You've probably come across these library terms before. Here's what they mean:
Article: A written composition published in a periodical. Generally speaking, articles are more narrowly focused than books.
Call Number: Each material in the library has a unique call number assigned to it that tells the user where the book is located. The Tredway Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System, so the call number will begin with letters followed by numbers (to signify the subject area of the material), and is often followed by a letter and decimal combination (for the author), with the last line typically being the publication date (for example, ML 3743 .E816 2019).
Databases: A database is an online collection of information in the full-text articles and/or citations. Databases are searchable in order to locate and sort information by topic/subject, author, title, and more.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL): A system that allows you to order books, articles, and other materials from other libraries across the country.
I-Share: A catalog of all materials held by over 80 libraries across the state of Illinois. You can use I-Share to order books that our library doesn't own.
Journal: A type of periodical that published scholarly articles.
Library of Congress Classification System: Like most academic libraries, the Tredway Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System to organize our materials. This system uses a combination of letters and numbers to arrange the materials by subject (for example, a call number that begins with M would belong in the music area).
Periodical: A publication--such as a journal, magazine, or newspaper--that is published at regular intervals, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. This on-going publishing schedule is one characteristic that distinguishes periodicals from books.
Popular sources: A popular source typically is written by a journalist for a general audience. Usually found in magazines, popular articles are brief (a few pages) and may include photographs or other eye-catching images. Popular articles do not offer the same level of in-depth research that scholarly sources do.
Primary sources: A primary source is an original material created within the cultural/historical context of the time period being studied. For example, if you are researching some aspect of the Civil War, primary sources could include: a newspaper article published during the war, the text of a speech delivered by President Lincoln, a diary entry written by a Union or a Confederate soldier, or a legal document or map or letter created during the 1860s.
Scholarly sources: This type of source is written by an academic or researcher--someone who has a background in the field and has expert knowledge on the topic. Likewise, their targeted audience is often other academics, students, or researchers. They are often published by a university press. Scholarly sources often show evidence of thorough research in the form of numerous in-text citations and a lengthy bibliography. They tend to be long (20+ pages for a scholarly article is common) and because they use technical language specific to the field, they can be difficult to read unless one has a background in subject. Scholarly sources are often peer-reviewed because they are only accepted for publication upon review by a panel of judges (other experts in the field). This helps ensure that scholarly sources are high quality, reliable, and authorities sources.
Secondary sources: A secondary source synthesizes other sources (sometimes primary sources) and offers analysis or commentary on a particular topic. Secondary sources can be primary or secondary.