Glossary of Library and Computer Terms
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- abstract
- Summary of an article, book, or other written publication.
- acquisitions
- Materials which are bought for the libraries, or the department
of the library which buys materials.
- address
- A way to identify an Internet resource. The following are examples
of different Internet addresses: an electronic mail address
consult@unm.edu, a gopher server address - gopher.,
a web server address - www.wyla.org
- aix
- At some locations, aix is a Unix computer service you can log into to access
electronic mail and other Internet programs. It requires an
account name and password.
- AOL - America Online
- America Online is a commercial service to access the Internet.
Software is loaded onto a DOS, Windows, or Macintosh microcomputer.
A fee is paid.
- archie
- Archie is a program to locate files (including documents
and programs) that are stored in anonymous FTP servers over the
Internet.
- archive
- An archive stores files, such as documents and programs, to be
retrieved later. An archive site, such as an anonymous ftp site
may allow other people to retrieve the files stored there.
- archives
-
Public records or historical documents, or the place where such
records and documents are kept.
- ASCII
- American Standard Code for Information Interchange
- A standard that enables computer files and text, such as
electronic mail messages, to be used on many different systems.
Generally thought of as the characters typed from a keyboard,
such as letters, numbers and standard punctuation found in English.
Word processing programs can usually save files in an ASCII or
binary (their default) format.
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- bang
- The exclamation point character! For brevity people pronounce
"!" as the word "bang".
- baud
- A unit of measure, one signal per second, usually used to measure
the speed of a modem. For example 300 baud means 300 bits per
second (bps). Note, however, that at higher modem speeds one signal
can contain more than one bit, so a 9600 baud modem is not limited
to 9600 bps.
- BBS - Bulletin Board System
- A BBS is a computer bulletin board system, this service provides
it's users with electronic discussion groups. It usually allows
users to copy files from and to the bulletin board. Some do not
require a fee or special software to access it, others do.
- bibliographic citation
-
The information which identifies a book or article. Information for a
book usually includes the author, title, publisher, and date. The
citation for an article includes the author, title of the article,
title of the periodical, volume, pages, and date.
- bibliography
- A list of books, articles, or other sources (interviews, films)
on a particular subject. Bibliographies may be found at the end of
books or articles, or may be separate publications.
- binary
- A format or type of file, containing non-ASCII non-printable text.
A word processing file, such as one written and saved in WordPerfect or
MSWord, is a binary file and should be viewed from the word processing
application. When transferring binary files with an application, such
as FTP specify that the file should be transferred in binary.
- bindery
- Books that need repair and periodicals are sent out of the library
system and are not available to users.
- BinHex
- A common file format for Macintosh computers that enable a binary
file to be transferred as an ASCII file. For example, take a Macintosh
word processing file and run it through a binhex program, the file
is then renamed with a .hqx extension. The file can be sent to
anyone over electronic mail, the recipient saves the file and
runs it through an "un-binhex" program. The recipient now uses
the file in it's original form.
- bookmark
- A feature available in some computer programs, such as gopher and
Netscape, that enables you to quickly go to an Internet address
without having to type the address. A shortcut method to access
Internet resources.
- bounce
- A bounced mail message, a term applied to an electronic mail message
when it is not able to be delivered.
- bound
-
Refers to several issues of a periodical which are joined together
under one cover.
- browser
- A program that usually runs on a microcomputer that enables you
to view files. Often used in conjunction with the World Wide Web,
such as the Mosaic, Netscape or Lynx browser, which enables you to
access Internet servers and view Web pages.
- BTW
- an acronym meaning "By the way". BTW can be written in upper or
lower case text.
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- call number
-
A group of letters and numbers given to each item which is used to
arrange materials in the library The Library of Congress System (LC
call number) is normally used for academic institutions (the Wyoming State Library also uses this classification); an example: DG 270 B86 1994
- cascading style sheet (CSS)
-
A way of rendering the style of a web page from multiple sources with a defined order of precedence where the definitions of any style element conflict.
- CD-ROM - Compact-Disc Read-Only
Memory
- A method of storing information or data.
- CERN
- CERN is the "Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire" which is
French for the "European Particle Physics Laboratory" located in
Geneva. CERN is the birthplace of the World Wide Web project, which
is based on a proposal from Tim Berners-Lee.
- charge out or check out
-
The process of borrowing materials to use outside the library. This
is done at the circulation desk. A student/faculty/staff ID card is
required.
- circulation desk
-
Also frequently called circ, the area to check out library
materials.
- citation
-
Same as bibliographic citation
- claimed
-
Notification that a periodical was not received as expected.
- client or client software
- A computer program or software that requests information from a
server computer. Software responsible for interacting with a
user, such as displaying data and accepting keyboard or mouse
input. For example one way to view web pages is to use the Netscape
client program from a microcomputer, Netscape interacts with a
world-wide-web server.
- CMS
- CMS is an acronym for Conversational Monitor System. It is
an operating system found on IBM mainframe computers, once you
log on or access the CMS system you type in type in CMS commands.
- course reserves
-
Materials that instructors set aside for the students in a class to
read. These items may be borrowed for a short period and have very
high fines.
- cumulative index
-
An index in which several previously published indexes are combined
into one book.
- current periodical
-
The most recent issues of a journal or magazine, often published
during the last year, which have not been bound.
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- daemons
- Special small programs that perform specific tasks. A daemon may
run all the time "watching" a system or they may "wake up" when a
task needs to be performed. For example the program that wakes up
to deliver a mail message, or a file to be printed. When a mail
message cannot be delivered you may receive a message from the
mailer daemon.
- database search
-
A database search is performed by using a computer system to list
journal article citations on a subject. There is often a fee
charged to the patron when a reference librarian searches a
commercial database at the request of the patron.
- depository
-
A library which receives the publications of a government. The
University of Wyoming is a depository for publications of the
U.S. Government, and the State of Wyoming.
- dialup or dialup line
- A communication line, usually a regular telephone line. Your
computer and modem dials a phone number to access another
computer system.
- digest
- A single file or mail message that contain many individual messages
or postings. Often used in conjunction with a mail list or Usenet
newsgroup.
- domain
- The Internet is set up hierarchically, the last part of the address
tells the type of general category, for example:
.COM - commercial, .EDU - educational institution usually in the
U.S., .GOV - U.S. Government, .NET - Internet Operations, .ORG -
non-profit organization. Also there are many 2 letter country
code designations (.UK for United Kingdom, .CA for Canada, etc.)
- dot
- The period character. For brevity people say dot, for example,
a common ending for an electronic mail address at Florida State University is fsu.edu,
people pronounce that as "fsu dot edu".
- download
- To move a copy of a file from a multi-user system or a server
to your microcomputer or your computer account.
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- E-mail or Electronic Mail
- A service that enables a message to travel electronically to a
destination.
- ethernet
- A network specification developed by Digital Equipment Corporation,
Intel and Xerox that theoretically allows data to travel at 10 megabits
(million bits) per second.
In general, a microcomputer on the network, has an ethernet
card with a cable that is connected to the CDCN, the Campus Data
Communication Network, and is on the Internet.
Ethernet enables a microcomputer to access other computer systems
and networks without a modem.
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- FAQ
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Throughout the Internet FAQs are listed which contain
questions and answers to frequently asked questions. They are
found on web pages, FTP sites, and Usenet news or other electronic
discussion groups.
- FTP
- File Transfer Protocol
- FTP allows one to transfer one or more files from one computer
on the Internet to another. Files may contain documents or programs,
and may be ASCII text or contain BINARY data.
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- GIF
- Graphical Interchange Format
- A format for a file that contains a graphic or picture. Files
that use this format usually have the suffix .gif as part of their
name. It is often pronounced with a soft g sound, "jiff", or
with a hard g sound.
- gopher
- A computer program created by the University of Minnesota to
access local information files or those found over the Internet.
The program gives the appearance of a menu driven system.
It's name is derived from the University of Minnesota's mascot
the Golden Gophers as well as a play on the words to "go for"
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- hold
-
A hold guarantees that when a book is returned to the circulation
desk it will be saved for you.
- holdings
-
The group of items included in a library.
- homepage
- A document you access from a World Wide Web browser, such as
Netscape, mosaic, or lynx. It usually denotes the main document
in a series of related documents.
- hot list
- A term that refers to a list of bookmarks, or list of sites you have
set up to enable you to quickly return to an Internet site you
have visited. Usually used with web browsers, such as Netscape.
- HTML - HyperText Markup Language
- A language used to define web pages. A document for the World
Wide Web contains HTML tags or instructions, to alter the way the
document appears.
- hypertext
- A hypertext document contains links or pointers to other documents.
You follow a link to another hypertext document and can return
to the first document.
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- index
-
A list of subjects, names, titles, etc. that helps you to locate
information. A periodical index lists articles by subject or author. A
book index is a list at the end of a book which gives pages numbers
where names and subjects can be found in the book.
- Interlibrary Loan - ILL
- A way to get materials owned by other libraries.
- internet/Internet
- An internet (lowercase) is a term meaning a group of connected
networks, a building can contain an internet. With an uppercase
I, it means the World Wide computer network based on the TCP/IP
protocol, and all resources connected to it. The Internet contains
but is not limited to World Wide Web, gopher and ftp sites.
- IP number
- Internet Protocol number, each resource connected to the
Internet has a unique Internet number, such as 129.24.8.1
- ISDN - Integrated Services
Digital
Network
- A special type of phone line used for voice, data, or voice and
data at the same time.
- ISP
- Internet Service Provider
- An ISP provides access to Internet services.
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- journal
- A publication which has scholarly information, usually written by
professors, researchers, or experts in a subject area., and not
intended for the general public. See magazine.
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- kermit
- Kermit is a communications program that runs on many different
computers including Macintosh and DOS. It can instruct a
microcomputer to dial a modem where the user can then log into a
Unix computer system and read electronic mail. Kermit is not a
windows program, so commands given via a computer mouse do not work.
It takes input from keyboard commands. It makes a microcomputer
emulate or act like a vt100 terminal.
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- Library of Congress Subject Headings
-
Special vocabulary, or subject heading that can be used to find
information in a card catalog or online catalog.
- Listserv®
- A listserv facilitates the functions of electronic distribution
lists. These mailing lists can focus on any type of discussion,
for example one list may be dedicated to discuss a particular
software package or a list can enable electronic discussion of a
particular group or committee. Members of a listserv generally
subscribe by sending an electronic mail message to a special
account name. Correspondence is generated by sending mail to the
listserv address and it is then redistributed as an E-mail
message to all list members.
A listserv can be set up for local use, to be used at one
institution, or global use, across the Internet.
LISTSERV® is a system that allows you to create, manage and control electronic mailing lists on your corporate network or on the Internet. Since its inception in 1986, LISTSERV® has been continually improved and remains the predominant system
in use today. LISTSERV® is a program by L-Soft. ().
- Lynx
- Lynx is a program to access the World Wide Web. Lynx is a web
client program (or software) that requests data from a Web server.
It does not have any graphics capabilities, meaning you can not
view graphics or images, but one can view text from web pages.
It is useful as a way to access the Web from home when you do not
have a fast modem.
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- manuscript
- A handwritten or typed composition, rather than printed.
- microforms
-
Microfiche (4 by 6 inch cards) and microfilm (a roll of film);
printed items which have been reduced in size by photographic
methods to save space.
- MIME - Multipurpose Internet Mail
Extensions
- A format that allows you to send an non-ascii file, such as a
WordPerfect document within a mail message. Pine, with the
Attachment feature, uses the MIME format.
- modem
- An abbreviation for modulator-demodulator. A modem
is the device that enables a microcomputer or terminal to
communicate over a telephone line to another computer or to a
computer network. It may require software for it's use.
- monograph
- A book.
- mosaic
- Mosaic is a program, usually installed on a microcomputer,
to access the World Wide Web. It is a web client program (or
software) that requests data from a Web server. It is
graphical software, meaning it can display images and graphics,
uses scroll bars and mouse activity.
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- netfind
- Netfind is a tool to help find people and institutions on the
Internet. Because the Internet is so vast and in constant flux, it
is often difficult to find specific individuals even with the
netfind service.
- Netscape
- Netscape is a program, usually installed on a microcomputer,
to access the World Wide Web. It is a web client program (or
software) that requests data from a Web server. It is
graphical software, meaning it can display images and graphics,
uses scroll bars and mouse activity.
- news
- News software refers to Usenet news, please see Usenet news.
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- online database
- A computerized file, within a Library setting it often contains
periodical indexes.
- online searching
-
- Using an off-site computer system to find periodical citations on
a subject. There is often a fee charged to the library user.
- OPAC - Online Public Access
Catalog
- The electronic card catalog system, or computer you connect to when
you look up Library resources, such as books.
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- page
- On the World Wide Web a page refers to a Web document, regardless
of how large it is.
- periodical
- An item which is published on a regular basis, such as journals,
magazines, and newspapers.
- PINE - Program for Internet News and
Mail
- Application primarily used to send, read, and manage email at
Florida State University.
- POP - Post Office Protocol
- POP is a protocol for delivering electronic mail.
- PPP - Point-to-Point-Protocol
- Protocol used over dialup lines. From a microcomputer and modem,
when connection to a PPP telephone dialup line is made, it gives the
functionality of a direct ethernet connection. It enables a Web
browser, such as Netscape, to be accessed over a phone line.
- Program Manager
- Program Manager is the standard software that runs on an IBM
compatible microcomputer that is running "Windows". To run
the Mirada software, you need a microcomputer with the Program
Manager, just running the non-windows DOS system is not enough.
- Protocol
- Protocol is an expected set of commands or behavior. For example,
when you talk to someone, it is usually expected that you greet them.
For computers, a protocol is a set of instructions that a piece
of software or hardware is expecting. If instructions are not given
correctly then the desired task will not be done.
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- QWS3270
- QWS3270 is telnet software from the Mirada package useful for
connecting to IBM mainframe systems. It enables a microcomputer to
emulate an IBM 3270 type of terminal, complete with function keys.
This package gives necessary functionality to a microcomputer
when using an IBM mainframe, that other telnet packages, such as
WinQVT, does not have.
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- reserves
-
Same as course reserves. Other materials may also be kept on reserve.
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- search
-
If a book is not on the shelves and it is not checked out, you may
place a request at the circulation desk for one of the library staff
to try and find the book and hold it for you.
- Serial
-
A publication which is intended to continue indefinitely. This
includes periodicals such as magazines, journals, newspapers, and
books such as almanacs and yearbooks which come out every year.
- Server
- A server is responsible for performing tasks as directed by a
client, such as accessing data, performing calculations and then
provide data or a response to a client. For example the www.univcolo.edu
Web server provides documents to Web clients.
- SLIP - Serial Line Internet
Protocol
- A protocol that gives a microcomputer the capability to perform
ethernet-type functions without a direct ethernet connection or
ethernet card, but with a phone line and modem.
- subject heading
-
The specific word or phrase used to find a book or article on a
specific topic in a catalog or periodical index.
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- TCP/IP - Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol
- The underlying method of communication between applications on the
Internet. If you are connected to the Internet and can use
programs such as Netscape directly on your microcomputer, then your
computer "speaks" the TCP/IP protocol. With the Mirada package,
this is done with the Trumpet Winsock package.
- telnet
- A program used to connect to a computer system over a network. In general, telnet provides the user with a "terminal" session so work, such as reading your electronic
mail, or accessing WyldCat to look up books, can be performed.
- terminal/terminal emulation
- A terminal is a piece of hardware that when connected to a network
allows you to interact with some computer systems, such as a Unix
or IBM mainframe system. Before microcomputers were created,
terminals were the primary method used to interact with a mainframe
computer. Some common terminal models include a VT100 and IBM 3270.
Terminal emulation is software that makes a computer, such as a
microcomputer, perform like a terminal. Nowadays it is more
common to use a microcomputer with terminal emulation, rather
than an actual terminal to connect to mainframe systems.
- Trumpet Winsock
- Trumpet Winsock is the part of the Mirada software package,
running under Windows on an IBM compatible microcomputer, that
provides TCP/IP or PPP network functionality. It must be in
place for the other parts of Mirada to function.
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- Unix
- Unix is a popular computer system found across the Internet. In
general, at UNM, after people access CIRT's Unix system with a
username and password, they can type commands, such as pine or gopher,
to get work done.
Unix is a multi-user system meaning many people can access it at
one time. At UNM, Unix systems store electronic mail, run a gopher
server and web server. The LIBROS computer is also a Unix system.
- URL
- Universal Resource Locator
- A URL is a way of identifying or addressing Internet resources.
URL's exist for specific files, or is used to identify ftp,
gopher, news, and Web servers.
For example (web server) http://www.unm.edu,
(gopher server) gopher://gopher.unm.edu.
For additional information reference the document "A Beginners's
Guide to URLs", at
,
or the CERN document "WWW Name and Addresses, URIs, URLs, URNs"
- Usenet News
- Usenet News, sometimes called usenet or just news, is a
large collection of discussion groups, covering a wide range of
topics. These electronic newsgroups are available
internationally, and some are created that are restricted to
local use. A main advantage of Usenet news or mail lists
is that postings do not clutter up your electronic mail box, but
rather you access it by reading a public "bulletin board" type of
system.
The major broad topic categories of news groups include:
COMP (computer related), REC (recreational/hobby), SCI
(relating to established sciences), SOC (social issues), TALK
(debating lots of issues)
NEWS (relating to Usenet), ALT (alternative - very strange), GNU
(relating to GNU software), and
MISC (everything else)
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- veronica
- Very Easy Rodent
Oriented Network Index to Computerized
Archives
- Veronica is a gopher tool to locate gopher menu entries.
- vertical file
-
A collection of pamphlets, newspaper clippings, or other small
published items.
- volume
- A number of issues of a periodical, usually a year.
- vt100
- A popular terminal model (hardware) made by Digital Equipment
Corporation, which can be used with many computer systems over the
Internet. Some software expects keyboard entry from a vt100 or a
system that can emulates (or acts like) a vt100
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- WAIS
- Wide Area Information
Servers
- WAIS is a software program where documents in full text databases
can be searched, viewed, printed, and sent as electronic mail.
- Windows
- Windows is software that typically runs on IBM compatible
microcomputers, before the Windows 95 system, it ran "on top of"
DOS. Since many Internet applications incorporate or use a
graphical presentation, people tend to be happier running
Internet applications under Windows, rather than just DOS.
- WinQVT
- WinQVT is part of the Mirada software package. It is a
Window's version of telnet that works well when accessing a Unix
or VMS multi-user computer system.
- WinZip
- WinZip is part of the Mirada software package, it compresses and
decompresses computer files for ease in transferring to other
computer systems.
- WYLD
- WYLD (Wyoming Libraries Database). The WYLD Network works
cooperatively to provide library services to all citizens of Wyoming. The Wyoming
State Library manages the WYLD system in consultation with the WYLD
Network members. WYLD is made possible by federal, state and local funding
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- yahoo - reputed to mean "Yet Another
Hierarchically Organized Oracle"
- Specifically the URL:
A commonly sited web page that lists by subject many Internet sites.
This is the result of the original owners, David Filo and Jerry Yang,
of a project to consolidate their Internet hot lists. A very useful
Internet tool.
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