Glossary of Terms Brittany Harrah

OPAC An online database of materials held by a library or group of libraries.

Dewey Decimal System  a system used by libraries to classify nonfictional publications into subject categories; the subject is indicated by a three-digit numeral and further specification is given by numerals following a decimal point; publications are shelved by number

Fiction  literature in the form of prose, esp. short stories and novels, that describes imaginary events and people.

Non-fiction  prose writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history

Periodical  a magazine or newspaper published at regular intervals.

Boolean Search  Boolean algebra, developed in 1854 by George Boole in his book An Investigation of the Laws of Thought, is a variant of ordinary elementary algebra

Copyright  the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

Fair Use  the doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.

Plagiarism  the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

Genre  a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Subject  a person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with.

Call Number  a mark, esp. a number, on the spine of a library book, or listed in the library's catalog, indicating the book's location in the library.