January 9, 2008 - Transexual* (for Transsexual)

With 29 occurrences in OhioLINK, today's word has a bit of an identity crisis, since not everyone considers it to be a typo at all. According to Wikipedia: "Some individuals may prefer to spell transsexual with only one s, thus writing transexual. They will typically assert that they are attempting to divorce the word from the realm of psychiatry and medicine and place it in the realm of identity." Although, frankly, this makes no sense to me. How does spelling it with one s make it less of a medical matter and more of an identity issue? It only seems to make it less semantically correct, since trans- is an established prefix and "tran-" isn't. At any rate, this is clearly one case in which you must consult your primary source. Whether or not you then choose to regard it as a "sic-ness" may be left to your own discretion.

(Portrait of a young Gore Vidal, author of the 1968 novel Myra Breckinridge, by Harlem Renaissance photographer Carl Van Vechten, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid

January 8, 2008 - Documet*, etc. (for Document)

Some libraries are like Will Rogers was with men: They've never met a document they didn't like. These are called "full depository" libraries. "Federal depository" libraries, of which there are 1,250 throughout the country, collect documents published by the Government Printing Office and have done so since 1813. Despite the fact that Will was a well of wit and once quipped, "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for," depository libraries are glad to get the work. There are 23 examples of Documet* in OhioLINK, depositing it in the "high probability" section of the Ballard list, which also contains the following related typos:

Docmentation
Documentaryon
Documentatation
Documentatcion
Documentatgion
Documentatin
Documentationn
Documintation
Docummentation
Doocum*

In a parting shot from Rogers, remember: "Nothing you can't spell will ever work." (Photo from the ultimate depository collection, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.)

Carol Reid

January 7, 2008 - Marraige, etc. (for Marriage)

One way to tell what kind of an accent you have is to see whether you pronounce any or all of these words the same way: Mary, marry, and merry. (Click here to take an online quiz and find out.) Marraige (with 19 occurrences in OhioLINK) and Marrige* (with 18) are "high probability" typos on the Ballard list, followed by the lesser variants Marrage* and Marrriage* (four apiece) and Maraige* (one). Mery plus Christmas serves up eight records as well, but a few of these seem to be proper Medieval or early English spellings. (Dedicated to my merry niece Mary, who is not yet of marriageable age, has an upstate New York accent, and loves trolls.)

Carol Reid

January 4, 2008 - Ethopi* (for Ethiopia)

Ethopi* appears 32 times in OhioLINK, making it a typo of "high probability" on the Ballard list. As my Ethiopian niece (adopted as a teenager) and nephew (as an infant) are both currently learning, spelling is very important when it comes to bridging cultures and otherwise making their way in the world. A much-loved and lauded children's librarian from the Albany area, Micki Nevett, passed away suddenly a couple weeks ago and a fund has been established in her name for Ethiopia Reads, a non-profit group to which Micki was devoted. The organization was founded to "improve literacy and create a culture of reading in Ethiopia, in order to bring hope, vision, and educational skills to this generation of Ethiopian children." In 2003, it established the Shola Children's Library in the capital city Addis Ababa, where the library now reports 60,000 visits a year. (Photograph of Haile Selassie, who introduced Ethiopia's first written constitution in 1931, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid

January 3, 2008 - Zoolig*, etc. (for Zoology)

Not to be cryptic, but there's zoology and there's zoology. Or, rather, there's cryptozoology. Defined as "the search for animals believed to exist, but for which conclusive evidence is missing," it covers the likes of the Loch Ness Monster and Lake Champlain's Champ; a pantherish creature resembling the animus of Simone Simon in Cat People; the Mothman of West Virginia; and perhaps most compellingly of all—Sasquatch, Yeti, or, as it's known around these parts, Bigfoot. (During a game of Scrabble, Bart Simpson coined yet another term for the Homeroid hominid: Kwyjibo.) According to a 1992 book coauthored by a coworker, there have been approximately 140 reported Bigfoot sightings in Vermont and New York State alone. I sighted 11 typos in OhioLINK for the words zoology et al., including Zoolig*, Zolog*, and Zoolg*. On the Ballard list, these typos would be considered "low probability." But still.... (Illustration from Monsters of the Northwoods, by Paul and Robert Bartholomew, William Brann, and Bruce Hallenbeck.)

Carol Reid

January 2, 2008 - Begining

Begining for Beginning is found on the B, or High Probability, section of Typographical Errors in Library Databases, meaning that it was seen at least 16 times in OhioLINK at the time of its discovery. Looking at WorldCat, we see that there is a serious chance for this typo to arrive in your catalog - more than 800 hits. The good news is that we saw a number of "sic" entries, meaning that the typo was in the original work. The bad news is that we also saw multiple cases where the typo was at the beginning of the title. From all of us on the Libtypos team, have a great new beginning for your year.

January 1, 2008 - Inforat* (for Information)

For your information, this is the Chinese Year of the Rat, and perhaps the most informative rat in all of literature was Templeton, who at the behest of Charlotte would take daily trips to the dump to score scraps of words for her to copy into her web. (Although, Kenneth Grahame's Ratty and Julia Cunningham's Andrew both spin great yarns as well.) Thus we are informed that Wilbur is "terrific," "radiant," and "humble." In other words, "Some Pig!" Here's hoping that 2008 proves equally exemplary for all of you. Inforat* is a "moderate probability" typo, appearing nine times in OhioLINK. (There are fully 11 more variations on this typo currently to be found on the Ballard list also.) Librarians, as we all know, are friends of both information and good writing, and as Wilbur says at the end of the book: "It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both." (Illustration by Garth Williams, from Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.)

Carol Reid