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The Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) aboard the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) has provided the first full-sky linear polarization survey in the near-infrared, at 1.25 $\mu$m, 2.2 $\mu$m and 3.5 $\mu$m. A set of 41 weekly averaged maps include the linear Stokes parameters Q and U and their uncertainties for sky pixels measuring 0.35$\deg$ on a side. These data are best applied to studies of diffuse radiation, principally the zodiacal light. Polarizations of point sources should be derived from the DIRBE time-ordered data file, which includes calibrated intensities for all the polarization and total intensity channels, at a time resolution of 0.125 sec. This presentation describes the DIRBE polarization data products, with emphasis on the advantages and limitations of DIRBE polarimetry for studying the polarization of the diffuse sky and of point sources.
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$^*$ The NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is responsible for the design, development, and operation of the COBE mission. Scientific guidance is provided by the COBE Science Working Group. GSFC is also responsible for the production of the mission data sets. The data products are available from the National Space Science Data Center.
