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Library Terminology

Dictionary of common library terms.

K

Keyword

A word used to describe a topic.

Keyword Searching

Using a keyword or combination of keywords to search a library catalog or database. All fields (e.g., author, title, subjects, etc.) within a catalog or database record are examined for the search word(s).

Click a letter, then click on a word.

Z39.50

Yearbook

Wildcard
Withdrawn
Work
Works Cited

Volume

Unabridged
Unbound Volumes
Uniform Title
URL

Table of Contents
Tertiary Source
Thesaurus
Thesis
Trade Publication
Truncation

Scholarly Article
Scholarly Journal
Scope
Search Engine
Secondary Source
Serial
Series
Set
Stacks
Study Carrel
Style Manual
Subject Heading / Subject Term
Subject Searching
Supplement

Recall
Record
Reference Collection
Reference Desk / Reference
Reprint
Reserve Desk
Reserves
Renew / Renewal
Review
Revised Edition

Pagination
PDF
Peer Review
Peer-Reviewed Article
Peer-Reviewed Journal
Periodical
Plagiarism
Publication
Published
Primary Source
Public Domain

OCLC
Online Catalog / Online Library Catalog
Online Database
OPAC
Open Access (OA)
Overdue
Oversized

Newsletter
Newspaper
Non-circulating

LibGuides
Librarian
Library Carrel
Library Catalog
Library of Congress Classification (LCC) System
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
Library Use Only
Literary Criticism
Loan Period

Keyword
Keyword Searching

Journal

Imprint
Index
Information Desk
Information Literacy
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Internet
IP Address
ISBN
ISSN
Issue
Item

Handbook
Hard Copy
Hold
Holdings
HTML
HTML Document
HTTP
Hyperlink
Hypermedia
Hypertext

Gazetteer
Government Documents

FAQ
Field
Fines
Folio
Footnotes
Format
Full-text

eBook
Edition
Editor
eJournal
Embargo
Encryption
Encyclopedia (or Encyclopaedia)
Endnotes
Essay
Evaluation

Database
Descriptor
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) System
Dictionary
Directory
Dissertation
Due Date

Call Number
Card Catalog
Catalog
Carrel
Check-In
Check-Out
Circulate
Circulating
Circulation Desk / Circulation
Citation
Citation Index
Classification Scheme
Conference Reports
Connectors
Contemporary Materials
Continuing Resource
Controlled Vocabulary
Cookie
Copyright
Course Reserves
Cross Reference
Current Periodicals

Barcode / Barcode Number
Bibliographic Citations
Bibliographic Database
Bibliographic Record
Bibliography
Bindery
Bio-bibliography
Biography
Blurb
Book
Book Return
Book Review
Bookstacks / Book Stacks
Boolean Operators
Bound Volume / Bound Periodical
Browse Searching
Browser