Student Resources

What are they talking about?

Common library terminology can help you figure it out.

• Call number: a set of letters and numbers identifying a particular item in a library collection. Most university libraries (including UNF) use the Library of Congress Classification. Most public libraries use the Dewey Decimal Classification.

• Collection: refers mainly to the location of the item but also can tell you whether or not you may check it out. There are several main collections: Course Reserves, Curriculum, General Collections, Government Documents, Media, Online, Perodicals, Reference, Special Collections. Periodicals, Reference, and Special Collections materials may not be checked out.

• Course reserves: materials held for instructors for students in a class. These items can usually be checked out for a short time period. Find your call number in the Course Reserves Look up and head to the 1st floor desk to check it out.
• Database: provides descriptive information (title, author, date, subjects, summary or abstract) for periodical articles and other information. Many databases also contain the full-text of the articles.

• Interlibrary Loan (ILL): a system by which one library obtains a work for a user by borrowing it from another library. ("interlibrary loan." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 02 Feb. 2011. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interlibrary loan>.)

• Journal: a periodical containing articles and current information on research and development in a particular area of study. Journals may be more like a magazine or they may be academic in nature. See the Doing Research tab in this guide for more information on academic/scholarly, peer-reviewed, and refereed journals.

• Library catalog: a collection of records that represent materials owned or accessed by a library. This is essentially a list of all of the books, media, maps, journals, and documents that we own or that you can access through your UNF Library.

• Microformat: microfiche (4 by 6 inch cards) or microfilm (a roll of film) - printed items reduced in size by photographic method.

• Periodical: an item published at regular intervals, such as a magazine, journal, or newspaper.