Bibliocaper

A term coined by George Eberhart in The Whole Library Handbook 3 (ALA, 2000) to refer to an odd or wacky event, harebrained prank, or bizarre petty crime involving libraries, librarians, library patrons, or books.

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 Biblioclast

A person who destroys or mutilates books, for one reason or another. Fortunately for bibliophiles, this form of aberrant behavior occurs infrequently.

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 Bibliognost

A person who has a profound knowledge of books, bibliography, etc.

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 Bibliogony

Of or relating to the production of books in all their forms. Synonymous with bibliogenesis.

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 Bibliographee

A person concerning whom a bibliography is compiled, as in a list of references at the end of a biographical essay or book-length biography.

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 Bibliographer

A person who describes and lists books and other publications, with particular attention to such characteristics as authorship, publication date, edition, typography, etc. The result of this endeavor is a bibliography. A person who limits such efforts to a specific field or discipline is a subject bibliographer.

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 Back Issue

Any issue of a periodical that precedes the current issue. Back issues are usually retained in a back file, which may be stored in a different location in the periodicals section of a library, sometimes converted to a more compact format, such as microfilm or microfiche. In the catalog record, the extent of the back file is indicated in the holdings statement. Synonymous with back number.

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 Backlist

All the publications on a publisher's active list that are no longer new, having been published prior to the current season. Kept in stock to meet future demand, backlist titles are often the most profitable part of a publisher's list. Also spelled back-list. Compare with frontlist.

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 Backlog

An accumulation of work that remains to be done, often the cause of delays and bottlenecks in workflow. A cataloging backlog may result when staffing is insufficient to meet the demands of acquisitions; for example, when a substantial gift is received within a short period of time. Synonymous in this sense with arrears.

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 Back Matter

The pages following the text at the end of a book on which the appendices, notes, bibliographies, list of contributors, indices, imprint, and any advertising normally appear. In scholarly works, the back matter may be considerable. Back matter is paginated in arabic numerals continuously with the text. Blank leaves may be included at the end to make up a full section. Synonymous with end matter, postliminary matter, reference matter, and subsidiaries. Compare with front matter.

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 Back Order (BO)

An order for library materials that could not be filled when originally placed because at least one of the items requested was not in stock or was as yet unpublished. Back orders are held open for future delivery, usually for a designated period of time, after which they are canceled. Synonymous in the UK with dues. See also: reorder and short shipment.

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 Back Page

The last page of an issue of a periodical (verso of the last leaf), facing the inside of the back cover. In some publications (example: Booklist), the back page is reserved for a regular column or editorial

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 Backup

In data processing, to make a second copy of an important data file in case the original is lost, damaged, or destroyed. Also refers to computer files, equipment, and procedures created and maintained specifically for use in the event of loss or failure of normal systems. In a more general sense, any strategy designed to be implemented if a preferred method or system fails.

Also, to print the reverse side of a sheet that has already been printed on one side. Also spelled back up.

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Bandwidth

The maximum carrying capacity of a line in an electronic communications network. For digital devices, bandwidth is measured in bits or bytes per second (bps); for analog devices, in Hertz (cycles per second). Bandwidth determines the amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time and is often described as narrow or broad, with broadband having greater capacity. During periods of peak use, it may also determine speed of transmission, particularly for large data files (graphics, audio, video, etc.) known as bandwidth hogs. On the Internet, the fiber-optic backbone has highest bandwidth.

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 Banned Book

A book, the publication and/or sale of which has been prohibited or suppressed by ecclesiastical or secular authority because its content is considered objectionable or dangerous, usually for political and/or social reasons (examples: The Grapes of Wrath and Leaves of Grass). Banned Books Week has been celebrated annually in the United States since 1981. Lists of banned books are available in the reference section of most large libraries. Click here to learn about the first book banned in the New England colonies (Springfield City Library). For more examples, see Banned Books Online. Compare with expurgated.

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 Barcode

A printed label containing machine-readable data encoded in vertical lines of equal length but variable thickness, which can be read into an attached computer by an optical scanner. The barcode is a Universal Product Code (UPC) issued by the Uniform Code Council (UCC). In libraries barcodes are used to identify books and other materials for circulation and inventory and to link the borrower's library card to the appropriate patron record in automated circulation systems. Click here to learn more about barcodes, courtesy of HowStuffWorks. Also spelled bar code.

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 Base Number

A class number in Dewey Decimal Classification schedules to which other numbers are appended, for example, 020 representing the library and information sciences, to which a decimal fraction may be added to indicate a subclass, as in 020.5 library and information science periodicals. Compare with base of notation.

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 Base Of Notation

The set of characters or symbols used in the notation of a given classification system. In Dewey Decimal Classification, the arabic numerals 0-9 are used (decimal notation). In Library of Congress Classification, the letters of the English alphabet are used (alphabetic notation), minus the letters O and I, which are easily mistaken for the numerals zero and one. As a general rule, the shorter the base, the longer the notation representing a given class. Compare with base number.

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 Berne Convention

An international copyright agreement creating an International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works signed in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886, ratified in 1887 by several European countries and their colonies, and revised periodically. By 1974, there were 64 signatories. The United States joined in 1988. To receive copyright protection under the Berne Convention, first publication of a work must occur in a member country. Works published in nonsignatory nations receive protection if published simultaneously in a signatory nation. Protection is for the author's lifetime plus 50 years, except for anonymous or pseudonymous works and cinematographic works for which protection expires 50 years after the work has been made available to the public. Click here to read the text of the Berne Convention, courtesy of the Legal Information Institute, Cornell University.

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 Berners-Lee, Sir Timothy (1955- )

The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Timothy Berners-Lee graduated from Oxford University in physics and worked in the telecommunications industry in England before he was granted a fellowship in 1984 at CERN, a high-energy physics lab in Geneva. In 1989, he proposed that CERN fund the development of a hypertext data system and spent the next five years facilitating the design of what quickly became a global electronic communications system. In 1994, Berners-Lee moved to the Laboratory for Computer Science at MIT, where he continued to develop Web tools and standards. Although he has received awards for his work, Berners-Lee elected not to copyright or profit from his invention because he wanted the Web to remain widely accessible. He has been quoted as saying, "You can have an idea...and it can happen. It means that dreamers all over the world should take note and not stop." In December 2003, Berners-Lee was knighted in Great Britain for his achievements, and in 2004, he was awarded the first biennial Millennium Technology Prize of 1 million euro (US$1.2 million) by the Finnish Technology Award Foundation, an independent fund supported by the Finnish government and a number of Finnish companies and organizations.

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 Best Practices

In the application of theory to real-life situations, procedures that, when properly applied, consistently yield superior results and are therefore used as reference points in evaluating the effectiveness of alternative methods of accomplishing the same task. Best practices are identified by examining empirical evidence of success. See, for example, the guideline of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) on Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices (2003). Compare with guidelines and standards.

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 Beta Phi Mu (Bφm)

Founded at the University of Illinois in 1948, Beta Phi Mu is an international library and information science honor society established to recognize outstanding scholarship and to sponsor professional and scholarly projects in librarianship. Membership is open to graduates of ALA-accredited library schools who have completed the requirements leading to a fifth year or advanced degree (M.L.S. or M.L.I.S.) with a scholastic average of at least 3.75 and in the top 25 percent of their class. An affiliate of the American Library Association, Beta Phi Mu publishes a semiannual national newsletter.

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