B

• bibliography
  Bibliography
  Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
  
  - a list of writings related to a specific subject, writings by a specific author, or writings used in producing a specific text.

• bibiographic database is a computer based list of library resources. Typically each record contains the call number, author, title, publishing information, and other card catalog information.

• Boolean logic
  Boolean logic
  Boolean algebra is a logical calculus of truth values, developed by George Boole in the 1840s. It resembles the algebra of real numbers, but with the numeric operations of multiplication xy, addition x + y, and negation −x replaced by the respective logical operations of...
  
  - the algebraic system, developed by George Boole
  George Boole
  George Boole was an English mathematician and philosopher.As the inventor of Boolean logic—the basis of modern digital computer logic—Boole is regarded in hindsight as a founder of the field of computer science. Boole said,...
  
   that is applied to Boolean expressions that contain Boolean operators such as AND, OR, NOT AND, and XOR (exclusive OR). This binary algebraic system is used primarily in switching circuits and database searches. Boolean operators are not to be confused with proximity operators such as NEAR.

• browse - to inspect something casually, particularly to use an internet browser to casually inspect Web pages. This involves following links from page to page (also called surfing) rather than searching directly. The main difference between browsing and searching is that with browsing you have very little advance knowledge of what will be on the next page.

C

• call number - an identification marker used in libraries to categorize and locate books and other resources. Each resource is assigned a combination of letters and numbers which correspond with a location in the library. For example the call number for the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is BF76.7 .P83 2001.

• catalog
  Library catalog
  A library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations...
  
  (or catalogue) - a complete and systematically organized enumeration of items, particularly the complete enumeration of a libraries' resources on a set of paper cards (card catalog) or in an electronic database (bibliographic database).

• citation
  Citation
  Broadly, a citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source . More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression Broadly, a citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source (not always the original source). More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated...
  
  - the quoting or mentioning of a source. All works used in preparing a paper should be cited.

• citation search - a search, by name, of all references to an individual. Some databases have a specific citation search option, otherwise you use a full-text search. For an example of a database that has a specific citation search option go to the University of Michigan Library Database.

• Community analysis - the analysis of a set of people. Such analyses enable librarians to know the needs of patrons and hopefully provide better services to them. In a city library district, the set of relevant people would be all those who live in the city or those people eligible to use the library. Analysis may also be restricted to a subset of eligible library users.

• controlled vocabulary - limiting searches to the exact subject headings contained in the Library of Congress. An example would be "History - Bibliography etc". Some indexes, like Wilson Indexes, have their own system of headings and hence their own controlled vocabulary.

• copyright
  Copyright
  Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
  
  - the legal right granted to a copyright holder for the exclusive sale, distribution or reproduction of a creative work. It is a form of intellectual property that prevents others from using a creative work without consent of the owner. For example, Thomas Mann holds the copyright on the book The Oxford Guide to Library Research.

• cross reference database - a collection of records that have one or more fields that reference other related records. These connections (for example between "marketing" and "promotion") make browsing very productive and allow related-items searches.

D

• descriptor - an index term used to identify a record in a database. It can consist of a word, phrase, or alphanumerical term. It can describe the content of the record or be an arbitrary code. When a descriptor is descriptive, it can be an effective search parameter.

• dissertation - a written treatise or thesis, usually lengthy, usually authored by a doctoral candidate, usually directed by a faculty advisor, and usually intended to advance the state of the art in a given discipline. There can be an oral component to the process, in which the dissertation must be defended in front of critical judges. Dissertation searches are valuable because of their currency.

• document delivery - the transfer of a database record, or other information resource, to the end user. It can involve direct internet or email transfers, CD delivery via mail, paper delivery via mail, or delivery via interlibrary loan.

E

• edition - a version of a published text, or all the instances of a published text issued at a given time. An example would be the 2nd edition (2001).

• entry - any record, or a field in a record, that has been included, or entered, into a database. An entry word is the headword in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or glossary.

F

• field - an element of a database record. It contains one type of information and has a unique address. All or most other records in the database have a similar field. An example is the field "name".

• free-text search -

1. is a simple word or character search, usually with very few Boolean, proximity, or scope limiting options. It is simple and fast.

2. a search in which all the entries are freed from their original format of presentation. Text that originated in a journal article looks much the same as text that originated in a glossary or chat room.

3. the deliberate limiting of the scope of the search parameters to include only records that are available free of charge.

• full text database - a collection of records containing complete versions of the original source, rather than just bibliographies, abstracts, or abridgements. An example is JSTOR
  JSTOR
  JSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
  
  . A related concept is that of a full text search which searches only sources that are complete, and ignores those records that are mere abstracts or descriptors.

I

• interlibrary loan (EUA) or interlibrary lending (UK) - when patrons of a library arrange for resources from other libraries to be sent to their library. This resource sharing system is being promoted by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

J

• journal - a periodical publication that presents articles in a specific subject area. They are usually scholarly. An example is The Journal of Marketing Research.

K

• keyword searching - the searching of a database using a significant word from the title, abstract, or descriptor of a record as a point of reference to the article's overall content. This type of search is usually the best type to start with.

L

• literature search - A systematic and thorough search of all material, print or electronic, published on a given topic. This can include books, journals, newspapers, catalogs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, bibliographies, handbooks, manuals, indexes, yearbooks, gazetteers, directories, chronologies, almanacs, and guides.

M

• menu
  Menu
  In a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
  
  - a list of options from which a computer user can choose. This saves the user from having to memorize a set of commands. It also reduces the decision down to the basic information required (note the etymology from the French word minuet meaning small).

• monograph
  Monograph
  A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
  
  - a written document (i.e., graph) on a single subject (i.e., mono). It is usually scholarly in nature and of approximately book length. They are valuable information sources because of their depth in a limited subject area.

O

• operators - symbols that represent operations. In computer science there are binary and unary operators depending on the number of elements or records an operator acts on. In database searching there are Boolean and Proximity operators. Boolean operators are a subclass of logical operators (Logical operators are binary operators that manipulate data at the bit level.). A Boolean operator manipulates the binary value "true/false".

• online catalog - a record of the holdings of an institution (usually a library), or group of institutions, that can be found on the internet. An example is UCSD's "Roger".

• Open sources software (OSS)- oss are software which is available free for use, run, distribute. It can not be used for commercial benefit.

P

• periodical index - an alphabetized listing of works that are published at regular intervals of more than one day.

• plagiarism
  Plagiarism
  Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
  
  - the passing off as your own, the work of others'. Original sources are not given credit.

• primary source - the originator of a primary record. A primary record is a resource created by the same people that initially experienced or used it. They create the records for their own purposes, records that often remain unpublished. Sometimes they witness an event, sometimes they are involved in an event, and sometimes the record is directly created by the event.

R

• record - an individual entry in a database and simultaneously a collection of related data fields. Each field, although related, is of a different type to all the other fields in the record (and this is what differentiates a record from an array).

• Reference Service - the personal assistance provided to the library users in finding information. All the functions performed by a trained librarian employed in the reference section of a library to meet the information needs of patrons (in person, by telephone, or electronically), including but not limited to answering substantive questions, instructing users in the selection and use of appropriate tools and techniques for finding information, conducting searches on behalf of the patron, directing users to the location of library resources, assisting in the evaluation of information, referring patrons to resources outside the library when appropriate, etc. are regarded as the services provided under library reference services.

• review article - a periodical article that describes, analyses', and criticizes a book, journal article, movie, or other creative or academic work.

S

• scholarly article - an article, usually in a scholarly journal, that deals with academic subject matter at an advanced level.

• search strategy - a generalized set of technique used in the process of determining what information you currently have, determining what information you need, and determining how to get it. Some possible strategies include; controlled vocabulary searches, specific entry searches, browsing, general scanning, broad to narrow searches, adjacent item browsing, subject tracings searches, keyword searches, citation searches, literature searches, cross reference searches, and chat room questions and other direct people contact searches.

• subject heading - the name of the category that a record is included under. For example, the record "natural frequency of vibration" might be found under the subject heading of "Acoustics", and acoustics, in turn, might be found under the subject heading "Physics".

• subject directory - an hierarchical grouping of related subject headings. The tree structure shows relationships between subject headings. They can be found either inside a database or separate from a data base.

T

• thesaurus
  Thesaurus
  A thesaurus is a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning , in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations...
  
  - a book of synonyms, often also containing antonyms. An example is Roget's Thesaurus
  Roget's Thesaurus
  Roget's Thesaurus is a widely-used English language thesaurus, created by Dr. Peter Mark Roget in 1805 and released to the public on 29 April 1852. The original edition had 15,000 words, and each new edition has been larger...
  
  . In database searching, a thesaurus strategy is to use multiple iterations to search for related words and generate results. The database will often suggest synonyms and related words to try.

• truncation - the shortening of a search word, field, or record. In the case of truncating a search word, this is a strategy used to search among multiple variants or spellings of a word. The asterisk (*) is generally used as a wildcard to replace a letter or letters. An example is invest* which will pick up instances of invest, investor, investments, investigations, etc. In some databases the asterisk must be accompanied with a number that define the number of characters that can be truncated.

See also

• Library and information science
  Library and information science
  Library and information science is a merging of the two fields library science and information science...