Glossary

This glossary defines selected words, phrases and acronyms used in ASSIST.

Find terms beginning with:

A

Abstract

A summary of an article or paper, often appearing at the beginning of the paper. An abstract field may also be available in some indexes.

Access account and password

UB Student account and email information is available at myIT@UB (opens in new page).

Accuracy

Precision, exactness.

Almanac

Often published on an annual basis, an almanac contains facts of a miscellaneous nature and quite often includes statistical information. Plural: almanacs.

Alternative

Either of these possibilities.

Annotate

To furnish (a literary work) with critical commentary or explanatory notes; gloss. The act of adding notes (annotations).

Annual

A periodical published yearly; a yearbook.

American Psychological
Association (APA)

APA citation style uses the author-date system (otherwise known as the Harvard system). It comprises brief in-text citations and a comprehensive list of references. The APA (American Psychological Association) style is widely accepted in the physical, natural and social sciences (including education).

Article

Writing on a specific topic or subject found in a journal, periodical, magazine, or newspaper.

Atlas

A book or bound collection of maps.

Audiovisual materials

Non-book materials, such as audio-cassettes, records, slides,video recordings, computer programs and films. At UB, commonly referred to as the Multimedia collection.

Author

The writer of a book, article, or other text.

B

Bibliography

There are two meanings. Firstly, a list comprising (a) works cited in the text; and (b) other relevant works consulted. Other names for this list include 'References', 'Lists of References', or 'Sources Consulted'. Secondly, a publication that consists of a list of books, articles etc. on a particular subject.

Biography

An account of a person's life written, composed, or produced by another.

Boolean operators

Named after George Boole, an English mathematician who invented them as part of a system of logic in the nineteenth century. The operators include AND, OR, NOT (or AND NOT) and are used to indicate to databases and search engines which words to include and exclude. For example, dolphins and seals finds records with both terms included, dolphins or seals finds records with one, or the other, or both terms included.

Browser

A client program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources. eg. Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

C

Call number

A number used in libraries to classify a book and indicate its location on the shelves.

Catalogue

A list or itemized display, as of titles, course offerings, or articles for exhibition or sale, usually including descriptive information or illustrations.

Cataloguer

A person who reviews the content of an item and assigns relevant subject terms to the record for that item. See also indexer.

CAVAL

Cooperative Action by Victorian Academic Libraries - a reciprocal borrowing program that allows Victorian tertiary staff and student members borrow material from other participating Victorian libraries.

CD-ROM

Compact Disc - Read Only Memory. CD-ROMs are similar to music CDs and are designed to store large amounts of digital data. A computer software program allows the user to access a CD-ROM database interactively. This data may be printed or downloaded to a floppy disc.

Children's Literature(CL)

The Library maintains a Children's Literature Collection as a resource for student teachers, but it is also accessible to the rest of the UB community. Children's Literature items can be idetified by the blue 'CL' sticker above the spine label.

Citation

Information such as author, date, title, and page numbers which identify a publication i.e. book, book chapter, journal, or other format. This helps your reader to locate, verify and follow up the cited information or idea. Citations can also be called 'references' and are listed in a bibliography or reference list usually found at the end of the publication using a specific referencing style.

Citing sources also clarifies ownership by informing your reader when particular information has been taken from another source. It demonstrates that your ideas and conclusions are based on research.

Citation styles

A set of rules detailing how to construct and format citations for a variety of source materials. The four citation styles preferred at UB are: APA, MLA, Australian and Chicago styles. Your lecturer, teacher or tutor will advise you of their preference.

Cite

To provide information (a citation) in the text that links a reader to a reference to the original author of a quote or paraphrased concept.

Cited article

An article referenced in another publication.

Cited author

An author whose work has been used (cited) by other authors.

Classification code

A code given to the subject of an item to locate it within similar items, whether in a physical location on library shelves or in a database.

Concept

An idea, thought, notion, or general theme. A phrase or series of terms describing a problem.

Conference

A meeting for consultation or discussion.

Cookie

A collection of information, usually including a username and the current date and time, stored on the local computer of a person using the World Wide Web. Cookies are used chiefly by web sites to identify users who have previously registered or visited the site.

D

Database

A database is information stored, typically in electronic format. It may contain bibliographic or numerical data, which is generally structured so that it can be sought and retrieved automatically. A collection of data. See also: Electronic databases.

Descriptor

A subject heading or term used to describe a topic.

Dewey Decimal Classification system

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system is used by UB Library to organise titles by subject area on the Library shelves. The system divides knowledge into ten main fields, in 000s-900s, which are further broken down in a hierarchy of increasing specificity. Each area of knowledge has its own number range. e.g. 301 for Sociology.

Document delivery

UB Library's Document Delivery service includes: Interlibrary Loans; Document Delivery, the supply of documents and other materials from vendors other than libraries (such as commercial document suppliers); and Intercampus Loans.

Domain

A group of networked computers that share a common communications address.

E

Edition statement

The total number of copies of a particular book, newspaper, etc., that are published at the same time.

Electronic databases

Databases, eithjer as indexes or full text, are produced by commercial firms, government departments, professional bodies, and research organisations.

Email

Electronic mail. Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. Email can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses (mailing list).

Encyclopaedia

A book or set of books containing many articles arranged in alphabetical order which deal either with the whole of human knowledge or with a particular part of it.

eReserve

The eReserve Collection contains material digitised at the request of academic/teaching staff. It is considered by academics to be high-demand material for a specific course or unit during semester. The purpose of the eReserve Collection is to make Library materials available to the maximum number of students and to make digitised material available by a central access point. Materials located in the eReserve Collection are accessible online via the "Counter reserve" link in the Library catalogue.

F

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions.

Field

A field is part of a record held in a database, containing specific information. For example, an author field contains the name of the authors that wrote the indexed work.

File

A file is a collection of machine-readable material arranged in some systematic order. The UB Library Catalogue has ten files which provide access by author, title, subject heading, etc.

Fulltext

Also seen as full-text, full text. Signifies that the entire article is available for viewing in the database. It is usually available in either HTML or PDF formats.

G

General collection

Find here books, main, quarto, multimedia, TRC, fiction, Children's Literature, conference papers, videos, kits, realia, computer software, etc., all shelved together by subject. This collection is for loan.

H

Handbook

A book which contains instructions or advice about how to do something or the most important and useful information about a subject.

Hold

To place a request, via the Library catalogue, for an item to be "reserved" for you. Plural: holds.

Hyper Text Markup Language

HTML is the coding language used to create hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web (WWW). HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear. Additionally, in HTML hypertext links allow you to specify that a word, or block of text can be linked to another file/webpage on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a World Wide Web client program (browser), such as MS Internet Explorer or Netscape. See also: client, WWW.

Hypertext link (or hyperlink)

Generally, any text that contains links to other documents, files or webpages, which can be selected by the reader allowing another file to be retrieved and displayed.

I

ILL

See: Inter-Library Loan.

Index

1. An alphabetical list at the end of a book or periodical which gives page references to where names and subjects can be found.
2. An alphabetical list of terms, (eg. Author, keyword) providing points of access to search a database.

Indexer

A person who reviews the content of an item and assigns relevant subject terms to the record for that item. See also: Cataloguer.

Information Literacy

To be information literate, an individual must recognise when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use the information needed effectively. Ultimately the information literate people are those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how information is organised, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them (American Library Association, 1989).

Intercampus Loan

UB students and staff can request material held at other UB branch Libraries to be sent to their home campus for collection.

Inter-Library Loan

Inter-Library Loans (ILL) obtain books, periodical articles and other items not held by UB Library. Usually staff and postgraduate students are eligible for ILL loans relating to their teaching or research. Requests can be lodged at your campus Library using an ILL/Document Delivery form or lodged electronically.

Internet

The publicly accessible worldwide system of interconnected computer networks.

ISBN

International Standard Book Number: An internationally agreed upon standard number that identifies a book uniquely.

ISSN

International Standard Serial Number: An internationally agreed upon standard number that identifies a serial publication uniquely.

J

Journal

The University of Ballarat Library maintains a print journal collection. The most recent ten years are available on the shelf, with earlier editions held in Stack. The University also subscribes to a number of electronic databases and journals, which provide online access to many journal articles.

K

Keywords

A significant word in a title or document.

Keyword Searching

Allows you search with a combination of terms, author, title or subject. Keyword searching can be used to search the catalogue, databases or search engines.

L

Legislation

A law or set of laws suggested by a government and made official by a parliament.

Library of Congress
Subject Headings

The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) comprise a thesaurus of subject headings, maintained by the Library of Congress (US) for use in bibliographic records.

Limiter

One that limits; a limiter of choices. Plural: limiters.

M

Magazine

Contains popular articles. See periodicals.

Main Collection

The Main Collection, comprises the bulk of print resources available through the University of Ballarat Library. Main Collection texts cover a broad range of subject areas, with particular attention paid to acquiring materials that support the various courses taught accross the University.

Manual

A small reference work, especially one giving instructions.

Mathematical symbols

The + or - symbol placed immediately in front of a word being searched (no spaces) to ensure that the works containing the terms are either included or excluded in the list of results.

MLA

The MLA (Modern Language Association of America) style is widely used in the humanities, particularly languages and literature. MLA style comprises brief parenthetical citations in the text and a comprehensive list of Works Cited.

Monograph

An item dealing with a particular subject.

Multimedia

The Multimedia Collection consists of videos, DVDs and tapes. Television programs, movies, documentaries, theatrical performances, discussion tapes and instructional recordings are all available within the Multimedia Collection. They can be identified by the purple 'Multimedia' sticker above the spine label.

N

Native Interface

This refers to the database itself, without the NaviGatePlus portal as a way to search it and other databases. The benefit of searching a database in its native interface is that there are often other features that are not offered on NaviGatePlus. The drawback is that you cannot search simultaneously across the databases of different companies.

Nesting

A function of searching whereby the terms within a set of parentheses (brackets) is searched first to ensure the correct logic of the search is maintained. Used when mixing Boolean operators in the same search statement. For example, circus and (trapeze or highwire) will find results that include circus and trapeze, circus and highwire, and circus and both terms.

Note taking

The act of taking notes to record main points made by the author.

O

OPAC

Online Public Access Catalogue. The Libraries Catalogue on the internet.

Operators

See: Boolean Operators.

P

Parenthesis

Either or both of the upright curved lines, ( ), used to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in writing or printing or other expression; considered or treated as a collective entity in a mathematical operation. Plural: parentheses.

PDF

Portable Document Format. The extension of the file is .pdf. This format was developed by Adobe ® Systems for ease of document sharing on the Internet and for easy printing of documents. It retains the original layout of the document when converted to a PDF file.

Peer reviewed

The process used by publishers and editors of academic journal to provide a chance for experts in that field to examine and critique a paper or book before it is published to help ensure its integrity.

Periodical

A publication issued in successive individual parts at regular or irregular intervals with no foreseeable end, for example, journals, magazines or newspapers. Also known as serials. Plural: periodicals.

Phrase searching

Phrase searching refers to the use of inverted commas to force a search tool to find terms in a phrase only. For example: "acquired immune deficiency syndrome".

Plagiarism

The act of using another person's work without crediting that person through a citation and reference.

Primary source

These are original materials, which have not been filtered through interpretation, or often even evaluation by a second party.

Publication

A copy of a printed work offered for distribution.

Publisher

A person or business engaged in publishing periodicals or books or music.

Q

Quotation

Presentation of exact wording (usually a phrase, sentence or paragraph) from another piece of writing. A quotation must be attributed to the original author.

Quarto Collection

Items held in the Quarto Collection are large, often difficult to shelve book such as conference proceedings, manuals, reports and theses. Quarto items are shelved on their sides along the bottom shelves within the Main Collection, in a separate numeric sequence to the Main Collection. They can be usually identified by a blue 'Q' sticker above the spine label.

R

Record

A record is a group of fields that contain specific data describing the indexed entry of a piece of written work such as a journal article or conference paper.

Realia

Items in the Realia Collection are non-print and non-multimedia. Examples include three-dimensional objects and anatomical/functional models, games, kits, tools, specimens and samples. Some of the Realia items are heavy, bulky, and difficult to carry, and there may also be practical restrictions on where they can be taken for use. Realia items are identified by a blue 'REALIA' sticker above the spine and book labels. Items in the Realia Collection are Dewey classified by subject.

Refereed

When an article or other item is given to an appointed person for review, especially for a settlement, decision, or an opinion as to its quality, it is said to have been refereed.

Reference

A reference is a description of a work by another author that has been quoted or paraphrased by the citing author; a reference usually appears at the end of a work and is linked to a citation in text.

Reference collection

The Reference Collection holds specialised publications which are usually consulted for brief facts or as an entry point to other literature. This collection typically holds dictionaries, encyclopaedias, bibliographies, directories, indexes, abstracts, and atlases etc. This collection is not for loan and has a red 'Ref' sticker on the spine label.

RefWorks

RefWorks is the a bibliographic management tool supported by the UB Library. Refworks allows the user to, import references from text files or online databases, enter your own references and format references in a wide range of referencing styles.

Reserve collection

Material that is constant high demand is in the Reserve collection, and is located at the Loans desk. Loans are limited to two hours within the library, the link can be found via the Library homepage under the Course Related materials tab.

S

Scholarly

Of, relating to, or characteristic of scholars or scholarship, scholarly pursuits, or a scholarly edition with footnotes. Synonyms; Academic, learned.

Search statement

The keywords and connecting operators (ie Boolean operators) that are typed into a database to retrieve information.

Search term

The words used in a search for information.

Search tools

General term for resources that enable you to identify and obtain different types of publications. For example: Library catalogues, databases, Internet search engines or subject directories.

Secondary source

Information about original information which has usually been selected or modified for a particular purpose or audience.

Standards

Recommendation or specifications on quality, safety, dimensions, codes of practice, methods of testing, symbols and terminology.

Subject heading

Keywords used in the description of a topic. A subject heading is a word or phrase which is assigned to an item to describe its subject content. UB Library uses Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

Subscription

An agreement to receive or be given access to electronic texts or services, especially over the Internet.

Summarising

A restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words, often to clarify meaning.

Synonym

A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.

Syntax

The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.

Synthesise

Combine so as to form a more complex product.

T

TRC (Teacher
Reference Collection)

The Teacher Reference Collection (TRC) includes books, workbooks, children's books and stories, sound recordings, kits, and multimedia materials that are for the use of teachers-in-training in the classroom. TRC material is shelved separately and can be identified by a blue 'TRC' sticker above the spine label.

Tertiary Sources

Works which index, organize and compile citations to, and show you how to use, secondary (and sometimes primary) sources e.g. almanacs, handbooks etc.

Thesaurus

A list of words applicable to a specific subject area. A group or classification, or synonyms, or a list of descriptors (subject headings). Often publishers of periodical indexes/abstracts or other databases produce a thesaurus or list of preferred or 'controlled' terms (or headings). Plural: thesauri.

Timeliness

Being at the right time.

Title

An identifying name given to a book, play, film, musical composition, or other work.

Trade publication

Trade publications are periodicals which publish information relevant to a specific industry.

Treatise

A systematic, usually extensive, written discourse on a subject.

Truncation

A system of searching that allows you to place a symbol at the end of a word to find variants of that word. For example, aborig* = aborigine, aborigines, aboriginal, aboriginality. The symbol is dependent on the database used.

U

URL

Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a file or page on the Internet or Intranet.

V

Validity

The quality of having legal force or effectiveness.

Volume

1. A collection of written or printed sheets bound together, a book.
2. One of the books of a work printed and bound in more than one book.
3. A series of issues of a periodical, usually covering one calendar year.
4. A unit of written material assembled together and catalogued in a library.

W

Web page

A document on the World Wide Web, consisting of an HTML file and any related files for scripts and graphics, and often hyperlinked to other documents/files on the Web.

Wildcard

Many databases allow a symbol known as a wildcard to be placed within a word to find variants of that word, e.g. wom?n = woman, women. Plural: wildcards, wild cards.

World Wide Web

Abbreviated as: WWW. Two meanings - First, loosely used: the whole constellation of resources that can be accessed using Gopher, FTP, HTTP, telnet, USENET, WAIS and some other tools. Second, the universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers) which are the servers that allow text, graphics, sound files, etc. to be mixed together.

Y

Yearbook

A documentary, memorial, or historical book published every year, containing information about the previous year.