Next newbie question, but what is the WIF format? I tried to google it, but didn't really understand it respectiveley I am unsure. The key has 52 digits and starts with an L, if that might help you.
WIF private key - 51 characters and starts with '5'
Compressed WIF private key - 52 characters and starts with 'K' or 'L'
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.1384929Compressed WIF private key uses less space than WIF private key.
Your private key might be shown in different formats. A private key in one format can usually be converted in a different format. Not all wallets support all import formats, so if you try to import a private key into a wallet, and it doesn't work, it might be due to the fact that this particular wallet doesn't accept this particular format.
As a newbie, you can download the sourcecode of
https://www.bitaddress.org/ and run it on an offline machine, the last tab (wallet details) can be used to convert private key formats
In your case, 52 digits, starting with L => probably a WIF compressed key...
As a matter of fact, i think electrum only allows WIF compressed keys, not WIF keys (it has been a while since i last swept a wallet).
If you convert WIF private key to compressed or vice versa, you will get a different address. WIF private keys have prefix which notifies the wallet whether to use compressed or uncompressed public key.