Abstract A short summary of a written work. Can be found at the beginning of most journal
articles and describes the content of the article.
Article Written entry that can appear in a magazine, journal, newspaper or encyclopedia.
Most articles have their own titles. Often, author’s names are given in the beginning
of the article in a citation.
Bibliography A list of titles of books, articles and other information pertaining to a particular
topic. Often referred to as a works cited when used as part of a research paper.
Biography A work about the life of a particular person. Biographies can be found in books, in
specialized sets of reference books, and in the database Biography Resource Center.
Boolean Often referred to as Boolean Operators, these are words that connect search terms
when searching the internet or a database. AND, OR & NOT are Boolean
Operators.
Call Number Location code used to find books on library shelves. Miami Dade College uses the
Library of Congress classification system. Each book in the library has
a unique call number located on the spine or cover of the book.
Circulation Circulation or Circulating Collection simply means a book may be taken out of the
library for a certain amount of time. The Circulation Desk is the area of the library
where books are taken to be checked out and returned.
Citation Information used to identify a specific source, such as a book, article, or website.
Citations for books contain the title, author, publisher, place of publication and date.
Database A collection of organized information. Periodical databases are filled with
articles, often on a specific subject, for example: Health and Wellness; Education.
Full Text Many articles found in databases are called full text. This means the entire article
can be read on the screen, exactly as it appeared in the original published form.
Journal Specialized publication containing scholarly articles. Journal articles are usually
written by specialists in a field. Example: Journal of the American Medical Association.
LINCC Name given to the online catalog of the Miami Dade College Libraries. LINCC is an
acronym for Library Information Network of Community Colleges.
Magazine A periodical published for the general public to read. Examples: People, Sports
Illustrated, Cosmopolitan, and Newsweek.
Periodical Any publication that appears at regular intervals. Examples are: newspapers,
published every day. Most magazines & journals are published weekly or monthly.
Reference Area of the library where Reference Books such as encyclopedias (non-circulating)
books are kept. The Reference Desk, staffed by librarians, is near the Reference
collection.
World Wide Web The web, or WWW, also called the internet provides the user friendly interface
used to browse the Internet to find information. The Miami Dade College
libraries use Internet Explorer as an internet browser.
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