Whittemore Library: Library Jargon

Abstract	A brief, non-judgmental summary of a work, often of a periodical accompanied by a bibliographic discussion of the work.
Bibliographic Citation	The information needed for someone to find the item including title, author, publisher, place of publication and date of publication.
Bibliography	A list of items such as books or articles, arranged in a common order and having something in common such as the author or producer, a subject, or the geographic region. This is usually included at the back of a book, scholarly article, or term paper.
Boolean Searching	A method of combining search terms by expressing the relationship of one concept to another generally using 'and', 'or', 'not'. (See lesson for full explanation)
Call Number	Classification number located on the spine of a book to mark its physical place in the stacks. For example, RC 263 D59 1991 is the call number for the book Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy.
Database	A collection of computer records that have a standard format, Usually containing fields that are searchable and allow some electronic manipulation such as sorting or grouping. The Minuteman Library Network catalogue is an example of a Database containing bibliographic records.
Folio	Oversized books located in the lowest level of the Library.
Glossary	An alphabetical list of technical terms within a subject field including definitions.
ILL	Interlibrary Loan is the process of obtaining items not owned by the Henry Whittemore Library requested by students, faculty, and staff of Framingham State College.
Index	A list, in alphabetical or numerical order, of the topics, names, etc., that are treated or mentioned in a publication or group of publications, along with references to the pages where the topics are discussed.
Journal	A Periodical on a specialized topic. Journals are often published by a professional association, society, foundation, or institute. A REFEREED JOURNAL is one in which the process to determine if an article will be accepted for publication is done by professional colleagues, or peers (also known as the peer review process). These periodicals are also called SCHOLARLY JOURNALS. See also handout, " What is a scholarly journal?"
LM	Lower mezzanine in Henry Whittemore Library building.
LCCS	Library of Congress Classification System. A system for classifying and arranging books in libraries adopted by most of the nations libraries and universities including Henry Whittemore Library.
LRR	Lower Reading Room in Henry Whittemore Library building. Bound journals are located there.
Microfiche	A small, flat sheet, usually 4x6 or 3x5 inches, of photographic film which contains micro images arranged in horizontal and vertical rows. Many older issues of periodicals are available in this format.
Microform	Refers to material (reports, articles, books, documents, etc.) recorded on photographic film at a greatly reduced size. Examples include Microfilm and Microfiche.
MLN	Minuteman Library Network. A consortium of 41 libraries in the Metrowest area who share a computerized online catalogue. Henry Whittemore Library belongs to the MLN.
OPAC	Online Public Access Catalogue. The Library's holdings are indexed in the Minuteman Library Network (MLN) catalog.
PER	Periodicals Room. Located on the upper mezzanine of the Library building.
PIN	Personal Identification Number. Four digit number needed to check out books.
Stacks	Book stacks with circulating books.
UM	Upper Mezzanine in the Library.