Jargon buster
Libraries are full of jargon! Some of our terminology is explained below.
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 Library 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 and Associate University Members may also apply for Campus Cards which can be activated as Library cards too.
Catalogue - A searchable list of a Library’s resources. See also Enterprise.
Call Number - combination of a subject number and words or letters indicating the shelf location of a book or periodical; 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. See Copyright.
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.
Eduroam - the Wi-Fi network available on campus and the Library - see Wi-Fi Zones for how to connect.
Enterprise - the Library catalogue. Use this to find out what books, journals and other materials we have in the Library or online. See Enterprise.
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 in our Periodical sequences. See Finding journals and Finding journal articles.
Periodical - see Journal.
Shibboleth - see 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.