |
| CURRENT PERIODICAL(S) | Recent, unbound journals or magazines that are located in a special area marked "Current Periodicals" in most libraries. Ours are on two tall rotating racks near computers. (See PERIODICALS, BOUND PERIODICAL). | |
| DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM | Most school and public libraries use this system. Call numbers begin with numbers. (See CALL NUMBER). | |
| DISSERTATION | Publication reporting original research that is a requirement for a Ph.D. degree. | |
| FOLIO | A book too large to fit in its normal shelf space and therefore placed in a designated area marked "FOLIO". [not relevant at our library] | |
| GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS | All materials published by government: federal, state, local, or foreign. Bracken Library at Ball State has a Government Documents section. Most are now available online. (See SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS). | |
| ILL | INTER-LIBRARY L0AN is the service we provide for obtaining materials not available at your Ivy Tech library. | |
| INDEX | A reference tool used to identify citations to library materials. There are indexes to help you identify periodical articles, newspaper articles and books. Indexes may be in print or electronic format. | |
| INTERNET | An electronic network providing access to millions of resources worldwide. Ivy Tech libraries also provide access to many subscription (paid for) databases through Internet access. | |
| IVYCAT | Online catalog of items owned by Ivy Tech Libraries, which is used to find books, the titles of periodicals we own, and audiovisuals. | |
| JOURNAL | (See PERIODICALS). | |
| KEYWORDS/KEYWORD SEARCHING | The most significant words in a topic, book or article title, etc. Keywords are used as terms when searching databases. | |
| LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS (LCSH) | Terms used by the Library of Congress to describe and classify areas of knowledge, which you will notice in item records you find through IvyCat. | |
| LOAN PERIOD | The length of time allowed for the use of an item checked out of the library. | |
| MAGAZINE | (See PERIODICALS). | |
| MEDIA | (See AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIAL). | |
| MONOGRAPH | A book. | |
| NETWORK | Connection between two or more computers which allows them to share the same software and information. | |
| NON-CIRCULATING MATERIALS | Items that must be used in the library, i.e., reference books, periodicals and some reserve materials. | |
| ONLINE CATALOG | (See IvyCat). | |
| ONLINE DATABASE | A computerized file, often of periodical indexes. | |
| OVERDUE MATERIALS | Items not returned to the library by the due date. | |
| PERIODICAL INDEX | (See INDEX). | |
| PERIODICALS |
Publications issued at regular intervals of less than a year. On PERIODICALS are referred to as SERIALS. A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL usually contains articles on research and development, news, proceedings, or transactions in a particular field. A MAGAZINE contains news stories or articles on various subjects and written for a general audience. A TRADE JOURNAL is published for particular business/industry. Typically includes a great deal of advertising. Often the subscription is free. Subscriptions to association journals are usually included in the price of the association membership. |
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| REFERENCE COLLECTION | Non-circulating current or heavily used books containing key sources of information. | |
| RENEW | To extend the due date for a book. | |
| RESERVE MATERIALS | A selection of specific books, periodical articles, and other materials which faculty require students to read for a particular course. These materials are set aside for short term use in the library and are available at the Circulation desk. | |
| SCHOLARLY JOURNAL | (See PERIODICALS). | |
| SERIAL | (See PERIODICALS). | |
| SPECIAL COLLECTIONS | Location of rare books, manuscript collections, University Archives and collections of historical maps and photographs. [Collections like this may be found at Bracken Library, Ball State University.] | |
| STACKS | Book shelves containing the principal book collection of the library. These are open for browsing. | |
| SUBJECT HEADINGS | Terms used to describe and classify areas of knowledge. IvyCat uses Library of Congress subject headings. (See IvyCat). | |
| SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS | Classification system also known as SUDOC used to organize government documents by Federal agency. | |
| THESIS/THESES | Publication(s) reporting original research that are a requirement for a Masters Degree. | |
| TRADE JOURNAL | (See PERIODICALS) | |
| WWW | An acronym which stands for "World Wide Web". |
Adapted by SRG at Shafer Library 6/5/2003