Library glossary
This information will help you to understand the words and terms used in this website.
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- Abstract
- A summary of what a book or journal article is about. Abstracts are provided by most online journal indexes and many databases, and are important in helping you decide whether you need to read the article or other cited item.
- Additional Resources
- Available via Supersearch, These are (mostly) online resources for teaching areas which do not meet the guidelines for database inclusion in Supersearch. They include reference & other useful resources. The broad disciplines covered include: Architecture; Arts & Humanities; Company & Industry; East Asian, Economics & Commerce; Education; Engineering; Government Documents; Images and Maps. Go to Supersearch, then select 'Find database' and type in Additional resources
- Article
- A published piece of writing which can be found in a journal,
newspaper, encyclopedia, etc.
Indexes and databases will assist you to find journal articles on a particular subject. (See also Supersearch) - Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- Australian statistics published by the ABS and are available electronically via Supersearch They are also known as AusStats
- Author
- The person/s or organization who has written a book, journal article, working paper, etc.
- Author of a journal article
- The person chiefly responsible for the creation of the journal article.
Note: You cannot search for the author of a journal article in the Library catalogue. Find the article by searching for the journal title
- Barcode
- A barcode is a series of vertical bars of varying widths, in which each of the digits zero through to nine are represented by a different pattern of bars that can be read by a laser scanner. A library barcode utilises this technology to uniquely identify library items (via a sticker usually located at the back) or patrons (via their membership card). An example of a library book barcode number is: 3 1290 01617 3163
- Bibliography
- A bibliography is a list of publications about a specific topic. Most often bibliographies will list alphabetically by author the resources used in preparing an essay, paper, article, book, etc. Other bibliographies can be major works in their own right.
- Boolean searching
- A precise method of searching online indexes and databases, the Library catalogue and the internet using 'Boolean Operators' (the words: 'and', 'or', 'not', 'with', 'near') to link search words and combine them in various ways to narrow or broaden a search as required. See also Wildcards and Truncation
- Borrowing
- A loan of a library item for a specified length of time. See also the Borrowing website
- Bound periodicals (journals)
- A set of issues and volumes of a particular journal which have been bound together.
- Branch Libraries
- There are many branch libraries which make up the University
of Melbourne Library. Go to our library home page under "Branches and Collections" for more information about individual branches.
- Call Number
- The Call Number is the Dewey Decimal Code (DDC) or subject number attached to the item (e.g. on the spine of books). A typical example may look like this:
UniM ECO 658.84 KEEL
'UniM ECO' is the library location code for the Giblin Library
'658.84' is the DDC subject classification (items are shelved numerically...)
'KEEL' is the suffix (...and then alphabetically within the same subject)
Some call numbers may also have additional in-house location codes (e.g for journals = 'P' and folios = 'f'). Each location code is hyperlinked in the Library catalogue, which when selected provides user with exact location information. For more information see the Library items page
- Card Catalogue
- Before the development of online catalogues, information about library items was recorded on small printed cards. Check these catalogues for earlier titles you cannot find in the online catalogue.
- Catalogue (online)
- A library is a large collection of books, journals, databases and other items arranged in an orderly manner so that they can be
found without difficulty. The catalogue is the primary way to
search for most items** in this collection. Our online
catalogue allows you to determine whether an item is kept in the
collection by searching by title, author, keyword, subject or call
number.
The catalogue record for each item will indicate whether the item is available for borrowing, on loan, etc.
The catalogue also contains information about the Library, enables you to search other libraries, Reserve Desk material, new items and allows access to your circulation record.
The online catalogue and searching tips are available via the web.
** Note that our catalogue is primarily a tool for searching our printed & physical material (i.e. kits, media, realia, etc). In general, it does not include the electronic resources (e-books being the exception). Electronic journals are indexed through the databases via Supersearch
- CAVAL
- Cooperative Action by Victorian Academic Libraries. CAVAL is an arrangement between all Victorian university libraries that allows university students and staff to borrow from other participating academic libraries. [CAVAL Homepage]
- CAVAL Card
- A card which allows you to borrow from other Victorian university libraries. You must apply for this card at any University of Melbourne Library Loans Desk before you can borrow at another university library. [CAVAL Homepage]
- Chapter
- A division of a book. Chapters and corresponding page numbers are listed in the Table of Contents at the beginning of the book.
- Citation
- Provides essential descriptive information about a book or a journal article. Citations usually include the author, title of the book, publication date and page number/s. If the citation refers to a journal article, it will include the title of the article, its author, the journal title and volume number, publication date and page number(s). This information will be needed to find the item in a library. You will find citations in reading lists, periodical indexes and bibliographies. For more information see Citation Information
- Controlled Vocabulary
- Controlled vocabularies provide a way to organize knowledge for subsequent retrieval. They are used in subject indexing schemes, subject headings, thesauri and taxonomies. Controlled vocabulary schemes mandate the use of predefined, authorised terms or descriptors that have been preselected by the designer of the vocabulary, in contrast to natural language vocabularies, where there is no restriction on the vocabulary.
- Databases
- A database is comprised of individual records which can be accessed and searched via a computer. Many of these databases are indexes to journal articles and are available via Supersearch
- Date of publication
- The date of publication relates to the year in which the publisher offered the book/journal etc. for sale. Often the publication date will have a copyright or © symbol before the date. This symbol indicates when the copyright to the work was taken out, this date is usually the same as when the book/journal etc. is available for purchase. There are occasions when the copyright date and the publication date do not correspond, then you will find two dates showing
- Descriptor
- A word, phrase, or alphanumeric character used to identify an item in an information storage and retrieval system. See also Controlled Vocabulary
- Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC)
- The Dewey Decimal Classification system, used to arrange
library materials according to subject, is named after its creator
Melvil Dewey
[More about Dewey System]
See Working Papers
- Editor
- There are two kinds of editor:
- One who is responsible for gathering together the contributions of others, or who prepares a scholarly edition of a text. This kind of editor appears in the citation.
- One who oversees the preparation of the author's text for printing.
- Empirical articles
- Articles that are empirical constantly and closely refer to original data or statistics. For example, they describe and analyse economic issues, events and conditions based upon original sources or first-hand information
- EndNote
- Bibliographic management software program that allows users to record, organise & use references. For more information see the EndNote homepage. See also Bibliography, Citation and Footnotes
See Footnotes
Federated search is the simultaneous search of multiple online databases or web resources and is often a feature of automated, web-based library and information retrieval systems. It is sometimes referred to as Metasearching or multidatabase searching. See also Supersearch
- Field
- Individual parts of a record which can be searched to retrieve a very specific set of results. For example, the author (au) field will provide the author of an article, book, working paper, etc., for all records which are included in a database. Other common fields include title (ti), journal (jn) and publication year (yr), although databases will often include others and may use different abbreviations for fields than those listed above.
- Fines
- Folio
- A folio is a large-sized book or journal. Folios are shelved in a separate sequence after the main number sequence. Their call number includes the letter 'f' after the location code and before the DDC component of the call number, e.g. 'UniM ECO f 338.9598 HOBO'. Larger folios are indicated by the letters: 'gf' (giant folio), ' qf' (quarto folio) or 'ef' (elephant folio). These larger folios are shelved at the end of the folios ('f'). The elephant folios are the largest and are shelved flat. See also Call number
- Footnotes
- A note placed at the bottom of a page or end of a chapter of a book, manuscript or journal article that comments on or cites a reference for a designated part of the text. Footnotes located at the end of a chapter are also called endnotes. See also Citation and Bibliography
- Full text
- The complete text of a journal or newspaper article. Many online indexes and newspapers
provide the full text of a document as well as an abstract.
There are 2 types of full text formats. The web or html format often does not include illustrations, diagrams,
tables, equations or formulae. However these are usually included in page-image formats (e.g. PDF), or in text and graphic formats.
Back - Gateway
- A gateway is a network point that acts as an entrance to another network. Supersearch is a gateway to the University of Melbourne's journals and databases. Another term for this is a portal. See also Supersearch
- Government Document
- Documents issued by any international, national, state or local government. These can include parliamentary papers, debates (Hansard), government gazettes and others. Most of Australian government documents are held on the 3rd floor of the Baillieu Library. For more information go to Supersearch. Then select 'Find Database' and type in government documents
See Sorting Shelves
- Holdings
- Refers to the particular items a library has in its collection and is often used in relation to the particular volumes/issues of a periodical held by a library. Details of University of Melbourne holdings are found by using the Library catalogue.
- Holds
- If an item one requires is on loan (i.e. the status has a due date), or otherwise unavailable (on display, in repair, or being relabelled), then one can request the item by placing a hold on it. If more than one person requires the item, a hold queue forms, and the borrowing period reduces to one week. However, there are exceptions to this general process. For more information see the Holds page
- Back
- ID Card
- Your student identification card is also your library card. Present it at any Loans Desk whenever you wish to borrow library material.
- Index
- Indexes are usually alphabetized lists of names, places, and topics/subjects treated in a printed or electronic work. They can be especially helpful to you when searching for journal articles on a particular topic. Indexes often provide users with citation information (from the very basic (i.e. page numbers if its located in the back of a book) to the more detailed (such as in a full citation).
Indexes may be available in either print or online formats. Those in online format are known as 'Databases' and are available via Supersearch - either by broad subject or under the 'Find Database' tab. See also Supersearch
- Information Desk
- The staff at Information Desks provide assistance with finding
and using the extensive range of materials available within the
library and in searching for resources beyond it. They can
also help with finding items on a
particular topic. The Information Librarians are also very
knowledgeable and can teach users how to develop & utilse effective search strategies
- Information Librarians
- Library staff with tertiary qualifications who are experts in
information retrieval (such as how to use databases effectively)
and who have extensive knowledge of the Library's collections.
Information Librarians provide a range of services including
assistance at the Information Desk, information literacy classes
for students throughout the year and individual
consultations.
Your query
(See Location Codes)
- Innopac
- The brand name of the University of Melbourne Library online catalogue, which is the primary way to search for books and other library items in the Library's collections. It is available via terminals in every branch library, and also via the Library's home page. See also Catalogue
- Issue
- A single copy of a periodical or journal (check this)
Although these words are often used interchangeable, they have different meanings
A journal is a publication which includes scholarly articles and is often published by an institution or professional society. Articles in journals are often peer reviewed.
A magazine includes articles aimed at the general public.
Both magazines and journals are periodicals - periodicals being loosely defined as publications that are issued on a regular basis and at least twice a year.
The term serial covers periodicals as well as annual and irregular titles
- Keyword searching
- A form of searching which allows a combination of terms - author, title, subject - to be used. In an advanced keyword search, search terms are combined with Boolean operators ('and', 'or', 'not', 'with', 'near'). Keyword searching can be used to search the Library catalogue, databases, online indexes and search engines. See also Wildcards and truncation
Search portal and union catalogue for resources held in Australian academic, state & public libraries
The Library is essentially a silent study area. To maintain a peaceful and quiet environment for study please keep discussion to a minimum and switch off your mobile phone while in the Library. Do not bring food and drinks into the Library. Do not highlight, underline or otherwise damage library books, journals or any other item on the shelves or in the Library's collection.
- Library Home Page
- The University of Melbourne Library home page (the first page of a web site) provides introductory information about the Library as well as links to other parts of the site. Branch Libraries also have home pages
- LibraryLink Victoria
- Accessible via the Library catalogue, LibraryLink Victoria provides access to catalogues of materials held in Victorian academic, public & state libraries.
Unlike Libraries Australia, LLV is a live search of participating library catalogues. In a single search you can see not only what libraries holds what items, but if it is on loan or not.
To borrow books from another university library, apply for a CAVAL card at any University of Melbourne Library Loans Desk.
- Loans Desk
- The service point where you borrow books and other library items. The Loans Desk also provides information about renewals, fines, borrowing rights, CAVAL, etc.
- Location codes
- Location codes form part of a library item's call number and provide information about which library
holds the item. These location codes are hyperlinked to provide users with further information about: hours of opening, maps, and any idiosyncracies about that library.
The location code may also contain additional letters after the initial code which will indicate format. These are in-house location codes. For example: - f = folio
- MIC = Microform
- P = Periodical
- REF - Reference
For more information about call numbers and location codes see here
- Lost Property
- On Parkville campus, check for lost property at your branch library, and after two or three days at the Student Union (except for student cards, check for these at Student Administration).
- Microfiche and Microfilm
- See Microform
- Microform
- Microforms are images of documents, newspapers or other library materials that have been reduced in size and transferred to transparent plastic. Microforms allow a library to keep large collections of historical documents and newspapers which would otherwise take up much space or may be damaged by frequent handling. The two main types of microform are microfiche (rectangular sheets) and microfilm (on spools). In the Library catalogue they have the location codes MIC/f and MIC/o.
- Multidatabase searching
- See Federated Searching
- Online tutorial
- A interactive method of learning which is computer-based. A number of online tutorials have been prepared, providing instruction on using the library and its specialist searching tools
- OPAC
- This is the generic name for an online library catalogue. 'OPAC' stands for 'Online Public Access Catalogue'.
- Operators
- see Boolean Searching
- Overdue
- If a borrowed item is not returned by the due date it becomes overdue. Penalties and fines apply to all library materials which are returned late. Once an item is overdue your borrowing privileges are suspended throughout the Library system until all your overdue items have been returned and cleared by library staff. (See also Borrowing)
- Page Image
- Page Image format reproduces a document in its entirety, both the text and the graphics, including diagrams, tables, equations, formulae and illustrations. They are usually a digitised version of the printed format. Databases and online indexes, often provide articles in full text and/or page image format. Page image format may be slower to download than other formats.
- Peer Reviewed
- A publication is considered peer reviewed if it has been reviewed and approved by other experts of similar standing and qualifications in the author’s field before it is published. Journals contain articles which are often peer reviewed. See also Scholarly Research
- Periodical Index
- Indexes assist you to find journal articles on a particular topic. A wide range of online periodical indexes are available via Supersearch. Print periodical indexes are also available and are often located in the Library's Reference Collection.
- Photocopy Card
- Operation of the photocopiers throughout the Library is with a computer chip card purchased from a card dispenser. It can have unlimited photocopy value added. See also Printing and Photocopying Services
- Place of publication
- This is normally the place (city or town) where the publisher
is based. It might be "Melbourne" or "London", but not "Australia"
or "England".
A confusing case in Penguin Books. The same book may appear in British citations as "Harmondsworth", and in American citations as "Baltimore" - Portal
- (See Gateway)
- Publisher
- One that is engaged in publishing material. The publisher has traditionally been an established company
like "Penguin Books" or a university press like "Melbourne
University Press", but may be an individual or an
organisation.
Watch out for these foreign language words signifying "Press" or "Publisher"- Verlag - German
- Casa Editrice - Italian
- Editions - French
- Plagiarism
- Resources you use in preparing an essay or paper must be acknowledged. You may not under any circumstances quote directly from a text or reproduce sections of it without acknowledging the source. To use someone else's material in this way is plagiarism and plagiarism is a serious academic offence.
- Primary Sources
- Primary sources are often called original sources or
data pertaining to an event or subject of inquiry. They often provide a firsthand or eyewitness account. Primary sources include first-hand information in its
original form.
For example, primary sources may be original documents, reports, speeches, letters or statistics. See also Secondary Sources
- Recently Returned
- All books and items that have been returned from borrowing in the last 24 hours appear in the Library catalogue as 'Recently returned'. Recently returned items are likely to be on sorting shelves. See also Borrowing
- Recommended Reading
- These are books, journal articles or other library items that lecturers have put on subject reading lists. These items may only be borrowed for up to 7 days and the loan may not be renewed. There may be a red sticker with 'RR' or the words 'Recommended Reading' in the back of the item near its barcode. Often recommended reading items are placed on Reserve
- Record
- The descriptive information about an individual item in a database or index. This information is arranged in fields and often contains an abstract
See Peer Reviewed
- Reference Collection
- Reference Collection materials include specialised encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, yearbooks, indexes, bibliographies and statistical compilations. Reference material is only for use within the library, it cannot be borrowed. In the Library catalogue reference collection items can be identified by 'REF' after the location code.
- Renewal
- Extending the borrowing period on a loan. This can be done via the catalogue by choosing 'View you circulation record' from the main menu and following the instructions. Items in high demand (e.g. Reserve desk material) cannot be renewed. If you have any library material that is overdue you will not be able to renew. For assistance with renewals inquire at any branch Loans Desk.
- Research papers
- See Working Papers
- Reserve
- The Reserve Collection contains items on reading lists or in high demand. Reserve items can be borrowed for two hours for use in the Library or in some cases overnight. In the Library catalogue a reserve item has the location code 'Res'. See also Reserve Collections
- Return Chute
- The place where you return borrowed items. Material should be reurned to the branch library where you obtained the item.
A scholarly article or book is based on original research or experimentation and is typically published by an academic association or university press.
It is written by a researcher or expert in the field who is often affiliated with a college or university. Most scholarly writing includes footnotes and/or a bibliography.
Many scholarly books & journal articles are subject to a peer-review process
A search engine creates a customised list of Internet sites containing information on a search topic by utilising computer programs known as 'robots' or 'spiders'. Though most search engines use this technology, they produce different results according to how the 'robots' work and what types of search criteria they allow. Google is a good example.
Links to various search engines (See also Subject Directory)
- Search Terms
- Keywords or phrases that describe the sort of article, book, document, etc., that you want to find. Use reference books to clarify key words and phrases and to find alternative terms and spellings. After compiling a list of search words start searching. See also Boolean Searching and Wildcards and truncation
- Searching
-
- In order to find what you want among a library's large collection of books, journals and other items, you need to 'search' for material by title, author, or topic (subject headings or keyword). Search the catalogue, note down relevant details including location codes and call number and then access items from the shelves.
- 'Searching' also applies to databases and online indexes.
- Secondary Sources
- Any document that describes an event, person, place, or thing, usually not created contemporaneously. Secondary Sources are interpretations of primary
sources.
Example: A biography is a secondary source and an autobiography is a primary source. - Security
- Don't leave your bag or any valuables unattended, not even for a minute. Report any stolen property to the staff at the Loans or Information Desk
Shelves where books and journals that have been recently returned to the Library are placed before they are returned to the shelves in the main collection. There is usually an bench attached to the front of these shelves to "sort" the material. If a library item has a status of 'Recently returned' in the catalogue, look for it in the main collection and then on the sorting shelves.
Holding shelves perform the same function as Sorting shelves but do not have a bench attached to facilitate the sorting process.
- Spine
- The spine of a book is the physical join along the side of the book that holds the front and back covers together. The spine usually has the title and author of the book written on it.
- Status
- Every Library book or item has a current status displayed in the catalogue. Status tells you whether an item is available for borrowing. Status may indicate that the item is on loan by showing, for example, due 30-07-98.
- Subject Directory (WWW)
- A listing of web sites by subject categories. Subject directories are compiled by people. Yahoo and the WWW Virtual Library are examples. See also Search Engine.
- Subject headings
- Subject headings are a form of Controlled Vocabulary. These are specific words or phrases assigned to library items that describe what they are about, for example 'International Business Enterprises' is the subject heading used to describe library materials that deal with multinational corporations. Books and other library items are indexed in the catalogue by Library of Congress subject headings. Journal articles are indexed in periodical indexes and databases by specialist subject terms/descriptors. It is often a good idea to do a keyword search before a subject search. For assistance make an Inquiry.
- Supersearch
- SuperSearch is the gateway to electronic material including: journals, scholarly databases and other resources subscribed to by the University of Melbourne Library. SuperSearch is a federated search tool that enables users to search across multiple databases simultaneously, browse resources and link through to the fulltext or print copy
- Table of Contents
- A list of divisions (chapters or articles) and the pages from which they start. Tables of contents are usually found at the front of a book or journal issue, though some journals may list them on the back cover. Books list the chapters contained and their associated page numbers. Journals list the articles contained within each issue and the associated page numbers.
- Theoretical articles
- Articles that discuss theory and involve debate about conceptual or abstract ideas. They seldom refer to primary source material but may analyse other secondary sources.
- Title
- Identifies the name of a book, article, paper, journal, etc. Title is an important search criteria for finding information in a catalogue, database or other list.
- Truncation
- (See Wildcards and Truncation)
- Unicard Chip Card
- Access to the photocopiers is gained with a Unicard Chip Card purchased from a card dispenser.
Unicard provides photocopying & printing services for the University of Melbourne Library. Their office is located on the lower ground floor of the Baillieu Library. If you need any assistance with photocopying, printing or any binding or laminating services contact Unicard. See also Printing and Photocopying Services
A library catalogue combining in alphabetical sequence the contents of more than one catalogue or library
- Volume
- a. A collection of written or printed sheets bound together - e.g. in a book
b. One of the books of a work printed and bound in more than one book
c. A series of issues of a periodical, generally covering one calendar year
d. A unit of written material assembled together and catalogued in a library - Journals and some books appear under a single title but may actually consist of many separate items or volumes. A journal volume will often correspond to a particular year and then may consist of several separate issues published during the year. For example, a journal citation may look something like the following: Financial review v.33(2), 1998, pages 7-10. To find this article you would need to find volume 33, issue number 2 of the Financial review for 1998 and go to the pages 7-10
- Wildcards and Truncation
- Useful searching techniques that are used to broaden a word
search when searching an online database.
Wildcard symbols can be used to replace letters in words to find all spelling variations of a word.
E.g. organi?ation will find 'organisation' and 'organization', and wom?n will find 'woman' and 'women'
Truncation enables one to search the stem of a word (usually using a different symbol from that of the wildcard method) and find all the variants of that stem.
E.g. pigment* will find pigment, pigments, pigmentation etc.
N.B.: Whilst many databases use the asterisk (*) symbol for truncation and the question-mark(?) for wildcarding, this is not always the case. Therefore, please check the Help function of each database for this information. - Working Paper
- Working papers, also known as research or discussion papers, are draft forms of papers intended for later publication in journals or books. An example is: the Giblin Working Papers Databases which indexes the working papers received by the Giblin Library. These are available via Supersearch