Glossary of Library Terms
- Abstract
- An abbreviated, accurate representation of a work, usually without
added interpretation or criticism, accompanied by a
bibliographic reference to the original work when
appearing separately from it.
- Almanac
- 1. A compendium, usually an annual, of statistics and facts, both
current and retrospective. May be broad in geographical and subject
coverage, or limited to a particular country or state or to a special
subject. 2. An annual containing miscellaneous matter, such as a
calendar, a list of astronomical events, planting tables, astrological
predictions, and anecdotes.
- Bibliography
- 1. The study of books as physical objects, as a means of determining
the history and transmission of texts. 2. The art of correctly
describing books with respect to authorship of the work(s) they
contain, editions, physical form, etc. 3. A list of works, documents,
and/or bibliographic items, usually with some relationship between
them, e.g., by a given author, on a given subject, or published in a
given place, and differeing from a catalog in that its contents are
not restricted to the holdings of a single collection, library, or
group of libraries.
- Catalog
- 1. A file of bibliographic records, created according to specific and
uniform principles of construction and under the control of an authority
file, which describes the materials contained in a collection, library,
or group of libraries. 2. In a wider sense, a list of materials prepared
for a particular purpose, e.g., an exhibition catalog, a sales catalog.
- Citation
- 1. A note referring to a work from which a passage is quoted or to
some sources as authority for a statement of proposition. 2.
Especially in law books, a quotation from, or a reference to,
statutes, decided cases, or other authorities.
- Database
- An organized collection of computer records, standardized in format
and content, that is stored in any of a variety of computer-readable
modes. It is the basic set of data from which computer-readable files are
created. In the database, all records are interrelated by some common
denominator.
- Dictionary catalog
- A catalog in which all the entries (author, title, subject, series,
etc.) and their related references are arranged together in one
alphabet. The subarrangement frequently varies from the strictly
alphabetical.
- Encyclopedia
- A book or set of books containing informational articles on subjects
in every field of knowledge, usually arranged in alphabetical order, or a
similar work limited to a special field or subject. Synonymous with
cyclopedia.
- Finding aid
- In archives, documents which provide direction to information
contained in other documents. Basic finding aids include guides (general
or subject), inventories, local registers, card catalogs and files, shelf
and box lists, indexes of various kinds, calendars, and (for
machine-readable records) software documentation.
- Guides
- In archives, a finding aid which at the repository level briefly
describes and indicates the relationships between holdings, with record
groups, papers, collections, or comparable bodies of material as the
units of entry. Guides may also be limited to the description of the
holdings of one or more repositories relating to particular subjects,
periods, or geographical areas.
- Index
- A systematic guide to the contents of a file, document, or group
of documents, consisting of an ordered arrangement of terms or other
symbols representing the contents and references, code numbers, page
number, etc., for accesing the contents.
- Monograph
- 1. In cataloging, a nonserial bibliographic item, i.e., an item
either complete in one part or complete, or intended to be completed, in
a finite number of separate parts. 2. A systematic and complete treatise
on a particular subject.
- Pamphlet
- 1. An independent publication consisting of a few leaves of printed
matter fastened together but not bound; usually enclosed in paper covers.
2. As defined by Unesco, a complete, unbound nonperiodical publication of
at least 5 but not more than 48 pages, exclusive of the cover. [At Yale, sometimes defined as 75 pages or less]. Also
called a brochure. 3. A brief controversial treatise on a topic of
current interest, usually religious or political, common in England from
the 16th to the 18th century.
- Periodical
- A serial appearing or intended to appear indefinitely at regular or
stated intervals, generally more frequently than annually, each issue of
which is numbered or dated consecutively and normally contains separate
articles, stories, or other writings. Newspapers disseminating general
news, and the proceedings, papers, or other publications of corporate
bodies primarily related to their meetings, are not included in this term.
- Serial
- 1. A publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing
numerical or chronological designations and intended to be continued
indefinitely. Serials include periodicals; newspapers; annuals (reports,
yearbook, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc.,
of societies; and numbered monographic series. 2. In computer science,
the sequential execution of tasks or operations or the sequential
handling of data.
- Thesaurus
- 1. A compilation of terms showing synonymous, hierarchical, and other
relationships and dependencies, the function of which is to provide a
standardized, controlled vocabulary for information storage and
retrieval. Its component parts are an index vocabulary and a lead-in
vocabulary. 2. A lexicon, especially of synonyms and antonyms in
classified order.
Source: The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science. 1983.