What Is the Near-IR/Optical Background Trying to Tell Us?

The near-IR/optical background (NIRB) contains a wealth of cosmological information, both in its absolute flux level and in its fluctuation spectrum. Careful measurements provide information about the integrated spectra of unresolved galaxy populations over cosmological volumes, constraining galaxy evolution models as a consequence. Two particular observational features, a ~1μm Lyman break and a fluctuation excess on arcminute spatial scales, may be the imprint of sources from the era of reionization (EoR). A significant component of the NIRB is also intra-halo light from faint galaxies. Recent progress in dissecting the background into its constituent components will be reviewed, as well as upcoming missions that aim to better answer the question of whether EoR sources are significantly present in the NIRB. Ancillary science about the solar system (via zodiacal light studies) also results form careful NIRB measurements. Data come from a diverse set of observations: the Spitzer SEDS survey, the HST CANDELS fields, TeV blazars, and the CIBER rocket mission.