Gould Library News
Categories
Posts tagged with “Word of the Week” (All posts)
Word of the Week: ISBN
November 4, 2009International Standard Book Number. Developed in 1966 and adopted as an international standard in 1970, the ISBN is a unique, ten- or (since January 1, 2007) thirteen-digit number assigned to every published book. Hardcover and paperback editions of the same book are assigned different numbers, and new editions of books are assigned a new ISBN number.
Though it is usually pronounced as individual letters, some people do pronounce it as a word: iz-bun.
Word of the Week: Depository Library
October 23, 2009A depository library is a library designated by the U.S. government to receive and keep some or all of that government's published documents. Gould Library is a depository library and has been since 1930. Our government documents collections are comprised of a total of 279,097 cataloged items in tangible formats:
- paper (85,831 items on Level 1)
- microfiche & film (184,119 items on Level 1)
- CD-ROMS (2,034 items on Level 1)
- maps (7,113 cataloged items on level 2, plus thousands of uncataloged maps, including all USGS topographics for all states)
as well as thousands of documents available electronically available.
Word of the Week: Boolean Operators
October 14, 2009Boolean operators are words that specify the relationship between two or more search terms when doing keyword searches.
Word of the Week: Controlled Vocabulary
January 15, 2009Controlled vocabulary is the words and phrases used by a subject specialist when creating subject headings for an article, document, or book for a specific index or catalog. For example, the books in Carleton's library collection are assigned subject headings from the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Articles listed in JSTOR, PsycInfo, and other databases, are given subject headings by subject specialists, or indexers. These subject headings are then listed in a thesaurus designed for that database. This is meant to provide consistency and order in the chosen words and phrases.
Word of the Week: Almanac
May 28, 2008An almanac is an annual compilation of facts and statistics, both current and retrospective. Some important almanacs in the Gould Library collection include The Almanac of American Politics, The National Geographic Almanac of Geography, and The Almanac of American Education.
Word of the Week: Microform
May 14, 2008Microforms are materials (reports, documents, books, journals, newspapers, etc.) imprinted on a medium at a greatly reduced size. Microforms include microfilm, strips of photographic film on reels; microfiche, small flat sheets of photographic film (usually 4" x 6"); and microprint or microcard, small, flat, opaque sheets of archival cardstock.
Gould Library has thousands of publications in microforms, including many government documents.
Word of the Week: Primary Sources
May 7, 2008Want to see librarians' eyes roll back into their heads? Ask where they keep the primary sources.
Primary sources are fundamental, authoritative documents or publications (like the Declaration of Independence or Salem Witch Trial transcripts), original material such as letters and manuscripts, literary works, scientific research reports, contemporaneous news accounts and interviews. Primary sources are the materials that are used to build history.
Word of the Week: Abstract
March 5, 2008ab-strakt
A brief summary that gives the essential points of a book or article without interpretation or criticism.
Word of the Week: Serial
February 27, 2008seer-ee-uhl
Not the stuff you pour milk over, a serial is any publication issued in successive parts, appearing at intervals, usually regular ones, and intended to be continued indefinitely. The term includes journals, magazines, newspapers, annual publications, numbered monographic series, and the proceedings and transactions of professional societies.
Word of the Week: Monograph
February 20, 2008monograph: mon-uh-graf
A monograph is a scholarly book on a single subject, class of subjects, or person. In the library field, this term is also used for any non-serial publication. Monographs are often lengthy works on a particular subject or person, detailed in treatment, which usually contain a bibliography.
Word of the Week: Diluvial
October 24, 2005diluvial \d-LU-vee-l \(noun) 1. Of or belonging to a deluge or flood...
Word of the Week: Bandersnatch
October 16, 2005bandersnatch \BANDR-snatch\ (noun) 1. A fleet, furious, fabulous creature...