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Research Guide

Glossary

Abstract Summary of an article or book.
Call Numbers Each item in the library has a unique call number, including both letters and numbers. These numbers come from the Library of Congress Classification System. They enable materials on the same subject to be shelved together.
Catalog An index of materials in a specific library or libraries, now usually on computers rather than cards. The Lesley University library catalog is FLO.
CD-ROM Laser disk on which information is stored. It can be read by inserting it into a CD-ROM drive on a computer.
Citation Information that precisely identifies a book or an article; includes title, author, page, date, and publication information. For guides to formatting citations in your paper, see Citation Formats.
Consortium
Plural: consortia
A group of libraries working together to purchase materials and share them with their users, often through a shared catalog. Lesley University belongs to the FLO and FLC consortia.
Copy card Plastic card used instead of change to make photocopies. It can be purchased in the photocopy room at Ludcke Library.
Database Computerized index that may be searched by keyword, subject, author, or title. Databases index articles, books, documents, and/or full-text articles. Databases may be general, indexing a wide range of subjects, or subject-specific, focusing on one subject area. Although the FLO Catalog tells the name of journals, only the databases give references to individual articles in the journals.
FLO Catalog The online library catalog for Lesley University and the 9 libraries of the FLO consortium. FLO tells the names of books, videos, teaching resources, tests, and journals in the library collections. For individual articles, see databases.
Floppy Disk Portable magnetic disk for storing computer information.
ILL Interlibrary loan, a service by which libraries obtain books or articles from another library; may take two to four weeks.
Index Alphabetical list of topics with instructions on where those topics may be found in a book, in periodicals, or elsewhere.
Internet A vast electronic network of computer networks linking computers all over the world. This Web page has traveled to your computer via the Internet.
Journal Magazine with articles written by professors, scholars and experts.
Keyword Search Searching a topic using your own words, wherever the words may appear in database records.
Ludcke Library Your library at Lesley University.
Microform Film on reel (microfilm) or in shape of a card (microfiche) on which information may be stored. It may be read and printed on a machine called a "Microfilm Reader/Printer."
Modem Computer equipment that enables you to use phone lines to connect to the Internet, usually through an Internet Service Provider.
Online Ongoing communication between computers.
Peer Reviewed
Journal
Journal that publishes articles selected by scholars and other experts in the field, often through an editorial board.
Periodical Newspaper, magazine or journal that is published on a regular basis, once a day, week, month, year, etc.
Reserves Faculty often place articles or books "on reserve" for students to check out for brief time periods from the circulation desk at the library. This enables all students to have access to the same item for a class assignment.
Stacks Stacks are the shelves where library books are stored. Students are invited to go into the stacks to find their books.
Subject Search In the FLO catalog, a subject search uses Library of Congress Subject Headings to find an item. Subject headings are listed in the Full Record for each item in the catalog.
Telnet Text-based software that allows you to communicate with a remote computer. It reads only text and not graphics. People with old text-based computers or visually impaired people who use text readers may need Telnet software on their computers. Unfortunately, Telnet does not work on America Online.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator. The unique address of a page on the World Wide Web. The URL for this Web page is http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/glossary.html.
VendaCard Plastic card used instead of change to make photocopies. It can be purchased in the photocopy room at Ludcke Library.
Web Browser Software that enables your computer to pull in Web pages, such as Netscape, AOL, or Internet Explorer. If you can see the images on this page, you are viewing it through a graphical Web browser. In order to access the Ludcke Library databases, Netscape version 4.0 or higher is required.
World Wide Web (WWW) Internet pages with links to other pages. This information is coming to you through the WWW. The underlined words in this table are links to other pages.
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updated 04/19/07 | 10:27 AM
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