Bibliographical

Bibliographical is an adjective relating to bibliography, the systematic description and listing of books and other sources. The word derives from Greek biblion, "book," and -graphia, "writing." In scholarly writing, bibliographical information is presented in bibliographies, footnotes, endnotes, and reference lists, and describes items with details such as author, title, place of publication, publisher, date, edition, and pagination. It may also include edition statements, series information, and bibliographic identifiers like ISBN, ISSN, or DOI. When used as a noun phrase, 'bibliographical' can modify notes, entries, or references, as in "bibliographical notes" or "bibliographical entries."

In library and information science, bibliographical work involves bibliographic control, cataloging, and the creation of metadata to describe sources. Standardized formats for citations, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago, express bibliographical data in consistent styles. Metadata standards, including MARC and Dublin Core, support bibliographic records used by catalogs and databases.

The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "bibliographic"; usage varies by region, with "bibliographical" more common in British and older texts, and both forms accepted in modern English. The adjective is typically applied to describe aspects of sources, references, and documentation that relate to the organization and description of published materials.