Jargon buster

Learning resource centres are full of jargon! Some of our terminology is explained below.

LRC words explained

Abstract - a summary covering essential points in an article or book.

Article - a paper published in a periodical or journal. See Finding journal articles.

Bibliography - A list of books, articles and other materials.

Campus Card - A plastic card given to students on joining the University. This multi-function card acts as your LRC card, an out-of-hours access card to some PC facilities, and may be used by your department or hall for other purposes. For some functions you will need to use your PIN with your card.

Staff may also apply for Campus Cards which can be activated as LRC cards too.

Catalogue - A searchable list of the LRC's resources. See Catalogues.

Call Number - combination of a subject number and words or letters indicating the shelf location of a book or journal; eg a book on psychology 150-GAR.

Copyright - protects an author from the illegal reproduction of their work; ie there are legal limits on how much you can photocopy from one book or periodical.

Database - an electronic resource usually giving references to articles, books and other sources of information in a specific subject area. Some offer full-text. See Databases A-Z list

Enterprise - the LRC catalogue. Use this to find out what books, journals and other materials we have in the LRC or online. See Catalogues.

Holds - reservations on books on loan to other users. See Placing & cancelling a hold using Enterprise.

Institutional login - a system used to control access to e-books, e-journals and databases. Selecting 'University of Reading' from a list of institutions allows you to login with your University username and password. See also Shibboleth.

Journal - a publication issued at regular intervals, usually with volume numbers and dates; also called periodicals, magazines or serials. Shelved separately from books.

Periodical - see Journal.

Shibboleth - a protocol used to pass information about people to e-resource suppliers which allows you to login to our e-books, e-journals and databases via the Institutional login. See also Institutional login.

Summon - our discovery service. Search it to find online journal articles, books and much more! See Summon.

University Username - a code supplied when you start at the University to allow you to access University PC facilities, email and network file space.

Wi-Fi - a common term used to describe a Wireless network connection.