A Glossary of Terms Used in the AU Libraries
ABSTRACT This term can be used in three ways: (1) A short summary of an article in a scholarly journal. It usually appears at the beginning of the article. (2) An index to journal articles that not only provides a citation to the articles, but also gives a brief summary on each article. (3) A summary of a paper presented at a conference. The full text of the paper is not always published.
ARTICLE A (brief) essay or research report on a subject. Articles can appear in magazines, journals, newspapers, or other sources such as encyclopedias.
AUBIECat - the Libraries’ online catalog listing the materials available in any of the Auburn University Libraries. It lists all the books, currently received magazines, journals, and newspapers, maps, microforms, sound recordings, and post 1976-government publications which the Libraries have.
AUBIEPlus - the Libraries’ World Wide Web homepage available at http://www.lib.auburn.edu
AUBIEXPRESS - Document delivery from AUBIEPlus of items (articles primarily) that the Auburn University Libraries do not have (see Interlibrary Loan)
AUDIOVISUAL - Information in a form other than words printed on paper. Examples include slides, audio tapes, compact discs, video cassettes, records, and computer software.
AUTHOR - The writer of a book or article. Usually this is a person (or perhaps two or three people), but it can also be a government agency, a symposium, a company, or other group that does not necessarily give the name(s) of the people who actually wrote the work.
BAR CODE - A small white label with closely spaced black stripes that can be read by a computer. Bar codes on books and on your student identification card are used to charge out books from the library.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - This term can be used in two ways: (1) References used while doing research for an article or book. These are gathered together at the end of the work, usually arranged alphabetically by author. (2) A publication that consists only of a list of books, articles and other works on a particular topic. Sometimes bibliographies are annotated; that is, they include brief abstracts summarizing the important features of the works. Bibliographies of both types can be very valuable in locating information on a subject.
BOOK RETURN - A place to return books borrowed from the library. Book return slots are located in the Circulation Desks in the Libraries. Outside book returns for returning books when the library is not open are in the following locations: a drive up book return at the end of the driveway between the RBD Library and Spidle Hall; a walkup book return to the left facing the Mell Street entrance of RBD Library; and an outside return box to the left of the entrance to the Library of Architecture, Design, and Construction in Dudley Commons.
BORROW [a book] - The same as charge out.
BOUND PERIODICAL - Several issues of a journal or magazine that are fastened together between hard covers so that they resemble a book.
CALL NUMBER - The number given to each book acquired by the Libraries. Every book has a unique call number, much like every house in a city has its own address. The first portion of the call number (one or two letters followed by a few numerals) is the "name" of the "street;’ the second portion (following the period) is the "house number." Example: PR 6023 .L47 H6
You can find the call number of a book in AUBIECat. By consulting an appropriate floor plan posted in the stacks or at any reference desk, you can then locate the book’s general "neighborhood" and go to that area to find its exact location. One caution: call numbers preceded by "f" or "folio" indicate that the book is too large to fit on the regular shelves. You should refer to a floor plan to determine where on each floor of the RBD Library these "oversized" books have been shelved.
CARREL - A small office-like enclosure assigned to faculty and graduate student engaged in writing and research projects. Inquire at the circulation desk on the second floor of the RBD Library for further information regarding assignment of carrels.
CASHIER - The office to which you pay fines for overdue books. The cashier’s office is also the office to which you should go if you have a problem with your photocopy card.
CD-ROM - Compact Disk-Read Only Memory, a computer technology that uses thin disks only 12 cm in diameter to hold thousands of pages of information. CD-ROMs are most often used as electronic equivalents of paper indexes and abstracts.
CHARGE OUT/CHECK OUT - To borrow materials from the library. This is done at the circulation desk and at the reserve desk. You will need your student identification card to do this.
CIRCULATION DESK - The counter where you charge out books, return books, renew books, and so forth. The circulation desks are on the second floor near the Mell Street Entrance of the RBD Library, on (the first floor at the reserve desk) near the parking deck entrance of the RBD Library, and near the front entrances of the Library of Architecture, Design, and Construction and Veterinary Medicine Library.
CITATION - Complete information about a specific item. It may be a reference to a text that has been quoted, or to some source that has been used as an authority. A citation for a book includes author, title, place of publication, publisher, and year. A citation for an article in a periodical includes author, title of the article, title of the periodical, volume number, pages, and date. A single citation is sometimes called a reference. A group of citations gathered together is usually called a bibliography.
CLOSED STACKS - An area in the basement of the RBD Library in which older volumes of bound periodicals are shelved. To request a volume from closed stacks, fill out a blue closed stack request card and take it to the Reference Desk on the floor where other books with the same call numbers are shelved and the staff will retrieve the volume for you.
DATABASE - An electronic collection of information, often of citations to materials on a particular subject. AUBIECat is a database of books owned by the Auburn University Libraries. InfoTrac’s Expanded Academic ASAP is a database of articles in journals covering many different subject areas.
DUE DATE - The date stamped in the front of the book that reminds you when the book must be returned to the library. If you need to use the book for a longer time, you may renew it. If a book is returned after its due date, you will have to pay a fine.
FINE - The amount of money you will owe if you keep library materials past the due date. Your fine will equal the number of days an item is overdue times the number of items overdue.
FOLIO - Call numbers preceded by "f" or "folio" indicate that the book is too large to fit on the regular shelves. You should refer to a floor plan to determine where on each floor of the RBD Library these "oversized" books have been gathered together.
HAS LIST - A list of the books charged out to any one library user. You may view a list of the itmes you have charged out by clicking on the "Patron Information" button in AUBIECat. You may obtain a printed list of the books you have charged out by presenting your student identification card and asking for a "has list" at the Circulation Desks.
HOLD SHELF - An area behind the Circulation Desk where books will be kept for you if you come to the library to charge out books without your student identification card, or where books that you requested will be kept.
HOLDINGS - Often this term applies just to the issues of a magazine or journal owned by the Libraries, but it can also refer to all the materials (books, periodicals, audiovisual media, electronic databases) in the Libraries’ collections.
INDEX - This term can be used in two ways. (1) A list of subjects discussed in a book. (2) A list of journal articles arranged by subject and/or author. The Libraries have indexes of this second type on many different subjects. Ask a Reference Librarian for advice in choosing the most appropriate index.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN - Borrowing a book or getting a copy of an article from another library. You can use this service (that is sometimes called "I L L") to obtain items that are not owned by the Auburn University Libraries.
JOURNAL - A publication that contains scholarly articles written either by professors, researchers, or experts in a subject area. An abstract and a bibliography often appear with each article.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (LC) SUBJECT HEADINGS - Standard terms used by the Library of Congress and by the Auburn University Libraries to designate the subjects of library materials. These terms are published in four large red volumes, often called "LCSH". A set of these volumes is located at the Humanities reference desk on 2nd floor of the RBD Library.
LOAN PERIOD - The length of time library materials may be borrowed. The time varies depending on the type of material borrowed and whether you are a student, faculty, or staff member.
MAGAZINE - A periodical intended for the general public rather than for scholars. Examples are Newsweek, Time, and Business Week.
MICROFORMS - Books, articles or other items that are printed in miniaturized form on rolls or sheets of transparent plastic. Those that are in long rolls are called microfilm, while those that are on small rectangular sheets are called microfiche. Each of these requires special machines to be used.
OVERDUE [books] - A book that has not been returned by the due date is said to be "overdue." The Libraries charge fines of 25 cents per book per day for books which are overdue.
PERIODICAL - A publication that appears on a continuous and predictable schedule. Examples include newspapers (daily or weekly), magazines, and journals.
RBD LIBRARY - Ralph Brown Draughon Library - main library between Mary Martin and Spidle Halls facing Mell Street.
REFERENCE DESK - A place where librarians give you directions, answer your questions, and show you how to find and use materials. There is a reference desk on every floor of the RBD Library and in the Library of Architecture, Design, and Construction, and in the Veterinary Medicine Library. These desks are staffed by librarians most hours that the Libraries are open. The Reference Desks are located near books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes, handbooks, and statistical sources, and near AUBIEPlus and CD-ROM workstations.
RENEW - To extend to due date for a book.
RESERVE - A collection of books set aside by professors for use by students in particular classes. The Reserve Desk is located on the first floor of the RBD Library just inside the parking deck entrance. Both branch libraries offer reserve desk service. Due to high use, loan periods for reserve materials are very short, usually for two hours or overnight.
SERIAL - Publications that are issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals. Examples include periodicals, journals, magazines, newspapers, annual reports, series, some conference proceedings, and annual reviews.
STACKS - The shelves that hold the Libraries’ books. In the Auburn University Libraries, as in most American libraries, most of the stacks are "open;" that is, you may get books directly from the stacks. You do not need to ask a librarian to get the books for you.
VOLUMES - Library materials that are part of a single title but appear as separate bound items. Individual issues of a periodical that are bound together into a single book are called a volume. (Usually, this equals one year of that periodical). Also, large books are sometimes divided into two or more volumes.