Library
Terms and Definitions |
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| Autobiography -- The story of a person's life written by that person. It is non-fiction. | |
| Barcode --This is a symbol made of short black lines on a label, with a number below. Barcodes are used to identify library materials. The library computer can read this code and get the information. The barcode is scanned into the computer to check-in or check-out a book. | |
| Biography -- The story of a person's life written by another person. It is also non-fiction. | |
| Browsing -- Browsing is glancing through a book or the library shelves in a casual way. We look to see if it looks interesting, if we can read it (five finger rule), if there are rips, tears, or damage to the book. We always browse through a book before we check it out. | |
| Genre -- A group or collection of books on the same theme such as Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Poetry, or Science Fiction. | |
| Adventure -- The adventure story is one that has to have something happen. There has to be action and conflict within this type of story. | |
| Fantasy -- This type of fiction has characters or settings that could not exist in life as we know it today. Characters might be magical such as dragons or animals with human characteristics. Fantasy literature usually doesn't involve modern science and technology which distinguishes it from Science Fiction. | |
| Historical Fiction -- This type of book gives a historically accurate portrayal of life during a particular time in history. They have a strong sense of place and time. | |
| Mystery -- This type of book has stories that involve a suspenseful event (often a crime of some type). The reader uses clues from the story and gradually discovers who has committed the crime to solve the mystery by the end of the story. The crime is usually solved by one of the characters in the story, which sometimes is a detective. Mysteries are fiction. | |
| Realistic fiction -- This type of book is set in present-day. Characters encounter modern day difficulties and dilemmas. Realistic fiction includes mysteries, adventure stories, humorous stories, and much more. | |
| Poetry -- Poetry books are those that include verses or poems. Poems may be humorous, serious, lyrical, or narrative (tells a story). Many poems have a rhythm and meter. Poems create imagery. Poetry books can be found in the Easy Read section or the nonfiction section. Nonfiction books have a call number of "811" (those by American authors) or "821" (those by English authors). | |
| Romance -- A story about love. Some romance novels include suspense and adventure. Romance novels are fiction. | |
| Science Fiction -- These fantastic stories include real and/or imaginary scientific discoveries, such as space travel, life on other planets, or environmental changes as part of the plot or background. They are fiction. | |