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CUL Gateway: Glossary
Help:
Glossary of Library
Terms
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Abstract
An abstract is a short summary describing the main idea or content of a work
such as an article, book, or dissertation.
Annotation
Unlike an abstract, which is an objective description or summary of a work,
an annotation is a critical or subjective evaluation of a piece of work, usually
included in a bibliography or citation.
Archives
A special collection or collections that house the records of organizations,
governments, universities, etc. An archive can also contain collections of
the personal papers of an individual or family, photographs, pamphlets, newspaper
clippings, etc. Archives usually house materials of an historic nature. See
also University
Archives.
Article
Sometimes referred to as a paper, an article is a brief composition on a subject,
usually appearing in a magazine or journal.
Audio-Visual Materials
Audio-visual materials convey information mainly via sound and image instead
of by text. An example of audio-visual material on
the Library Gateway is Louis Agassiz Fuertes Ornithological
Artwork.
Authentication
The process of identifying an individual by a computer, usually based on a
username and password. Cornell uses SideCar
and CUWebLogin to authenticate members of the Cornell
community.
Barcode Number
The 14-digit number appearing beneath the barcode found inside the front or
back cover of a book. Barcode numbers for Cornell library books begin with
the numbers "3 1924" and are used to charge, discharge, and renew books on
the online computer system.
Bear Access
A suite of network service applications designed to provide services specific
to the needs of the Cornell community, such as CoursEnroll, Faculty Advisor,
and the online timecard system (COLTS II), as well as general Internet services
such as electronic mail and browsers for navigating the World Wide Web. The
CU Library Catalog and Library Gateway are available through Bear Access.
Bibliography
A bibliography is a list of citations that appear at the end of a paper,
article, chapter or book. There are also books entirely made up of bibliographies.
These are usually compilations of citations on a
particular subject or by a particular author.
Book Return
A place to return books borrowed from the library. The book return is
a box located outside the library, near the door of the library, or near the
circulation desk.
Boolean Operator or Boolean
Logic
Boolean operators, otherwise known as logical operators, are used to construct
complex searches in a database. They help make a search more accurate. There
are 3 logical operators: AND, OR and NOT.
Borrow
Direct
A rapid book request and delivery system. It enables Cornell faculty,
staff, and students to search the combined library catalogs of Brown, Columbia,
Cornell, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale a collection
of over 40 million volumes and directly request expedited delivery of circulating
items.
Browser
Software program used to view web pages. Browsers like Internet Explorer, Netscape,
and Firefox allow you to click on a link to another document, and get information
from a different computer where that resource is stored.
Call
Number
A call number is a combination of letters and numbers that is given to each
item held in the library. The letters and numbers assigned to the work describe
its subject matter and serves as its address on the shelf. Cornell uses the
Library of Congress Classification system to assign its call numbers.
Card Catalog
A card file listing books, journals, and other materials arranged alphabetically
by author, title, and subject. Since April 1988, cards have not been added
to Cornell's card catalog. Records are now added to the online catalog instead.
See CU Library Catalog for
more information on the catalogs at Cornell.
Catalog
A catalog is a compilation of records describing the contents of a particular
collection or group of collections. For example, the CU Library Catalog has records for most of the items held by Cornell
Library and the OCLC WorldCat catalog lists the holdings of books, journals,
and other materials held by OCLC member libraries all over the world.
A catalog can also be a list of
items published by a certain body. The GPO Monthly Catalog contains
records of reports, studies, fact sheets, maps, handbooks, conference proceedings,
etc. issued by all U.S. federal government agencies and the U.S. Congress.
The library also often owns publisher's
catalogs and product catalogs that list items available or for sale. For example,
Books in Print lists books currently published in the United States along
with their prices.
CD-ROM
A thin disk (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) that holds thousands of pages
of information. In the library, some journal indexes and other reference sources
are available on CD-ROM. They may be quickly and conveniently searched at
a computer workstation.
Charge
To record the loan of a book or other item from the circulating collection
of a library to a borrower. In order to charge, or check-out,
materials the user must present a Cornell identification card to a staff person
at the circulation desk along with the materials to be charged out. Patrons
may also use the self-check stations at Olin and
the Hotel School to charge out items from those libraries.
Charged
If a library item is checked-out, the online catalog will indicate that the
status of the item is Charged, or not available. In such cases, users may request a hold
or recall on the item. Another
option, if the item is a book, is Borrow Direct.
CIDC
The Cornell Institute for Digital Collections (CIDC) is a cross-disciplinary
team established to explore the use of emerging technologies for providing
greater access to cultural and scientific collections. Digital imaging has
enabled CIDC to make many of Cornell University's rare and fragile collections
available on the World Wide Web. Partnerships with academic institutions,
museums, corporations, and libraries, national and international, have permitted
CIDC to create digital collections from around the world. For more information
see the CIDC web site in the CU Library Web
Sites section of the Library Gateway.
Circulation Desk
The circulation desk is the place to charge (check out), return, or renew
books. Circulation staff
can also help patrons locate items that cannot be found. Items requested through
interlibrary loan and Borrow Direct are delivered to circulation desks and
patrons can pick them up from these locations. Course reserve items are also available
at circulation desks. Overdue
fines are paid at this desk, too.
CISER
The Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER) is a cross-disciplinary
organization founded in 1981 to enhance the environment for social science
research at Cornell University. Its membership includes more than 400 social
science faculty who are dispersed administratively, organizationally, and
geographically in nine colleges.
CISER provides research services
to faculty members and encourages collaborative research among Cornell's social
scientists. CISER's research support services include assistance in preparing
proposals, a data archive, computing consulting support, and computing systems
support. In addition, CISER helps investigators identify colleagues with similar
research interests, issues publications supporting social science research,
and organizes seminars and workshops. For more information see the CISER web site in the CU Library Web
Sites section of the Library Gateway.
Citation
A written reference to a specific work or portion of a work (book, article,
dissertation, report, musical composition, etc.) by a particular author, editor,
composer, etc., which clearly identifies the document in which the work is
to be found.
Examples:
Book:
Chappell, Warren. A
Short History of the Printed Word. Boston: Nonpareil Books, 1970.
Periodical
article:
Dow, Ronald F. "Editorial
Gatekeepers Confronted by the Electronic Journal." College & Research
Libraries 61 (2000): 146-154.
Copyright
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States
(title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship,"
including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual
works. For more information about copyright, see the United
States Copyright Office web site - which includes definitions,
frequently asked
questions, and basic
information about copyright.
See also: Cornell's
Copyright Information Center
Course
Reserves
In academic libraries, course reserves are library items given a shorter loan
period (one-hour, three-hours, overnight, 3-day, etc.) for a limited period
of time (usually one term or semester) at the request of the instructor, to
ensure that all the students enrolled in a course have an opportunity to use
them. These materials are usually kept together in a particular area of the
library, such as a graduate reading room or behind the circulation desk.
Each library has its own reserve system; however, many reserve items
may also be accessed through the CU Library Catalog as Electronic Course Reserves
(or e-Reserves). See the Electronic
Reserves help page for more information.
CRL
The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is an international
not-for-profit consortium of colleges, universities, and libraries that provides
access to a variety of scholarly research resources, including newspapers, serials,
archival materials in microform, microform sets, and foreign government publications
in many subject areas. The CRL
catalog is available from the Library Gateway. CRL resources are available
to Cornell researchers through interlibrary loan.
Cross-Reference
Directions that lead you from one subject or name to another in a catalog
or index.
For example: Groundwater
SEE
Water, Underground
CUL
The Cornell University Library (CUL) is one of the largest academic research
libraries in the United States. Composed of 20 libraries, CUL holds
over seven million printed volumes, subscribes to more than 65,000 journals,
and is networked to over 40,000 electronic databases. Please see About
the Library and Libraries/Departments
on the Library Gateway for information on collections, organization, policies,
and services.
CU Library
Catalog
An online catalog that contains records for materials in the Cornell University
Library collection including the holdings of all 17 libraries on the Ithaca
campus, in addition to those of the Geneva Experiment Station and the CISER
Data Archive. The catalog contains records for books, computer files (including
CD-ROM's and networked resources), government documents, journal titles, manuscripts
and archives, maps, microforms, musical scores, serials, sound recordings,
and visual materials.
Some library records
(especially for materials in the humanities and social sciences dating from
before 1973) are not yet in the online catalog, but are available in the Olin
Library Card Catalog, which is located in the lower level of Olin Library.
Records for the Cornell Medical Library can be found in
a separate catalog called Tri-Cat.
CUWebLogin
CUWebLogin allows you to access restricted library resources in the Library
Catalog and Find Articles/Find Databases/Find e-Journas without needing SideCar.
It does this by allowing you to log in to a web form, and then passing your
authentication information back to the web server in a cookie. For more information about how CUWebLogin
works, see the help page for CUWebLogin.
Database
A database is an organized collection of computer records. The most common
type of Library Gateway database consists of records describing articles in
periodicals, otherwise known as a periodical index.
By entering search terms related to a topic, patrons are able to retrieve
information about articles of interest from the database.
Sometimes all the information
needed is in a database record and sometimes further searching is necessary.
When searching a periodical index (or database), citations offer such information
as the title and author of an article, as well as the title of the journal
in which the article appears. In order to locate the journal and read
the article, a search of the CU Library Catalog is necessary. See Finding articles.
Due Date
A date stamped in the
front or back of a book (or other library item) that indicates when the item
must be returned to the library. Fines are charged for items not returned
by the due date. Patrons can
extend a due date by requesting a renewal.
On occasion, patrons may have to return an item before the due date
because the item has been recalled.
Electronic Journal
A publication, often scholarly, that is made accessible in a computerized format
and distributed over the Internet. An electronic journal or e-journal
may have a traditional paper counterpart or historical antecedent. For example,
the journal American Literature can be found in both paper and electronic
versions at Cornell. The electronic versions are available through the
Library Gateway, and the holdings for the paper copies can be found in the CU
Library Catalog.
EndNote
EndNote is
citation management software produced by ISI. A free 30 day trial is available
through the EndNote website. The software can be purchased at the Cornell Campus
Store.
ETC
The Electronic Text Center (ETC), located on the first floor of Olin Library,
provides access to scholarly electronic text and multimedia documents from
a set of dedicated workstations in the library and from the Center's Web site.
For more information about the ETC and the resources available there, see
the ETC web site.
e-Reserve
See Course Reserves
Find Articles
Find Articles
identifies and locates articles, or article citations, from a select group of
online periodical indexes. The Find Articles interface allows users to search
multiple indexes simultaneously using simple keywords. Search results will lead
to articles available online or, if online access is not available, to the Library
Catalog for the location of the periodical in the library's print collections.
Find Databases
Find Databases
provides direct access to all of the catalogs, periodical indexes (including
full-text sources), newspaper databases, numeric files, and other online reference
sources licensed by Cornell. In addition, Find Databases includes links to public
websites reviewed and selected by Cornell librarians. All of the resources in
Find Databases may also be accessed through the CUL online catalog.
Find e-Journals
Find e-Journals provides a convenient
list of electronic journals licensed by CUL. Every title in Find e-Journals
may also be accessed through the CUL online catalog.
Field
When looking at a citation from an index
or database, each piece of information is a field.
For example, many citations are made up of an author field, a title field,
a publisher field and a date field. What fields are called and what is in
them can vary from database to database.
Full text database
A full text database is a resource that provides access to the complete text
of an item. In a full text periodical resource, both the bibliographic descriptions
and the articles themselves will be available. An example of this type of
resource is ProQuest Direct.
Hold
When a book or other item is currently on loan, the library permits another
borrower to place a "hold" on it by contacting the circulation desk. The patron
who has the item checked out will not be permitted to renew it, and the person
placing the "hold" will be entitled to check it out after it has been returned.
The CU Library online catalog includes a feature that allows the user to place
an item on hold without staff assistance. This service is available through the
Requests link at the top
of any online catalog record.
Holdings
The total stock of materials,
print and nonprint, owned by a library, usually listed in the catalog.
Synonymous with library collection.
Also
refers to the copies, volumes, issues, or parts of a title owned by a library,
indicated in a holdings note in a catalog record.
For example, Cornell may subscribe to a journal, but certain volumes
may be missing; or Cornells subscription to a journal may have begun in 1975
but the journal dates back to 1950; etc.
Examples
of holdings records for periodicals:
Here,
Cornells Management Library holds volumes 79-88 of Economic Quarterly,
but not volumes 1-78.
Title:
Economic quarterly
Location: Management Library (Sage Hall)
Call Number:
HC107.A13 F3
Status: Not Charged
Volumes : v.79-88
(1993-2002)
In
the example below, the Math Library cancelled their subscription to this journal
after 1991:
Title:
Informatica
Location: Mathematics Library (Malott Hall)
Call Number:
QA76 .I43
Status: Not Charged
Volumes : v.1:no.1-2 (1990)
v.2:no.1-2 (1991)
Notes: Subscription
Cancelled
Here, theres a note that holdings for a market report are
incomplete:
Title:
Daily cheese market report
Location: Library Annex
Call Number:
HD9280.U43 N7
Status: Not Charged
Volumes : 1918-1919
<incomplete holdings>; 1920
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is programming language used in the creation
of Web pages.
Hypertext
Transparent linkage of textual documents to other related documents on the
World Wide Web.
Index
An index is a guide to the contents of a file, document, or a group of documents.
An index is used to point to the contents of something. For example, there
are indexes in the backs of books that describe and point to the contents
of those books. There are also very large indexes that describe the contents
of journals and provide enough information to locate an article in a journal.
Indexes are usually arranged by subject, author, or keyword. They can come
in both paper and electronic form.
Intellectual property
Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary
and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property,
which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic
indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic
works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, drawings, paintings,
photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. More information is
available from the World
Intellectual Property Organization.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary loan is a form of resource sharing among libraries nation- and
world-wide. When a book or other
item needed by a Cornell user is checked out, unavailable for some other reason,
or not owned by the library, a patron may request that it be borrowed from
another library by submitting an interlibrary loan request form.
Interlibrary loan requests can
be initiated at any reference desk on campus or by using the
Interlibrary Loan form that can be found in the Services section of the
Library Gateway.
CUL participates in a number of
cooperative agreements with other research libraries, consortia, and networks
(e.g., the Research Libraries Group, the Association of Research Libraries,
and the South Central Research Library Council). Cornell is a partner in the
Center for Research Libraries, a nonprofit corporation located in Chicago
that is operated by scholarly and research institutions to strengthen resources
and enhance access. Cornell students, faculty, and staff members can borrow
any of the center's holdings through interlibrary loan.
For more information see the help page for Interlibrary Loan at Cornell University
(ILLiad).
Internet
A worldwide network of computers that can be accessed via the campus computer
network. The Internet allows local computer users to find and use information
resources on computers of other academic institutions, research institutes,
private companies, and government agencies.
In Transit
If an item has been returned to the library, but has not been re-shelved
in its call number location, the catalog will indicate the items status as
In Transit. If patrons need
In Transit items immediately, they may inquire at the circulation desk.
ISBN
International Standard Book Number. A unique 10-digit code assigned to
a specific edition of a book before it is published.
ISSN
International Standard Serial Number. A unique 8-digit code assigned to the
specific title of a serial.
Journal
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial, and magazine have slightly
different definitions, they are often used interchangeably. They are published
on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually, etc.) and contain articles
written by various authors.
A journal contains peer-reviewed
articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles
often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic
and refer to all types of these materials.
Keyword
Searching
Most online catalogs
and bibliographic databases include an option that allows the user to search
by keyword(s). In this type of search, users enter a
significant word or words that describe the research topic, and the catalog
or database retrieves all records where the search terms appear whether
they appear in the title field, abstract field, subject heading field, contents
field, notes field, etc.
Library Annex
The Library Annex is a storage
facility for lesser-used materials from the collections of CUL. Materials held
in the Annex can be delivered to any of the libraries on campus or used in the
Annex reading room. Annex requests
can be made through the online catalog, through the link Annex Requests available
under the Circulation
Services section of the Library Gateway, or at any circulation desk on campus.
Library
Gateway
The Library Gateway is a web site that allows electronic access to Cornell
University Library 24 hours a day. It performs three major functions:
1) Provides information about
Cornell University Library and its individual libraries and divisions
2) Offers numerous library services
3) Presents a systematic means of accessing the growing collection of Cornell
networked digital library resources
Here are some examples of what
you can do using the Library Gateway:
Identify
numerous articles in your area of research
Check
the CU Library Catalog to see where a particular book is held
Find
library hours
Request
an article through Interlibrary Loan
Consult
an electronic encyclopedia
Ask
a reference question via e-mail
Find
statistics relating to your research
Look
up a word in an electronic dictionary
Learn
about upcoming Library Instruction Workshops
Report
and receive help with a Gateway related technical problem
Access
a full text electronic journal
Connect
to individual library web sites
Retrieve
the full electronic text of some articles
Learn
about library special collections or projects
Library of
Congress Classification
A classification system developed by the Library of Congress (LC) that is
used to organize the collections of many academic and research libraries,
including Cornell. This alpha-numeric system arranges materials by subject.
Each subject or class is represented by a series of letters and numbers, which
are used to create an LC call number. To see the
main classes in the LC system, go to Library of Congress Classification.
For a more detailed outline of the LC system, go to Library of
Congress Classification Outline.
Library of
Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
The multi-volume set Library of Congress Subject Headings is an alphabetic
guide to and list of the official subject headings used for searching in the
CU Library Catalog. These sets can be found in most libraries on campus in
the reference area or at locations near the public workstations.
Loan Period
The amount of time a patron may borrow a book or other item from the library.
The time varies depending on the type of material borrowed and the status
of the borrower.
Magazine
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial, and magazine have slightly
different definitions, they are often used interchangeably. They are published
on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually, etc.) and contain articles
written by various authors.
A journal contains peer-reviewed
articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles
often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic
and refer to all types of these materials.
Manuscripts
Documents or written compositions, such as letters or diaries, which have
not been printed. Often, an author's written (or typed) original "copy" as
distinguished from a printed or published version of the same material. Cornell's
primary collections of manuscripts are located in the Rare Books & Manuscripts
Collections in Kroch Library.
Media
Films, tapes, and other audio-visual materials that require the use of special
listening or viewing equipment.
Microforms
A term used to describe documents that have been photographed or filmed. Microforms
require the use of special reader machines. Common formats for microforms are
microfilm, microfiche, and microcard.
MyDocumentDelivery
MyDocumentDelivery
is a fee based electronic document delivery service offered by Cornell University
Library. Faculty, staff and students may request copies of journal articles,
book chapters and other materials located in the print collection of the Cornell
University Libraries including the Library Annex. Documents will be scanned
and made available on the web as pdf files.
Not Charged
If a library item is not checked-out, the online catalog will indicate
that the status of the item is Not Charged. This means that the item is available
in its call number location in the library.
Numeric Data
Numeric data files are those with significant numeric content, either statistical,
coded, or graphically displayed. An example of numeric data found on the Library
Gateway is the FAOSTAT Statistics Database.
OCLC
WorldCat
This database is an online catalog of the holdings of books, journals, and
other materials held by thousands of OCLC member libraries. (OCLC is Online
Computer Library Center.) Cornell researchers can identify and locate
materials in other libraries and collections using WorldCat, and request these
materials through interlibrary loan.
OPAC
Acronym for Online Public Access Catalog. See Online Catalog.
Online
Catalog
An electronic or digitized version of a library's card catalog.
The Cornell University Library's online catalog is called the CU Library Catalog. It is the database that contains records that
refer to the many materials held by Cornell University Library.
Patron Info
A link available through the library catalog that allows Cornell patrons
to view their library account information charged items, pending requests,
and fines or fees owed. Accessing Patron Info requires the user
to enter their Cornell ID number and last name. Patron Info is also accessible via the
link View your account or renew a
book on the Library Gateway.
Periodical
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial, and magazine have slightly
different definitions, they are often used interchangeably. They are published
on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually, etc.) and contain articles
written by various authors.
A journal contains peer-reviewed
articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles
often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic
and refer to all types of these materials.
Periodical
Index
A cumulative list of
periodical articles in which the citations are entered by subject (or in classified
arrangement) and sometimes under the author's last name. Periodical indexes
may be general (Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature), devoted
to a specific academic discipline (Education Index) or group of disciplines
(Humanities Index), or limited to a particular type of publication
(Alternative Press Index). In libraries, periodical indexes are available
in print, as online electronic databases, or on CD-ROM. Some electronic indexes will provide full-text
articles. Print indexes and some
electronic indexes only provide citations to articles. The actual periodicals would have to be
located for the full articles.
Rare Books
Books that are valued for the significance of their contents, their scarcity,
their imprint or date of publication, their physical characteristics or condition,
or their associations (signed or annotated by a famous author, for instance).
Cornell's primary collections of rare books are are located in the Rare
Books & Manuscripts Collections in Kroch Library.
Recall
A request made by the
library to one of its patrons to return a borrowed item before its
due date. Any item may be recalled at any time for
Course Reserve or after two weeks if requested by another Cornell patron. This service is available through the
Requests link at the top of
any online catalog record.
Record
A collection of related data fields organized and accessible as a single
entity. Examples of data fields
are author, title, publisher, abstract, call number, etc. In a periodical index, which is a collection
of article citations, each citation is a record. In the CU Library Catalog, each reference
retrieved per title is also a record.
Reference
Collection
Books not meant to be
read cover-to-cover, such as dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias, shelved
together in a special section of the library called the reference area. Reference
books may not be checked out because they are needed by librarians to answer
questions at the reference desk. Their location and circulation status is
usually indicated by the symbol "R" or "Ref" preceding
the call number in the catalog record and on the spine label.
Reference
Desk
When a person has a
question about how to find specific information or how to use library services
and resources, assistance can be obtained from a reference librarian at the
reference desk. Professional librarians and reference assistants staff reference
desks to assist patrons with their questions.
Reference librarian
Reference librarians are specialists in the field of information
retrieval. Generally they have a Masters degree in library science, and may
have other graduate degrees as well. Reference librarians work in public services
answering questions posed by library patrons at the reference desk, by telephone,
via e-mail, or through an online chat session. They also provide instruction
on the use of library resources and information technology.
RefWorks
RefWorks is a web-based tool for managing
citations and bibliographies. Researchers can create their own personal database by importing references from online databases. They can use these references in writing their papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds.
Renewal
An extension of the loan period for charged library materials. Renewals may
be handled in person at the circulation desk, by phone, or through the link
"View your account or renew a book" on the Library Gateway.
Reserve
See Course Reserves
RLIN (Eureka)
The Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), is an information management
and retrieval system used by hundreds of comprehensive research libraries,
archival repositories, museums, academic, public, law, technical, and corporate
libraries to build an international database of bibliographic information.
The RLIN database indexes books, journals, and other materials held by full-member
Research Library Group (RLG) libraries. Cornell researchers can identify and
locate materials in other research libraries and collections using RLIN, and
order these materials through interlibrary loan. As a member of RLG, records
for many of the Cornell University Library's holdings will show up in this
database. RLIN is available through
the catalog and Find Databases.
See Also
A referral to an additional source of information often found in catalogs
or glossaries.
Example: Dog: See also Canine.
Self-Check
Station
Bar-code reading machines for patrons to check out materials themselves,
rather than checking materials out at the circulation desk. Self-check stations are available at Olin and Hotel School libraries. A Cornell ID card is required to use self-check.
A receipt is printed indicating when the materials are due back at
the library.
Serial
Although the terms periodical, journal, serial, and magazine have slightly
different definitions, they are often used interchangeably. They are published
on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually, etc.) and contain articles
written by various authors.
A journal contains peer-reviewed
articles written by scholars while a magazine contains more popular articles
often written by journalists. The terms periodical and serial are more generic
and refer to all types of these materials.
Spatial Data
Spatial data is data pertaining to the location and spatial dimensions of
geographical entities. Examples of spatial data files can be found within
the Cornell University Geospatial Information
Repository (CUGIR), accessible through the Library Gateway.
Stacks
Stacks or stack area refer to the space in a library where the majority of
library materials are shelved. Often the stacks are made up of multiple floors
and contain many rows of shelving units.
Subject Headings
Words or phrases assigned to books and articles which are used to index
these items by topic. The Cornell University Library uses Library of Congress subject headings.
Telnet
On the Library Gateway, Telnet is an application that is sometimes used to access
electronic databases. It is often thought of as access to databases in strictly
textual format as opposed to access via the Web, which may provide images, search
boxes, and "point and click" technology. Some people prefer using a database
via Telnet when available since it can be faster and allow for more complex
searching, but it is really a matter of personal preference.
Thesaurus
A list of all the subject headings or descriptors used in a particular
database, catalog, or index. The thesaurus for the Cornell Library Catalog
is called Library of Congress Subject Headings.
TN3270
See Telnet
Truncation
Truncation is a symbol put at the end or in the middle of a word in order
to catch all variant endings or spellings of that word when searching a database.
For example, if conducting research on computers, entering comput? as a search
term would yield records with the terms computer, computers, computing, computerized,
etc. The truncation symbol is
placed at the point in the word where various endings can begin to occur.
Databases use various symbols,
such as $, #, +, *, !, and ?, to represent truncation. Some
databases truncate automatically. Some databases allow for truncation symbols
in the middle of the word in order to pick up variant spellings. For instance, entering behavi?r would
retrieve behavior and behaviour. The
Help or Search Tips links for each database will indicate which symbol to
use for truncation, if any.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator, or web address. Usually in the form of http://host.subdomain.domain
Example: http://www.bls.gov
University Archives
University Archives, located in the Rare & Manuscripts Collections
in Kroch Library, collects and preserves records of historical, legal, fiscal,
or administrative value to Cornell University. Holdings include official records
and reports of the university, its officers, and component parts; private
papers of faculty, students, staff, and alumni; official and student publications;
maps and architectural records; audiovisual materials including still photographs
and negatives, motion picture film, oral history interviews, and audio and
video tapes; and artifacts and ephemera documenting Cornell's history.
Vertical File
A collection of materials such as pamphlets, newspaper clippings, brochures,
or pictures, which because of their shape and often their ephemeral nature,
are filed in drawers or cabinets for easy reference.
Web Browser
See Browser
World Wide Web
A graphical client-server information system that uses the Internet to access
computers containing millions of hypertext documents.
[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]
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