Library Glossary

University of Huddersfield

Library Glossary

Words we use in the University of Huddersfield library…

Welcome to the University of Huddersfield Computing and Library Services. This guide is to help you access the services and resources in the library. If you need any help please ask a member of staff or ask at The Help Centre. Alternatively email or for IT help

Please click on a letter in the table below to jump to that section of the glossary. Or, press Control+F on your keyboard to search for a specific term.

A B C D E F G
H I J K L M O
P Q R S T U V
24/7 Computer Suite: This room is located outside the library and open 24/7 for the whole year. It has PCs and Macs, laptop lockers, a printer and a print credit machine.

A

Abstract: A summary of a longer piece of text, often found at the beginning of journal articles.
Advanced search: This term is found in library databases and is a way to narrow your search and refine results.
Alert: Some databases will send you an email when an article you are interested in is published in a journal.
APA 6th referencing style: (American Psychological Association) This is the referencing style used by most students at the University of Huddersfield.
Alphabetical order: Words arranged in order of the Roman alphabet. (Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz)
Appendix: Additional material at the end of a book or document.
Archive: A collection of historical material.
Article: see definition of Journal article.
Ask a Librarian: Our out-of-hours chat service that can be accessed during the night and weekends when the staff have gone home. During the day, you can submit questions via a web form.
Author: The person who has written the book or journal article.

B

Bibliography: A list of references you cited in your assignment, as well as background reading and books you looked at but did not cite in your assignment.
Binding: This is a way to secure sheets of paper together with a protective cover e.g. a dissertation. On floor 3 we have a binding area. In this room you will find a guillotine, electric comb and spiral binder. Combs, card and acetate covers can be bought from The Help Centre on floor 4.
Boolean logic: Boolean logic is a way of narrowing or expanding a database search by linking search terms with AND, OR, NOT.
Brightspace®: This is the name of the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). This is where you access all the content and teaching materials for your modules.

C

Citation / cited: If you quote, paraphrase, summarise or refer to someone's work or ideas in your assignment, it is called a citation.
Classmark: Resources in libraries are organised by subject. This enables libraries to place books on the same subject together on the shelves. The classmark is a combination of numbers and letters. The numbers refer to the subject of the resource and the letters refer to the author/editor name.
  • eg. ‘Dubliners' by James Joyce classmark: 823.91 JOY
Copy / copies: This has two different meanings in the library:
  • A photocopy or print out from a printer.
  • The number of books of a particular title.
Conference: A formal gathering of people with a shared interest to discuss the latest research that has been done on a particular theme.
Conference Proceeding: A collection of papers published from an academic conference.
Copyright: This is a legal protection given to any person who creates certain types of materials, including books, journal articles and computer programmes. Copyright limits the amount of photocopying you can do from books and journals.
Change machine: If you need some change to add printing credit to your account we have a machine on Floor 4 where you can change notes to coins.
Creative Commons: An organisation which has released freely-available copyright licences, allowing people to say how they would like to share their work on the internet. These licences are designed to help people share their creative works more easily.
Current: Up-to-date information (published recently/ most recently).

D

Day Pass Kiosk: If you forget your card you can use this machine to obtain a temporary pass to the library.
Database: A program which allows the storing and organising of data so that it can be retrieved and used in a variety of different ways. Databases in the library focus on a particular subject areas and are used to search for journal articles or digital collections.
Dewey: (Dewey Decimal Classification) This is the name of the system we use to organise books by subject, and put classmarks on the books. It's used to help you find the books on the shelves.
DOI: (Digital Object Identifier) This is a permanent identifier to enable a student to find an item electronically. For example, a journal article can have a DOI that looks like this: 10.1000/182. People using a DOI to link to a Journal article on the web can always find the article as the DOI never changes.
Disability Support Officer: The Library Disability Support Advisor is based on floor 4. They can arrange any practical help and support you may need with Computing and Library Services. More information at Disability Support.
Dissertation: A long piece of writing, usually on a topic chosen by the student. A dissertation is usually the last major assignment at the end of a course of study.

E

eBook / electronic book: A book which is available in an electronic format/ online.
Edition: Published books sometimes need updating. This means a new version or edition of the book may be published. Some books have many editions: you will usually look at the most recent.
Editor: The person who puts together a collection of material (such as a book, journal issue, or website), from multiple authors.
Editorial: This has two meanings:
  • a short piece of writing which expresses the opinion of the editor.
  • a summary and background to the contents of the journal.
eJournal / electronic journal / online journal: This is an electronic copy of a journal which is available to view online. You can usually only read the whole article for free if the library has purchased a subscription for the journal. Some journals are freely available to all, known as open access.
Embargo: You may see this term in a database. It refers to the period of time between an article being published and made available in full-text in a database.
Endnote®: This is software to help you organise your references, create citations and a reference list for your assignments.
Eprints Repository: This is the archive of research outputs of the University from 2007 to 2017. Use the Eprints Repository to search for a thesis.
eResources / electronic resources: This is a collective term used to describe databases, eJournals, eBooks and websites.

F

Fine: This is money you may be asked to pay if you don't return a book you have on loan and another student has put a reservation on it. You will also incur a fine if you return a laptop late. You are NOT charged for borrowing books.
Full text: This is the complete text of a journal article or book and is available to read. You will often see this term in a library database.

G

Group Listening Rooms: These are rooms with equipment for the music students located on floor 5 of the library.
Group study room: A room that you can book to work with other students.

H

Help Centre: This is a desk on floor 4 opposite the main entrance where you can ask for library and IT help. Heritage Quay: Heritage Quay is the information, records management and archive service at the University of Huddersfield.
HTML: (Hyper Text Markup Language) Articles are often available to open as HTML files in database. It will look like a web page when you read it.
HudStudy: This is software and training to help you learn. It includes mind-mapping, accessibility software and features and advice on managing your files. Find out more on the HudStudy webpage.

I

Impact factor: This is a measure of the frequency with which the average article in a journal has been cited in a particular year. It is used to measure the "rank" of a journal.
Index: This is a list of words found at the end of a text book which helps you to find relevant pages.
Induction: An introduction to various aspects of University life, including how to use the Library. You will usually have a Library induction on your timetable in the first week of term.
Informed Researcher: This is a programme of information skills training for Postgraduate researchers. This covers topics including literature searching, Endnote, open access, using social media, and referencing. You can view and book onto these courses via SkillsForge.
Inter-library loans (ILL): If you need a book or journal that we don't have in the library you can request it using this service. We will try to obtain the item from the British Library.
Issue: This has two meanings in the Library:
  • When you borrow a resource from the library it is issued to your account.
  • Each individual copy of a journal is called an issue (or part). Issues can be published weekly, monthly or several times a year depending on the journal, and are often referred to by number. For example, in a monthly journal the January issue is issue number 1, the February issue is number 2, and so on.

J

Journal / journal article: A journal is a collection of articles written by different authors, mainly organised around a particular subject or theme. There are different types of journals: trade, scholarly, peer reviewed or more popular publications (magazines).

K

Keywords: These are words used to search the catalogue or databases to find information on a particular subject.

L

Lapsafe: see Self Service laptop loans
Library Account: You can see information about your loans, reservations and fines on your library account.
Library Warden: They patrol the library floors, provide basic support and make sure the library is a safe and pleasant space to study in. You can always find a library warden on the reception desk on floor 4 whenever the library is open.
Literature review: This is a review of research on a particular subject. It is intended to identify questions a body of research does not answer, and make a case for why further study of a research question is important.

M

Memory stick: A small piece of hardware you can plug into your computer through a USB port to store data.
Music Library Studio: This is room 5/10. see Group Listening Rooms

O

Open Access: This is publishing in a way that makes information freely available to the end user.
ORCID ID®: This is a digital identifier code you can create to identify you as the author of your research. It helps avoid confusion between researchers with the same or similar names.

P

Paper: This is a term often used to describe a journal article prepared for a conference. See also: journal article.
Paper copy: A term used to refer to a printed copy of a journal article or book rather than an electronic version.
Part: This is another name for issue, used to classify a journal.
Patent: A patent is a detailed description of an invention, published in the process of getting legal protection for the rights to the invention.
PDF: (Portable Document Format) A file extension by Adobe. PDFs are formatted documents that have been fixed in place, and are difficult to edit. This format is commonly used for brochures and formal documents, so that they can be viewed and printed the way the creator intended.
Peer review: This is a process where experts in a particular subject evaluate the research in an article before it is published.
Plagiarism: This is when one person copies another person's work and takes credit for it without acknowledging the source. This includes the use of someone's idea, as well as a direct copying of their writing or imagery. It covers both published and unpublished sources. Using the words or ideas of others without citing or referencing them is a serious academic offence. Beware of adverts that tell you they will write an essay for you.
Postgraduate researcher room: This is a room specifically for postgraduate researchers on floor 5.
Print credit: This is money you add to your account to pay for printing and photocopying. A small charge is taken from your account automatically for each page you print or photocopy. You can check how much printing and photocopying costs at printing and photocopying and top up your print credits online.
Public Access PCs: The library welcomes members of the public to use our library and computing facilities. These PCs are located on Floor 5.
Pure: This is the University repository, where researchers submit their published research outputs (such as journal articles). Pure can be accessed here.

Q

Quiet study area: This is an area where you can talk quietly with others about your work.

R

Reading lists: A list of essential and recommended books and journals for your course.
Reference: This has two meanings in the library:
  • An item which can only be looked at in the library, and cannot be taken out on loan
  • Details of an information source that you have used in your work, as recorded through citations, bibliographies and reference lists.
Reference Builder: This is a way of building quick references following the APA 6th referencing style and paste them directly into your work. Access these by clicking on the type of reference you wish to create in the Referencing Guide
Reference list: This is a list of all your references at the end of your assignment. It shows what sources you have used/cited to write your essay/report.
Reference only: This is an item which can only be looked at in the library.
RefWorks®: Online reference management software. You can use RefWorks to save items such as journal articles and books you want to refer to in your assignment. It will automatically create references as you type. RefWorks can be used to save items directly from Summon.
Repository: A central location in which data is stored and managed.
Request/reserve a book: You can request an item that is on loan to someone else by clicking on the request link in Summon. This link will only appear if all copies are out on loan.
Reservation Shelf: see Self Service reservations
Review article: An evaluation of the research currently published on a specific topic.
Rolling Stack: These are shelves that move across the floor when you turn a handle. They are designed to save space in the library.

S

Scholarly journal: This is a journal which publishes academic papers in a particular area of research.
Scholars' Rest: This is the chill out area. In this area you will find drinking water, comfortable seating, vending machines, a microwave and a few PCs. It is the only part of the Library where food is allowed.
Search engine: A very large searchable database of links to different websites, created by robots which trawl the internet looking for information.
School Curriculum Collection: A collection of books and other resources that can be used to teach children in a classroom. This is primarily used by the education students and located on floor 5.
SCONUL Access: This scheme enables staff, researchers and postgraduate research students to use other academic libraries across the country. SCONUL stands for Society of College, National and University Libraries.
Self Service laptop loans: You can borrow lap tops and MacBooks® from a cabinet called Lapsafe. They are located outside the library entrance and in the 24-hour Computer Suite.
Self Service Issues: These are the machines you can use to issue a book. They are on Floor 4.
Self Service Reservations: The Self Service Reservations area is on floor 4, behind the wall with the large map on it. When you reserve a book we will put it on the shelves for you to collect.
Self Service Returns: These are the machines you can use to return your books. They are on floor 4.
Silent study area: There are certain areas in the library designated for silent study. You must not make any noise in these areas.
Site address: It is the address for a web page on the internet, also known as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). SkillsForge: This is an online system that allows postgraduate researchers to identify and record training needs and development opportunities.
Software: Code which is run by your computer, which tells it what to do. This can be anything from photo-editing programs to browsers which allow your computer to view information over the internet.
Student Helper: We have student helpers wearing green or red t-shirts in the library. They can help you find books on the shelves, printing and basic IT questions.
Student Hub: This website provides all the information you need as a student. It includes links to Brightspace, Summon, UniMail and your personal details and attendance record. Log into the student hub at studenthub.hud.ac.uk.
Student number: This is the number on your student card. This is your username for everything. (Brightspace, Student Hub, using a PC, UniMail etc.) You use the first 7 numbers on your student card reading from left to right.
Subject Guides: Subject-specific library guides are also available to help you find specialist resources in your research area.
Subject Librarian: Subject Librarians can help you find relevant, quality information for your assignments. They can also give advice on referencing.
Summon: The majority of the library's resources are searchable in Summon, the library's search engine. Summon is available wherever you are, whether on or off-campus.

T

Thesis: An extensive written piece of work which discusses and presents research findings as part of a Postgraduate research degree.

U

Unimail: Your University email account. Your email address is your student number (the letter U and the first 7 numbers on your student card), followed by @unimail.hud.ac.uk.
University of Huddersfield Press: The University's successful publisher of books and journals. The full range can be seen at the Press website.

V

VLE: (Virtual Learning Environment) This is where you will find all the teaching resources to support your course. At the University of Huddersfield it's called Brightspace.
Volume: Journals are usually published in volumes. A volume can contain several issues.

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