Almanac An annual publication containing a calendar and statistics about persons, places and things. It is a book of facts that focuses on information for one particular year.

Anthology A book containing a collection of short stories, poems or other forms of literature.

Alphabetical Order ABC order of a list of words.

Appendix Extra material usually found at the end of a book.

Atlas A collection of maps in a book.

Author A person who writes a book or story.

Autobiography The life story of a person written by that person.

Bibliography A list of books and other sources on a subject.

Biographical Dictionary Includes short biographical sketches of famous people in a dictionary format.

Biography The life story of a person written by another person.

Bookmark A personal list of favorite web sites that are saved on the computer.

Call Numbers The classification numbers and letters that identifies the book by subject and author.

Call Letters The classification letters that identifies a book by subject or author.

Chapter One of the main parts into which a book or story is divided.

Chronological Order This is the sequential order of material by year or time period.

Circulation Desk The place in the library where books and other library materials are checked out and returned.

Classification Number The number assigned to a book or other library materials based on a subject.

Collective Biography A collection of biographies in one book.

Copyright Date The date of publication that is given in a book or other library source.

Cross Reference A reference that directs you to another heading. It consists of “see” and “see also” references.

Dedication Page The page on which the author acknowledges other people.

Dewey Decimal Classification A system of arranging books by subject that divides the books into ten main classes with further subdivisions.

Dictionary A book in which the words are entered alphabetically and include definitions, spelling, parts of speech and pronunciation.

Easy Readers Books written for primary level readers. Also known as picture books.

Encyclopedia A book, set of books, database or CD containing information covering one subject or various subjects.

Foreword The author’s introduction to a book.

Frontispiece A picture opposite the title page.

Gazetteer A geographical dictionary.

Genre A group or collection of books with a similar theme or style. Please see the Literary genre page with definitions.

Glossary A list of definitions of special terms in a book which are usually located in the back of a book.

Guide Words Words or phrases at the top of a page giving keywords for that page.

Illustrations These are the pictures or drawings in a book.

Illustrator The artist who drew the pictures in a book.

Index An alphabetical list of subjects in a book that lists the pages on which the information is located.

Keyword A main word that represents key thoughts or concepts.

Legend A story passed down through generations believed to have an historical basis but which is not totally based on fact.

Librarian A person who organizes and operates a library. Also known as library media specialist.

Library Media Center A place where books, magazines, newspapers, CD’s, cassette tapes, videos, electronic information and other library materials are kept for reading, research or borrowing purposes.

Library Media Specialist A person who organizes and operates a school library.

Literature Written works that have lasting value or interest that includes various genres such as fiction, plays, short stories, essays and poems.

Magazine A printed collection of writing that is generally published weekly or monthly that contains stories and pictures.

Newspaper A collection of information that contains current news, opinion, advertisements and photographs that is published on a regular interval such as daily or weekly.

Non-fiction A book containing true facts.

Numerical Order Numbers arranged in order.

OPAC Online Public Access Catalog. It is the index to all the materials in the library.

Quotation Book A collection of sayings or quotes from poems, songs, speeches and thoughts expressed by various people.

Periodical A magazine or journal published at regular intervals.

Place of Publication The city in which the publisher is located.

Preface The author’s introduction to a book.

Publisher A person or company responsible for producing library materials.

Reference Source A source that contains factual information that usually remains in the library.

Research Organized and thorough search and study to locate facts on a subject.

Setting This is where the story takes place.

Spine The backbone of a book.

Story Collection Books that contain a collection of stories.

Table of Contents A list in the front of the book that contains the chapters and page numbers.

Theme The main topic or subject of a story or research report.

Thesaurus A synonym dictionary

Title The name of a book.

Title Page This page is located in the front of a book on which the title, author, illustrator, publisher and place of publication are located.

Topic It is the main subject of a story or research report.

Verso Page The back of the title page. It is also called the copyright page.

Volume One of the books of a set of books.