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Research Process for ESL Students: Locations/Vocabulary

When you enter the front doors of the Gumberg Library you are on the 4th Floor of the building, the main floor of the Library

4th Floor

This is not a quiet study floor

  •   Circulation Desk - Borrow and return materials; pay fines
  •    Reference Desk - Get  research help from a reference librarian
  •    New books shelves
  •    Newspapers
  •    Popular books
  •    Public access computers (27 total, 4 for quick look-ups and printing only)
  •    Room 408 (A flex-tech classroom)
  •    Printers (3)
  •    Scanner (Free. You need a flash drive to use it)
  •    Microfilm reader
  •    Photocopiers
  •    Vending machines
  •    Change machines
  •    Campus phone
  •    Rest rooms

5th floor

This floor is partially a quiet study floor

  • Curriculum Center - An education library within the library.
  • Color printer in Curriculum Center ($1.00 per page)
  • Bound journals
  • DVDs
  • Musical CDs
  • Music book collection, including scores
  • Mac computers (4), with scanner
  • Printer
  • Interlibrary Loan Department
  • Study space
  • Study carrels
  • Rest rooms

3rd Floor

This is a quiet study floor

  • Book collection, call numbers A-J
  • Study carrels
  • Fr. Edmund Supple Room/Spiritan book collection
  • Rest rooms

2nd Floor

This is a quiet study floor

  • Book Collection, call numbers K-Z
  • Study carrels
  • Graduate student study room
  • Hailperin Collection
  • Rest rooms

1st Floor

This is a quiet study floor

  • Oversize (large) book collection
  • Bound journals
  • Duquesne dissertations
  • Microfilm cases
  • Phenomonology Center
  • University Archives

Librarians and other library staff have words they use among themselves (a professional "jargon" or "vocabulary") which is often confusing to those not familiar with how libraries in the United States work. Below is a list of words commonly used in libraries and their definitions.

Librarian: The professional who answers questions in the library.

Borrow or check out: To take home library materials for a short time.

Catalog: A database listing what the library owns or can access, for example, books, journals, DVDs, music CDs. Our catalog is called QuickSearch.

Circulation Desk: The place i the library where you can borrow or check out library materials.

Due date: The date you return the library materials.

Renew: Request a book for an additional amount of time.

Fine ($) or late fee: Money you might owe for not returning books and other materials on or before the due date.

Reference materials: Materials like dictionaries and encyclopedias that give answers to questions.

Reference desk: Where you go to ask research questions of a librarian.

ebooks: Electronic books that can be accesses anywhere.

Periodicals: Materials like magaInes, newspapers, and journals.

Duquesne ID: The number you can use to renew library materials.

Title: Name of the book, newspaper, movie, etc.

Subject: What a book or other material is about..

Author: The writer of the book.

Databases: Where you can find articles and other materials online.

Course Reserves: Items that your teacher either keeps for you to read in the library or puts online.

Browse: To look around the library or a collection.

Spine: Side of the book. It often has a unique call number.

Call number: Like the address of a book, it is the number that tells you where a book is located.

      The Way to U.S. Citizenship   Call number: JK1758.H57 (academic libraries)

      The Way to U.S. Citizenship   Call number: 428.6 HIR (public libraries)

Ask A Librarian: A link on the library website where you can ask for help.

Guides to Research: A helpful link on the library website with different guides to research in different subjects.

EZ-Borrow: Where you can request books from other libraries.

ILLiad: Where you can request materials like articles that the library doesn’t have.

QuickSearch: The Gumberg Library catalog, the database listing what the library owns or can access