While the Harrisburg University Library staff attempts to keep the Library's website as free from confusing terms as possible, some library jargon will inevitably creep into conversations, instructional sessions, and help pages. This page defines common terms related to libraries.
Check the ACRL-IS Multilingual Glossary Language Table for translations of these terms into Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
This page has been adapted from the Association of College and Research Libraries' Multilingual Glossary for Today's Library Users. More information on that project can be found here.
Abstract: A summary or brief description of the content of another longer work, usually at the beginning of an article. An abstract is often provided along with the citation to a work.
Advanced search: A tool allowing users to add specific requirements to their search. For example, Discovery Search features author, language, ISBN, material type, and more.
Annotated bibliography: A list of citations to sources like books and articles, each of which is followed by a descriptive and explanatory paragraph. See the Annotated Bibliography guide for more information.
Annotation: A paragraph added to a citation that describes and analyzes a source such as a book or journal article. (An entry in an annotated bibliography).
Appendix: A section, usually at the end of a book or article, that gives additional information and explanation about concepts and topics in the rest of the work.
Archives: 1.) A space which houses historical or public records. 2.) The historical or public records themselves which are generally 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. For more information, see Source Types.
Authentication: A security process that typically employs usernames and passwords to validate the identity of users before allowing them access to certain information.
Author: The person(s) or organization(s) that wrote or compiled a document.
Bibliography: A list containing citations to the resources used in a research paper or other document. Can also be called "Works Cited" or "References." For more information, see the APA Citing page.
Book: A relatively lengthy work, often on a single topic.
Boolean operator: A word—such as AND, OR, NOT—that commands a database to combine and narrow (AND), combine and expand (OR) or exclude (NOT) terms from searches.
Browser: A software program that enables users to access Internet resources, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.
Call Number: A group of letters and numbers assigned to items in a library, to organize the material so it can be easily found. These are typically applied to print books and are therefore not used at Harrisburg University Library, which collects mostly eBooks.
Catalog: A database listing and describing the books, scholarly journals, government documents, audiovisual content, and other materials held by a library. You can search for items held by the Harrisburg University Library using Discovery Search.
Citation: A referent to a book, magazine article, journal article, or other work containing all the information necessary to identify and locate that work. A citation to a book includes the author’s name, title, publisher, and place of publication, and date of publication. For more information, see the Library's APA Citation page and Finding an Article from a Citation.
Database: A collection of information stored in a electronic format that can be searched by a computer. You can access the library's databases from the A-Z Databases page. For more information, see Choosing a Database.
Discovery Search: A search engine used by the Harrisburg University Library that combines books and other materials from the library’s catalog and about half of its databases into one search.
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): A unique identifier assigned to individual articles by a DOI Registration Agency, so that individual scholarly works can be precisely identified and located. (Compare with ISBN and ISSN)
Download/Save: To transfer Information from a computer to a program or storage device to be viewed at a later date.
E-book: An electronic book which can be read on a device such as a laptop or phone.
Editor: A person or group responsible for compiling the writings of others into a single information source. Many scholarly books have editors who compile chapters written by a variety of authors.
Full-text: A complete electronic copy of a resource, usually an article or eBook.
Hardware: The physical and electronic components of a computer system, such as the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Holdings: The materials owned by a library.
Hyperlink: A link in an online document that leads to another online location with corresponding files or documents. It is usually under the form of a bold and underlined word or phrase, and is activated by clicking.
Icon: A small symbol on a computer screen that represents a computer operation or data file.
ILLiad: a software system that institutions, including Dickinson College, use to process, track, and manage requests for interlibrary loan. Visit ILLiad Logon to create an account, check your outstanding requests, or submit a new request.
Index: A list of names or topics—usually found at the end of a book—that directs the user of a source to the pages where those names and topics are discussed.
Information Literacy: The ability to determine when you need information, and to locate, evaluate, and use the most reliable and relevant information to address your need. Librarians help you develop your information literacy skills during your time at Dickinson.
Interlibrary loan: A service by which faculty, students can receive scans of articles and book chapters that are owned by other libraries or institutions. For more information on Interlibrary Loan, visit the ILL page. [COMING SOON]
ISBN (International Standard Book Number): A 10- or 13-digit number used to identify books published internationally.
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): An 8-digit number used to identify serial publications, such as an academic journal.
Issue: A number that refers to how many times an academic journal is published during a year.
Journal: A publication released on a regular schedule containing scholarly research published as articles, papers, research reports, or technical reports, to communicate research findings for other scholars in a field of study. Also known as a scholarly journal, academic journal, or a peer-reviewed journal. For more information, see Source Types, See XXX to search for journals that the library subscribes to.
Keyword: A significant or memorable word or term in the title, abstract, or text of an information resource that indicates its subject and is often used as a search term. For more information, see Search Terms.
Magazine: A non-scholarly publication issued on a regular basis that contains popular articles, written and illustrated in a less technical matter than the articles found in a journal. Examples include Time, Scientific American, and The Economist. You can search for magazines that the library subscribes to on the Publication Finder page.
Multimedia: Any information resource that presents information using more than one form of media.
Newspaper: A non-scholarly publication containing current information about varied topics that are pertinent to general information, a geographic area, or a specific subject matter. Often published daily. You can search for newspapers that the library subscribes to on the Publication Finder page.
Non-Scholarly: A source that is less technical than a scholarly source, and has not been peer reviewed by scholars, researchers, or scientists.
Open access: Free access to sources like books and journals online that have been published under an Open Access license.
Peer Reviewed/Scholarly/Refereed Journal: Peer review is a process by which editors have experts in a field review books or articles submitted for publication. Peer review helps to ensure the quality and relevancy of an information source by publishing only works of proven validity, methodology, and quality. You can search for journals that the library subscribes to on the Publication Finder page.
Periodical: An information source published in multiple parts at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, biannually). Journals, magazines, and newspapers are all called periodicals.
Plagiarism: The act of copying another’s intellectual work without appropriate attribution through citation.
Primary Source: An original record of events, such as a diary, a newspaper article, a public record, or scientific documentation. To search for primary materials to which the library has access, see Source Types.
Proxy Server: An authentication system that allow users to access subscription resources when they are off-campus. If you want to access library materials when you are off-campus, make sure to use the Harrisburg University Library’s website to access them instead of simply searching on Google, otherwise you may be denied access.
Reference: A service that helps people find needed information. Sometimes “reference” refers to resource types such as encyclopedias, indexes, handbooks, directories, etc. A citation for a work can also be known as a reference.
Scholarly: A designation for a source that communicates research findings for other scholars in a field of study. Usually contains more technical language, a bibliography, and is evaluated by other scholars before publication (peer-reviewed).
Search Engine: A tool enabling users to search for keywords that lead to relevant documents on the World Wide Web (WWW).
Search Field: A space to enter search terms in a search engine or library database.
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. For more information, see Source Types.
Title: The name of a book, article, or other information source.
Upload: To transfer information from a computer system or a personal computer to another computer system.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The address of a World Wide Web page, often starting with "https://www."
Volume: A single book that is a part of a large collection. For academic journals, volume refers to a set of issues that are published in a given year.