Our second installment of Library Lingo - - This week we deal with terms related to searching for material in the library stacks (should you already be bewildered, "stacks" definition is in Library Lingo Part 1), material in databases and some miscellaneous terms.

Catalog - list of library materials contained in a collection. Most library catalogs are online as is ours.

Catalog Record – entry in the library's catalog containing information on any given library item, including a description of the item, author, title, subject headings, notes, and the call number. See Freakonomics for an example of how a catalogued record appears in our online catalog.

Call Number – a number and letter assigned to a book to determine its subject and shelving location. Our call numbers are in Dewey Decimal format. Example: 956.7044 I is the call number for The Iraq Study Group Report.

Dewey Decimal System - a system used by libraries to classify nonfiction publications into subject categories. The subject is indicated by a three-digit numeral and further specification is given by numerals following a decimal point. For more information you may wish to visit Duke University's HOW THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM WORKS.

Cataloguing - the technical process of describing a work bibliographically and assigning a call number. It includes determining the main entry, describing the item, and assigning subject and additional entries. Our Technical Services Department performs NPL's cataloguing.

Subject Heading - term or phrase describing the subject content of a work. Searching by a subject heading is more precise than a keyword search.

Keyword – word that best describes what you’re searching for. A keyword can be as general or as specific as you may need. For example, “beagle” could be a keyword. The word “dog”, however, will give you many more search results. A keyword search will retrieve those items that have the keyword in the title, subject, author, or content notes.

Boolean Operators - words such as AND, OR, and NOT that are used to combine search terms to broaden or narrow a search of an electronic database, index, or catalog. Examples are “dogs and training” or “Clinton NOT Hillary". Are you curious to find out more? Try A Primer in Boolean Logic.

Database – a collection of data or file of information in a form accessible by computer. In a sense, a database is a computerized library in which individual records can be retrieved. Databases can contain a collection of such items as magazine and newspaper articles, encyclopedias, genealogical information, health information (to name but a few). See NPL's Ibrowse Database web pages for adults, teens or kids.

Full Text – the complete text of an item available in electronic format, such as an article from a magazine, book or encyclopedia. Full text is usually in PDF or HTML format. NPL's EBSCO database gives you the option of searching for full-text articles only or including Abstracts - summaries that gives the essential points.

Citation - information identifying a publication. A citation to a book includes the name of the author(s), book title, place of publication, publisher, and date of publication. A citation to a periodical article includes the name of the author(s), article title, periodical title, volume/issue number, date, and page number(s).

And some miscellaneous terms:
Cybrarian – an automated, self-service computer reservation and printing system used by NPL. It ensures fair access to all users.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) - service that allows patrons to request books and articles from other libraries if the material is not available at NPL.

Microform - printed material that has been photographed and reduced to a film format to help preserve the material and decrease the space needed for storage, typically used for newspapers. Standard formats are microfilm and microfiche. NPL has the special equipment needed to read microform.

Electronic book – an electronic version of a printed book. EBooks can be viewed online from any computer connected to the Internet. See Audiobooks on NPL’s home page.

Are there other buzzwords that you have come across? Please let us know.