Table of contents A listing of contents/chapters of a publication, usually found at the front of the book, journal, or magazine. Thesaurus A list of subject headings or descriptors used in a particular catalog or database. A thesaurus identifies the terms used by the database from among possible synonyms. Truncation (see also: Wild card) A shortened version of a search term. In some databases the root of a word with a wild card symbol will retrieve all variations of the root word. Some databases provide truncation (‘stems from’) as a search option. URL Uniform Resource Locator is the address of a site on the Internet/World Wide Web. Vertical file A library collection that contains pamphlets, brochures, flyers and newspaper clippings arranged by subject. Vertical files are usually contained in file cabinets. Virtual library An electronic library accessible through the Internet. Wild card (see also: Truncation) A symbol, often ? or *, used to substitute for a letter or letters in a search word or phrase. A wild card symbol within a word usually indicates that a single letter may be replaced (wom*n would retrieve both women and woman in a search). A wild card symbol at the end of a word expands the possibilities to several replacement letters (child* would retrieve results containing children, childhood, childish as well as child.) Wikipedia An online information resource that encourages users to update, expand and/or correct its contents. World Wide Web (www) (see also: Internet) A part of the Internet accessed through a graphical user interface and containing documents often connected by hyperlinks.