Beta Phi Mu

Beta Phi Mu (also ΒΦΜ or βφμ) is an American honor society for library & information science and information technology. Founded by a group of librarians and library educators, the society's express purpose is to recognize and encourage "superior academic achievement" among library and information studies students. Beta Phi Mu now has 31 active chapters in the U.S. and abroad, continues to sponsor various publications, and funds several scholarships.^[1]

The printer's mark of Aldus Manutius, the dolphin and anchor seen here on a 1558 title page, serves as the insignia of Beta Phi Mu.

Beta Phi Mu
ΒΦΜ
Founded	August 1948; 76 years ago (1948-08) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Type	Honor
Affiliation	ACHS
Status	Active
Emphasis	Library & information science
Scope	National
Motto	Bibliothekarios philax mathesis (“Librarians are the guardians of knowledge”)
Colors	Purple and   White
Symbol	Dolphin, Anchor
Publication	The Pipeline
Chapters	31 (active)
Members	23,000 active 40,000+ lifetime
Headquarters	Beta Phi Mu Honor Society PO Box 292992 Davie, Florida 33329 United States
Website	www.betaphimu.org

History

Beta Phi Mu was founded in August 1948 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign^[2][3][4] Its founders were library educators and leading librarians.^[5] Beta Phi Mu was created as an honor society for information sciences to recognize the notable achievements within the profession.^[5] Rolland Stevens was its first president and Harold Lancour was its first executive secretary.^[5]

Beta Phi Mu held its first initiation in Illinois in the spring of 1949 at the University of Illinois.^[5] In 1954, it presented its first Distinguished Service to Library Education Award; the award became an official award of the American Library Association in 1956.^[6][7]

The oldest library honor society in the United States, local Pi Lambda Sigma founded in 1903 at Syracuse University, became a chapter of Beta Phi Mu in 1959.^[8][9]

Beta Phi Mu was admitted to the Association of College Honor Societies in 1969.^[6][4] The society becomes an affiliate of the American Library Association in 1998.^[10]

As of August 2012, ΒΦΜ had initiated 40,000 members.^[4] In 2024, it has 23,000 active members.^[5]

Symbols

The society's name comes from the initials in the Greek phrase Bibliothekarios philax mathesis, meaning "the librarian is the guardian of knowledge".^[11] Its motto is "Aliis inserviendo consumor" or "consumed in the service of others".^[5] A dolphin and anchor, the mark of Venetian printer Aldus Manutius, serves as the society's insignia.^[5] The society's colors, as signified on honor cords, are purple and white. Its publication is The Pipeline.^[4]

Activities

The society presents the Beta Phi Mu Award to a library school faculty member or an individual for distinguished service to education for librarianship. The first award was made in 1954 to Rudolph Hjalmar Gjelsness, dean of the University of Michigan's Library Science Department from 1940 to 1964.

Beta Phi Mu has a scholarship program for beginning students, members seeking continuing education and foreign study, and doctoral students.^[4] One of its main activities is the publication of its Monograph Series.^[4]

Membership

Eligibility for membership in Beta Phi Mu is by invitation of the faculty from an ALA-accredited professional degree program. Invitations are extended only to individuals who complete the requirements for a master's degree and achieve at least a 3.75 (out of 4.0) GPA; invitations are further limited to a maximum of 25% of any given graduating class. Each eligible candidate must also be recommended for election by the faculty of the candidate’s school.^[4]

Chapters

The following list indicates active chapters in bold.^[12][13]

Chapter	Charter date	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	August 1948	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, Illinois	Active
Gamma		Florida State University	Tallahassee, Florida	Active
Epsilon		University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	Active
Theta		Pratt Institute	New York City, New York	Active
Iota		Catholic University of America	Washington, D.C.	Active	[5]
Iota		University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, Maryland	Active
Lambda		University of Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	Active
Xi		University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa	Honolulu, Hawaii	Active
Omicron		Rutgers University–New Brunswick	New Brunswick, New Jersey	Active
Pi		University of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Active
Sigma		Drexel University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active
Psi		University of Missouri	Columbia, Missouri	Active
Omega		San Jose State University	San Jose, California	Active
Pi Lambda Sigma	1959	Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	Active	[8][9][a]
Beta Beta		Simmons University	Boston, Massachusetts	Active
Beta Delta		University at Buffalo	Buffalo, New York	Active
Beta Epsilon		Emporia State University	Emporia, Kansas	Active
Beta Iota		University of Rhode Island	Kingston, Rhode Island	Active
Beta Kappa		University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	Active
Beta Lambda		Texas Woman's University	Denton, Texas	Active
Beta Pi		University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	Active
Beta Rho		University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Active
Beta Phi		University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	Active
Beta Psi	June 9, 1981	University of Southern Mississippi	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	Active	[11]
Beta Omega		University of South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	Active
Beta Beta Theta		University of Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa	Active
Beta Beta Mu		Valdosta State University	Valdosta, Georgia	Active
Beta Beta Nu		University of North Texas	Denton, Texas	Active
Beta Beta Xi		St. Catherine University	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Active
Beta Beta Omicron		East Carolina University	Greenville, North Carolina	Active
Beta Beta Pi		University of Central Missouri	Warrensburg, Missouri	Active
		Alabama A&M University	Normal, Alabama	Inactive
		Brigham Young University	Provo, Utah	Inactive
		Clarion University of Pennsylvania	Clarion, Pennsylvania	Inactive
		Clark Atlanta University	Atlanta, Georgia	Inactive
		Columbia University	New York City, New York	Inactive
		Dominican University	River Forest, Illinois	Inactive
		Duke University	Durham, North Carolina	Inactive
		Indiana University Bloomington	Bloomington, Indiana	Inactive
		Kent State University	Kent, Ohio	Inactive
		LIU Post	Brookville, New York	Inactive
		Loughborough University	Loughborough, United Kingdom	Inactive
		Louisiana State University	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Inactive
		North Carolina Central University	Durham, North Carolina	Inactive
		Queens College, City University of New York	Flushing, Queens, New York	Inactive
		St. John's University	Jamaica, Queens, New York	Inactive
		State University of New York at Geneseo	Geneseo, New York	Inactive
		State University of New York at Albany	Albany, New York	Inactive
		University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	Inactive
		University of Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky	Inactive
		University of Maryland Eastern Shore	Princess Anne, Maryland	Inactive
		University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Inactive
		University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Greensboro, North Carolina	Inactive
		University of Oregon	Eugene, Oregon	Inactive
		University of Puerto Rico	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Inactive
		University of Rhode Island	Kingston, Rhode Island	Inactive
		University of South Florida	Sarasota, Florida	Inactive
		University of Southern California	Los Angeles, California	Inactive
		University of Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	Inactive
		University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	Inactive
		University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Inactive
		Wayne State University	Detroit, Michigan	Inactive
		Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo, Michigan	Inactive

1. The chapter formed from Pi Lambda Sigma, a local library honor society founded in 1903.

See also

• Honor society
• Professional fraternities and sororities