Glossary of Library Terms

This page contains definitions of some of the "libraryspeak" you will encounter in Journals Online News.

It is easy to be confused by the definitions of journal, periodical, and serial. These words have overlapping meanings, and a given publication might fit all three at the same time.

  • journal
    "A periodical, especially one containing scholarly articles and/or disseminating current information on research and development in a particular subject field." [A.L.A. Glossary]

  • periodical
    "A serial appearing or intended to appear indefinitely at regular or stated intervals, generally more frequently than annually, each of which is numbered or dated consecutively and normally contains separate articles, stories, or other writings." [A.L.A. Glossary]

  • serial
    "Any publication issued in successive parts, appearing at intervals, usually regular ones, and, as a rule, intended to be continued indefinitely. The term includes periodicals, newspapers, annuals, numbered monographic series and the proceedings, transactions and memoirs of societies." [Harrod's Glossary]

    continuation
    "A part issued in continuance of a book, a serial, or a series." [A.L.A. Glossary]

    database
    "Information stored on computer files, or on CD-ROM. A database might contain bibliographic data, or numerical, statistical material, etc., and may be assembled and marketed commercially, or by an organization, library, or individual. Data is generally structured so that it can be sought and retrieved automatically." [Harrod's Glossary]

    document delivery
    Document delivery services allow users to order copies of materials, usually journal articles, via an online communications link. The document may be delivered by mail, fax, or e-mail; or sent directly to the user's terminal. Documents ordered in this manner are generally paid for by the user.

    funds (also subject funds)
    Library-designated categories for the purchase of materials that support specific subjects at UTK. Although funds correspond to academic departments (e.g., geology, philosophy, psychology, etc.), the Libraries do not assign journals budgets to individual departments. Journal titles are assigned to funds to facilitate review by interested faculty and others.

    fund codes
    Four-letter abbreviations for the names of subject funds.

    fund list
    A list of journal titles assigned to a specific subject fund.

    interdisciplinary
    Refers to an approach to academic study in which "two or more disciplines are brought together ... in such a way that the disciplines interact with one another and have some effect upon one another's perspectives." [Dictionary of Education]

    interlibrary loan
    "A transaction in which, upon request, one library lends an item of its collection, or furnishes a copy of the item, to another library not under the same administration or on the same campus." [A.L.A. Glossary]

    Interlibrary Services
    The department responsible for filling patrons' requests for materials not owned by the UTK Libraries. Generally these items are acquired through interlibrary loan; however, Interlibrary Services may also acquire journal articles from a commercial document delivery service when appropriate. There is normally no charge for these services to UTK faculty, students and staff. Interlibrary Services is in Main Reference on the first floor of Hodges Library.

    journal
    "A periodical, especially one containing scholarly articles and/or disseminating current information on research and development in a particular subject field." [A.L.A. Glossary]

    journals review
    The process of continually examining our journal holdings in order to identify lower-priority titles (q.v.) by soliciting evaluations from the faculty and others in the campus community.

    library guide
    A research guide or fact sheet published by the UTK Libraries, designed to help users find specialized information and/or learn about the Libraries' resources and services. Both online and printed versions are available.

    library representative
    "Library representatives are university faculty assigned by their departments to serve as liaison to the libraries." [Library Representatives Manual]

    lower-priority titles
    Journals deemed less important to faculty and students than others, as determined by the journals review (q.v.).

    periodical
    "A serial appearing or intended to appear indefinitely at regular or stated intervals, generally more frequently than annually, each of which is numbered or dated consecutively and normally contains separate articles, stories, or other writings." [A.L.A. Glossary]

    serial
    "Any publication issued in successive parts, appearing at intervals, usually regular ones, and, as a rule, intended to be continued indefinitely. The term includes periodicals, newspapers, annuals, numbered monographic series and the proceedings, transactions and memoirs of societies." [Harrod's Glossary]

    subject librarian
    "Subject librarians are library faculty designated by the Libraries to serve as liaison to the academic departments. Many subject librarians are liaisons to more than one department and all have other roles in the Libraries." [Library Representatives Manual]

    SOURCES: Hearstill Young, ed., A.L.A. Glossary of Library and Information Science (Chicago: American Library Association, 1983); Ray Prytherch, comp., Harrod's Librarians' Glossary, 7th ed. (Aldershot, England: Gower, 1990); Flora Cobb, Anne Langley and Sandy Leach, Library Representatives Manual (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Libraries, 1994); Derek Rowntree, A Dictionary of Education (Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble, 1982).