Public vs. Not Public

I am having trouble determining what the differentiation between "public" and "not public" actually means. It appears that when I make an item or collection not public, it is still viewable on my live site. Am I wrong in assuming it shouldn't be visible?

Thank you,
Adrienne

Adrienne,

Are you still logged into the admin panel when you are viewing your public theme? Try logging out and then viewing the public site. Non-public items should be hidden from view.

Tom