UWL Library glossary: library terminology explained

Abstract: A brief summary of a journal article, which provides an overview of the research and its purpose.

Academic credit: An indicator of the amount and level of learning.  

Academic level: The relative complexity, depth of study, and learner autonomy required in relation to a module in the context of its discipline. Each module shall be assigned a level from the following scale:  

• Level 3: Foundation or pre-degree level  
• Level 4: Introductory  
• Level 5: Intermediate  
• Level 6: Final  
• Level 7: Masters  
• Level 8: Research level  

Academic Skills Workshops: Workshops provided by the Study Support Team, covering topics related to study skills and academic writing (such as planning assignments, essay writing, and organising your studies). See the study support webpage for further information. 

Academic year: A period running from 1 August to 31 July. The years of study of most undergraduate courses follow academic years, and policies and regulations are normally written by academic year.  

Accessibility: Support provided to enable disabled users to access and use Library facilities, resources and services.  

Advanced search: A search feature which allows you to perform a more detailed search, such as by including or excluding certain words or factors from your search (eg type of resource or publication date). 

Advanced standing: Prior, certificated study from another institution deemed equivalent to the University modules from which exemption is sought.  

Alternative formats: Resources produced in a different format to make them accessible for students with visual impairments, specific learning difficulties or other conditions that make accessing printed material difficult. If agreed with your Wellbeing Adviser, alternative formats can be requested for any essential reading book on your reading list, and we will normally be able provide you with an electronic copy of the book. You can find further details about alternative formats via our library services for disabled students page, including a request form, on the library homepage. 

APA (American Psychological Association): Referencing style used within UWL for Psychology and other related subjects. 

Appendix: Additional material provided at the end of a piece of writing. 

Apps Anywhere: Allows you to access your UWL desktop apps from home. Go to the Apps Anywhere page, log in with your student ID and password and then download and install the AppsAnywhere Cloudpaging application. For more information, you can also follow the instructions on the Apps Anywhere help page.

Article: A paper published in a journal. 

Assessed coursework: Coursework that students are required to complete and submit, and which contributes in whole or in part to module marks and awards.  

Assistive Technology: Equipment or software which enables disabled students to access resources or services independently and effectively. Learn more about the assistive technology via our library services for disabled students page available at UWL. 

Automated loans return machine: Located in the entrance area of the Paul Hamlyn Library, this machine allows you to return your books quickly and easily. Simply feed them in to either of the two slots and wait for the machine to recognise the item and print out a receipt.

Average mark: The weighted average of a student’s performance, calculated in accordance with the regulations for the award, on which the classification of the award is based. It is rounded to the nearest whole number.  

Available: Shows that an item is currently on the Library shelves and can be borrowed. 

Award: Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate certificates, diplomas, bachelor’s degrees, and undergraduate and postgraduate Masters degrees. The awards offered by the University are detailed in the Academic Regulations.

Back issues: Previous editions of a journal. 

Bibliographic details: Details of a resource required in order to include the reference in your reference list and bibliography (as an example, for books this includes author, title, edition place of publication, publisher and date of publication). 

Bibliography: A list presented at the end of a piece of academic writing, providing details of all resources quoted, paraphrased or referred to in the work, as well as other resources you have read as part of your research but have not cited in your work. 

Blackboard: UWL's Virtual Learning Environment. It is the online home for your studies where you can access all relevant content relating to your modules, including learning materials, discussions, grades and more. 

Book collection service (Paragon): Library Services provides a book collection and delivery service to the Second Floor Social Learning Space at Paragon. You can request books using an online request form, and these will be delivered to Paragon (timings vary depending on the day the request is placed, and whether the book is coming from the Paul Hamlyn Library or the Reading Campus Library). You can also return books via a self-service returns machine and book bin in this area. Find out more about the book collection service at Paragon. 

Book return bin: A container located near the self-service kiosks at the Reading Campus Library and Paragon where books should be placed after they have been returned.

Boolean searching: A method of searching that uses the words AND, OR and NOT as operators to link keywords in a logical way to include or exclude certain terms. 

Borrower number: The number beginning P... on your student ID card. 

Box of Broadcasts: An off-air recording service with an archive of over 1 million films, TV and radio programmes aired on UK terrestrial channels since 2007. Learn more about accessing and using Box of Broadcasts.

Calendar year: A twelve month period. Many Masters courses run for a full calendar year, which may cross two academic years.  

Catalogue record: An entry for an item on the Library catalogue which provides all relevant information about the item, including the title, author or editor, publisher, place and date of publication, availability of the item and how to access it. 

Charges: An amount of money owed to the Library, relating to overdue loans or lost or damaged items. Find out more about charges on our your library account, borrowing and renewals page.

Circulation: The process of borrowing, renewing and returning books. 

Citation: An in-text reference to a source, which should provide basic bibliographic details so that the reader can identify the full reference information in the reference list and bibliography. 

Cite Them Right: A comprehensive online referencing guide that helps you to cite and reference resources you use in your assignments. Access the Cite Them Right website.  

Classification: The process of using a specific system to arrange items within the Library according to their subject. 

Classmark: The number on the spine label of an item, which corresponds to its subject. This number is then used to arrange items on the Library shelves. For example, The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell has the classmark 378.170281/COT. 

Compensation: Compensation of failed academic credits is a measure to reduce the need for referral assessment (i.e. resit or retake) where the student has demonstrated academic ability through passing requisite number of academic credits and achieving certain average mark.  

Copyright: Part of the Intellectual Property family, providing legal protection for a creator of a work. 

Core module: A module that must be taken and passed to meet requirements for progression or award.  

Course: An approved and validated combination of modules leading to an award by the University of West London.  

Current issue: The most recent edition of a journal. 

Group study area: Area of the Library which can be used for collaborative group work. 

Group study room: Rooms at the Paul Hamlyn Library and the Reading Campus Library which can be used for group study purposes. Some rooms can be booked in advance. Learn more about group study rooms via our library services at the Ealing site page.

Harvard Cite Them Right: The referencing style predominantly used within UWL for most courses.

Index: An alphabetical list of topics provided at the end of a book to allow you to locate relevant pages or sections. 

Induction: An introduction to the Library, its resources, and services, to enable you to make the most of these during your studies at UWL.

Information desk: Service points at both the Paul Hamlyn Library and the Berkshire Institute for Health Library where you can get advice and support on all aspects of using the Library and its facilities. 

Information literacy: The information literate person identifies knowledge gaps, can find, appraise and make balanced judgements about information, and curate and use it in an ethical and inclusive manner to attain increased understanding, competency, expertise, autonomy, and creativity. Your Subject Librarian will deliver information literacy training.

Instructional book: A book that explains step-by-step how to perform certain tasks or processes. 

Inter-Library loans: A loan of a book or article from another library, if the item required is not accessible within the UWL collections. Have a look at our Inter-Library loans guide for further information and details of how to submit a request. 

Invoice: A charge added to a user's account to cover the cost of replacing an item that has been overdue for 28 days. 

Issue (noun): A copy of a journal containing a particular set of articles. 

Issue (verb): To borrow an item from the Library.

Missing: An item that cannot be located on the Library shelves. A decision on whether to purchase a replacement copy will be made by the relevant Subject Librarian. 

Mitigating circumstances: Circumstances that are outside a student’s control which may have an adverse impact on a student’s ability to undertake or complete an assessment so as to cast doubt on the likely validity of the assessment as a measure of the student’s achievement.  

Module: An approved block of teaching and learning leading to the award of academic credit and forming part of a course of study.  

Module assessment: Assessment of the performance of a student on a module. This may include a variety of elements and forms, including coursework, dissertations, practical assignments and exams.  

Module mark: The overall module result. This may be an aggregate of marks from several elements of assessment, which may be weighted. 

Monograph: A book that covers a specific subject area in detail. 

Multi-Functional Device: Allows you to print, photocopy or scan, and are available at both the Paul Hamlyn Library and the Reading Campus Library. These can be used for black and white or colour printing, in both A4 and A3 sizes. 

Multimedia resources: Resources such as music and sound recordings, films, TV and radio programmes and podcasts, which can be accessed online via the Library. Learn more about multimedia resources via the library resources & e-resources page.

Non-renewable loan: An item which can be borrowed until the end of staffed opening the following day if borrowed on Monday to Thursday. On Fridays to Sundays, they are issued until the end of staffed opening on Monday. These loans cannot be renewed.

Notional study hours: The number of hours required to complete an academic credit, module, or course.

One-week loan: The majority of Library items can be borrowed for one week, and are automatically renewed for an unlimited period of time. 

Online resources: Resources which can be accessed via the Internet, also known as e-Resources, including e-Books, e-Journals, databases and multimedia resources. The library resources & e-resources page provides further information. 

Open Access: Research outputs that are accessible free of charge online. Our What is Open Research page provides further information. 

Open Athens: Healthcare students studying pre-registration courses at the University of West London with an NHS placement element are entitled to have access to the Core Content electronic resources provided by the NHS, for the duration of their course. This is in addition to the electronic resources provided by UWL itself, and is separately administered by means of an Open Athens account.  Opens Athens accounts allow access a range of high quality information online, such as healthcare databases.

ORCID: Stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID. If you are a researcher, your ORCID ID is a unique alphanumeric code which identifies you, throughout the course of your career, as the author of your work. You can find further information on our support for research page.  

OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities): Referencing style used within UWL for Law. 

Overdue item: An item which has not been returned to the Library by its due date.

Overdue notice: An email sent to you to remind you that items you have borrowed are overdue for return to the Library. Up to three notices will be sent, with the final notice containing an invoice for the cost of replacing the item.

SCONUL Access: SCONUL stands for the Society of College, National and University Libraries. The access scheme allows you visit other academic libraries within the UK. Find more information about SCONUL Access on the using other libraries and SCONUL access page, including how to apply. 

Secondary referencing: Referencing a source in your work that has been referred to or quoted in a resource that you are reading.

Self-service kiosk: Machines which enable you to borrow and return items. There are self-service kiosks at the Paul Hamlyn Library, the Reading Campus Library and Paragon. 

Serial: An item published at regular intervals in a series. In libraries, the term usually refers to an academic journal. 

Shelf number: Information displayed on a label on the spine of an item in the Library, to help you locate the item. The numbers (classmark) tell you which shelf the book is on, while the letters (suffix) allows you to find the book by following the alphabetical sequence of suffixes within the number. 

Silent study area: An area of the Library for users to work individually in silence. Those using the space should be respectful of the need for as little noise as possible. 

Status: A section of an item's record on the Library catalogue which tells you whether an item is available to borrow, or if it is currently on loan. 

Study room: A bookable room which can be used for individual or group study. Rooms can be booked by using the 'My Timetable' tile on the Student Portal. Find out more about the study rooms available on the library services at the Ealing site page.

Study Support Team: Offer workshops and 1:1 sessions covering topics related to academic writing and study skills. The team can also provide maths and English language support. Find out more about the Study Support Team on the study support page.

Subject guides: Online guides related to your course which contain useful information about using the Library and provide details of recommended resources to support your studies. Find your subject guide by selecting your School and Subject from the list. 

Subject heading: A set term recognised by a database which corresponds to a search word and which is linked to all research papers on that particular area. 

Subject Librarian: Each UWL course has a Subject Librarian assigned to it. Your Subject Librarian can assist you with any enquiries you have about finding relevant resources and referencing these in your assignments, as well as providing subject specific support and information literacy training. The team also order, purchase and manage resources recommended by teaching staff to help support their students. Find further information about your subject Librarians on the library staff page, including their contact details, on the Library website. 

Support Space: An area located on the 2nd Floor of the Paul Hamlyn Library, where you can get advice about academic writing, essay planning, note-taking, finding, critically evaluating and using information sources, Harvard referencing and IT support. Find further information about the support space on the library contact and help page.

Textbook: Contains the principles of a subject area to enable you to learn and understand your topics. 

Thesis: An extensive piece of academic work which presents the results of original research undertaken as part of a PhD or professional doctorate. 

Threshold mark: A specified minimum mark normally prescribed by a Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body that must be obtained in one or more elements of assessment in order to pass a module. This is in addition to, and distinct from, the requirement to achieve a pass in the module mark to pass the module.  

Trial resources: New e-resources initially available for a limited period of time in order to check how they work and to obtain student feedback. Learn more about trial resources on the library resources & e-resources page.

Username: Your Student ID number (not your full UWL email address). This is required to access online Library resources. 

University: The University of West London, unless otherwise specified.  

UWL Archive: Holds and maintains the historical records of the University, as well as managing and preserving the Heathrow Archive collection. Learn more about the UWL Archive on the University of West London Archive page.  

UWL Repository: An open access archive which contains the research, scholarly and enterprise output of UWL staff and PhD students. You can find further information, including guidance on making deposits, on the How Open Research practices can increase impact page.

VLE Books: A supplier of e-books, which can be accessed online either on campus or remotely.

Wellbeing Adviser:  If you have a disability, you can book an appointment with a Wellbeing Adviser who can discuss any additional support you may need. In relation to Library services, this can include extended borrowing periods, a book fetching service, use of assistive technology and use of the alternative formats service.