Library Vocabulary

Articles

Abstract: An abstract is not the full-text of an article.  An abstract is only a short summary of the article contents.

Author:  The writer of an article.  An author may be one person, several people, or an organization.

Bibliography:  The list of information sources on a specific subject. In an article a bibliography will include all sources used to research the subject, even sources not quoted or cited in the article.  

Citation: A description of a magazine or journal article providing enough information so that the reader will be able to locate the book or article.  A journal citation, for example, includes the author, title of the article, title of the journal, volume number, issue number, date, and pages. 

Database:  An index in electronic form.  A library database generally contains citations, abstracts, or the full-text of magazine, journal, and newspaper articles. 

Full-Text:  The complete text of a magazine/journal article available online from the database.

Issue:  The uniquely dated or numbered copy of a periodical. 

(Example: Time, July 11, 2006 or Science, issue 5)

Journal:  A periodical that contains scholarly articles written by professors, researchers, or experts.

Keyword:  A significant word in the title, abstract, or text of an article that indicates its subject.  Keywords are used to search for articles in the databases.

Magazine:  A periodical intended for the general public rather than for scholars.

Periodical:  A publication that appears on a regular schedule.  Examples are journals and magazines and newspapers. 

Volume:  The collected issues of a periodical which make up the whole of a publishing period.

(Example: Journal of Nursing, vol. 3)