A one-paragraph description, often written by the author(s), at the beginning of a journal article or other document. Compare with Annotation.
A unique number or combination of letters and numbers assigned to each record in a database.
An acronym for American Library Association.
Alma is a library management system (LMS). It will be replaced by FOLIO on December 16, 2025. Also see Library Management System.
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.
An acronym for Association of College and Research Libraries.
An acronym for Associated Press news organization, the authority on the AP Stylebook for professional writers and editors.
An acronym for American Psychological Association, the authority on APA style for citations and documenting research.
An acronym for Association of Research Libraries.
The 14-digit number on a sticker on the back cover or in the beginning or end papers of a library book. Most barcode numbers for Coastal library books begin with the numbers "50663" and are used to record checking out, returning, and renewing library books and other items.
A bibliography is a list of citations for books, periodical articles, articles in books, theses, and other materials. Published bibliographies on specific subjects are often found at the end of articles and entries in reference books. The presence of a bibliography is one of the signs of scholarly work as opposed to a popular work, for example. Bibliographies may also be labeled References, Reference works, Further reading, or Notes.
See Operators.
An alphanumeric code for finding print materials in the library. Materials in Coastal and most academic libraries are organized on shelves by subject using the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. (Many high schools and public libraries use the numeric Dewey Decimal System.)
LC uses letters and numbers to assign unique "call numbers" for each item. Think of call numbers as addresses. They are included in item records in GIL-Find, the library's online catalog.
The database for all of the items found in the library. It's sometimes referred to as the OPAC, which stands for online public access catalog. The catalog at College of Coastal Georgia is called GIL-Find, however, it will be replaced by Locate in December 2025. The catalog is online and can be used to find books at Coastal's libraries and at other USG libraries. The catalog also includes Coastal's digital resources, such as materials in GALILEO databases. Each item in the catalog has a bibliographic record with information about the author, subject, genre, summary, and location. (A "card catalog" is a piece of furniture with small drawers filled with cards. The cards are the records for materials in the library collection.) Also see Locate.
The service desk where books and other materials are loaned or charged out to library users. Library materials which do not circulate (reference books, items on Course Reserve, and periodicals, for example) can be used within the library.
Information which fully identifies a publication: a complete citation usually includes author, title, name of journal (if the citation is to an article) or publisher and place of publication (if to a book), and date. Page numbers, volume and issue numbers, and other information are included in a citation. Citations to online sources may contain URLs. There are several citation styles. Examples include APA, MLA, and Chicago.
The institutional repository for the College of Coastal Georgia. It provides the means to share archived content such as research, creative works, publications, and teaching materials created by Coastal students, faculty, staff, and affiliated contributors. See Repository.
A selection of specific books, periodical articles, videotapes, and other materials that faculty have set aside for a particular course. These materials are often the faculty members' personal copies, but they are cataloged and kept together in one area at the Circulation Desk. These materials circulate for two hours inside the library. These materials cannot leave the library. Course Reserves also may be available online as e-Reserve documents.
A collection of information arranged into individual records to be searched by computer.
See Record.
This cataloging term describes a part of an item record used for a particular category of data such as the title, author, format, etc.
A document created by an archivist describing a specific collection of records in an archive. It includes information about the acquisition and history of the collection (its provenance), how the material is arranged, and an inventory, all to help users determine whether the content is relevant to their research.
FOLIO is an acronym which stands for Future of Libraries is Open. FOLIO is an open-source library management system (LMS). FOLIO will replace Alma owned by Ex Libris, the college's current LMS, on December 16, 2025.
GALILEO (always all caps) is an online library portal to more than 100 databases. It is an initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Some databases are subscription-only, but GALILEO also includes free databases. Our institution is part of a consortium that shares resources, making access to these databases more affordable.
An acronym that stands for GALILEO Interconnected Libraries.
A resource-sharing service for libraries within the University System of Georgia (USG). Use GIL Express to request eligible circulating books and other materials online in the library catalog or in person (walk-up service) at your local USG institution.
See Catalog.
An acronym for Georgia Library Association.
An acronym for an annual conference called Georgia Library Instruction, Teaching, and Reference.
A library user may place a hold on a book charged out to another person. This is a request to be next in line to receive the book when the book is returned.
A set of fields in the catalog in serial (newspaper, journal, or magazine) records. It shows which years and volumes of that serial are available in the college's collection. Records for multi-volume books also contain a holdings field.
Interlibrary lending (ILL) provides access to books that cannot be found in Coastal's collection and are not available at other USG institutions. Journals, journal articles, and book chapters also may be requested through ILL. Questions? Check with a reference librarian.
A numeric commercial book identifier that is printed on a book, usually on the back as a barcode. The ISBN number also can be found on one of the first pages of a book along with information about the author, publisher, publication date, copyright, etc. An ISBN is usually 13 or 10 digits.
Searching for the occurrence of a word within or across many fields in a database. The "All Fields" search in our catalog is based on keyword searching.
An integrated system that allows libraries to efficiently manage circulation, acquisition, cataloging, etc. Library management systems and "library services platforms" (LSP) often are associated with academic libraries. College of Coastal Georgia and other institutions in the University System of Georgia use Alma, which will be replaced by FOLIO in December 2025. Public libraries might refer to them as "integrated library systems" (ILS). Evergreen which is used by most public libraries in Georgia, is an example of an ILS.
The library catalog at College of Coastal Georgia. Locate will replace GIL-Find in December 2025. The catalog is online and can be used to find books at Coastal's libraries and at other USG libraries. The catalog also includes Coastal's digital resources such as materials in GALILEO databases. Each item in the catalog has a bibliographic record with information about the author, subject, genre, summary, and location. Also see Catalog.
Films, tapes, disks, and other audio-visual materials that require the use of special listening or viewing equipment.
An acronym for Modern Language Association, which is the authority on MLA style for citing sources and documenting research. Also, an acronym for Medical Library Association.
Books. They may be in print format or online--ebooks. To find monographs, search the catalog.
An acronym for "optical character recognition," also called "text recognition," is technology that converts printed image files into digital, machine-readable, editable text. It's what turns a scanned image into a searchable text document.
An acronym for Online Public Access Catalog. It is synonymous with the word catalog, a database of the library's collection.
Words such as AND, OR, and NOT that combine search terms to broaden or narrow the results of a keyword search. Combining terms using operators is sometimes called Boolean searching. See the Research Paper Basics guide to learn more.
Peer-reviewed or scholarly publications present and/or report on original research. They are written by experts in their fields and include specialized terminology and structure that might include an abstract, literature review, methodology, results, analysis, and conclusion. The authors are often affiliated with colleges and universities, or other institutions, and their credentials are explicitly stated. The audience includes scholars, researchers, or students pursuing degrees. Peer-reviewed or scholarly publications undergo a review of content for accuracy, methodology, and relevance by a panel of experts.
Publications that are issued at least twice a year, including journals, magazines, and newspapers. Current periodicals are those which have recently arrived and are usually kept on the shelves next to the Juvenile Collection. Bound periodicals are back issues that have been sent to the bindery, covered with a binding, and placed in the mobile or compact shelves near the Quiet Zone. Records for periodical titles may be labeled as serials in our catalog. Many periodicals are available online in GALILEO databases. Find both print and ejournals in the ALL JOURNALS list in the catalog and on the GALILEO homepage. (Also see Peer-Reviewed Publications, Serials, Trade Publications, and Popular Publications.)
Periodical indexes are searchable databases of articles which have appeared in journals, magazines, or newspapers. They cite the author, title, name of periodical, volume, pages and date of publication. They often include abstracts--brief summaries of the content of the article--and links to the full text of the article online. Examples include MLA Bibliography, BIOSIS, and EconLit. These online databases are available in the in the Databases section of the Library's web site and also through records in our Catalog. Some specialized indexes that are not online are available in the library's reference collections in print.
A permanent static hyperlink to database content, whether referring to items in the library catalog, GALILEO, or other external databases. Permalinks typically can be found near other database tools such as the citation tool, email option, etc.,
Popular publications are written to inform and/or entertain general audiences. They are written by journalists, generalists, or non-experts, however, experts might be interviewed and quoted. These publications have an informal structure, general vocabulary, eye-catching graphics and photographs, and advertising.
Records and original documents that are created or witnessed/experienced concurrently or contemporaneously with an event. Examples include letters/correspondence, speeches, diaries/journals, creative works (paintings, photographs), interviews, news articles/footage, original research, data sets, and relics or artifacts. (Also see Secondary Sources and Tertiary Sources.)
An acronym for the Regents Academic Committee on Libraries, an academic advisory committee for the University System of Georgia.
Library users may place recalls on books charged out to other people. The people to whom the materials are charged are notified by email that another library user wants the book. Recalled books must be returned within a short period of time, usually one week.
A collection of related data, arranged in fields and treated as a unit. The data for each article in an online database makes up a record. The complete information for each item in our catalog is also a record.
A department within a library where you can find librarians, reference assistants, and a collection of reference materials to help you with your research needs. Help is available in person at the reference desks, by e-mail, by phone, and on chat reference.
A selection of online and printed library materials used by reference librarians to help people find information during research. Reference collections contain many sources of information, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, directories, or statistical compilations. They may also have bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts. Printed reference materials have REF in the Call Number, and usually do not leave the library.
An extension of the loan period for charged library materials. Renewals may be handled in person at the circulation desk, by phone, or by logging into your library account.
Also see Coastal Scholar Repository.
See Peer Review.
Second-hand information -- often presented as summaries, reviews, analyses, or critiques --created after an event. Examples include biographies, book reviews, commentary, textbooks, literary criticism, and research studies. (Also see Primary Sources and Tertiary Sources.)
Publications that appear more or less regularly--daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or biennally. Newspapers, journals, magazines, and almanacs are all examples of serials.
The arrangement of shelves that house the library's physical collection.
Tertiary sources identify, locate, index, digest, and synthesize primary and secondary sources. Examples include encyclopedias, factbooks and almanacs, dictionaries, bibliographies, textbooks, and research guides. Also see Primary Sources and Secondary Sources.
Publications for specific professions, industries, and trades. They are written by journalists or the authors may be experts or scholars about a particular profession or industry. The audience includes practitioners within the professions or industries, use jargon or terminology, and have advertising for products and services associated with the professions/industries.
Truncation is typing a special symbol at the end of a word to retrieve all possible endings of that word. Wildcards add the possibility of searching for variant letters or spellings within a word (wom?n retrieves woman and women, for instance). If you wish to use truncation or wildcards in our new Catalog, See the Research Paper Basics guide to learn more.
An acronym for the University System of Georgia, which includes the state institutions.
See Truncation.
Gould Memorial Library
College of Coastal Georgia
One College Drive
Brunswick, GA 31520
(912) 279-5874
Library Hours
Camden Center Library
College of Coastal Georgia
8001 Lakes Blvd / Wildcat Blvd
Kingsland, GA 31548
(912) 510-3332
Library Hours