Louisiana State UniversityLSU Digital Commons

Faculty Publications LSU Libraries

3-2007

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature:1994-2004Kelly D. BlessingerLouisiana State University, kblessi@lsu.edu

Michelle Frasier-RobinsonUniversity of Southern Mississippi

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/libraries_pubs

Part of the Library and Information Science Commons

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the LSU Libraries at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FacultyPublications by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact gcoste1@lsu.edu.

Recommended CitationBlessinger, Kelly D. and Frasier-Robinson, Michelle, "Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature: 1994-2004" (2007). FacultyPublications. 29.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/libraries_pubs/29

Analysis of a Decade in LibraryLiterature: 1994-2004

Kelly Blessinger and Michele Frasier

The purpose of this study was to analyze trends in publication and citationin library and information science journals over a decade (1994-2004) ofthe literature. This examination revealed the areas of concentration withinthe research, frequently published subjects through the years, and thecharacteristics of the top-cited authors and resources during this time.This information allows those in the field to follow the trends in publica-tion, gives researchers the tools to determine which journals might givetheir work the most exposure and recognition, and can help libraries tomake collection management decisions in this subject area.

itation and content analysiswithin a field of literature cangive insight into the devel-opment of a profession. An

evaluation of the content of the literaturecan determine subject trends, thus reveal-ing the major issues confronting the pro-fession at a given period of time. Citationanalysis data may be utilized for a numberof purposes: as a tool to assist librariansmaking collection and weeding decisions;as a mechanism for discovering bibliomet-ric trends; and as a way for publishers totrack the competition. Moreover, citationand content studies have been adaptedto a variety of research questions. Cita-tion studies used to examine publicationtrends in specific academic disciplines canillustrate a number of interesting currents.Haiqi's examination of three prominentbiology journals reveals that multiau-thored articles are a growing trend in thefield. In one journal studied, the averagenumber of authors per article was 7.71.In addition, the author found that the

"hot papers" (those articles receiving thegreatest number of citations) in the field ofbiology had more funding sources as wellas the participation of more institutions.1

In a bibliometric analysis of anthropologyliterature, Hider examined, among otherthings, the age of cited publications in an-thropology journals as well as the form ofcited material. He concluded that the ageof cited references is dropping, for anthro-pologists no longer feel the obligation tocite the established literature. In addition,Hider contends that, in the United King-dom, "books remain the most importantliterary form in anthropology."2

Content analysis of library and informa-tion science (LIS) research is the centraltopic of several studies. A 1988 article byAtkins reviewed a decade of the literaturefrom 1975 through 1985. His quantitativeanalysis of subject trends in LIS publishingillustrated "a heavy concentration on suchautomation-related subjects as informationretrieval, databases, cataloging, libraryautomation, technology, and research

155

Kelly Blessinger is Associate Reference Librarian in the Middleton Library at Louisiana State University;e-mail: kblessi@lsu.edu. Michele Frasier is Circulation, Instruction, and Reserves Librarian in the LinscheidLibrary at East Central University; e-mail: smccullr@mailclerk.ecok.edu.

156 College & Research Libraries

methods." 3 Likewise, Buttlar's analysisof sixteen library journals reveals that au-tomation was still a frequently discussedtopic in library literature in the late 1980s.4

Other studies focused on subject coverageas well as the methodology behind thearticles published. Examining over 800articles from 1985, J5rvelin and Vakkaridivided the literature into two groups:research articles and professional articles(e.g., reviews, discussions, bibliographies).They found that, despite this division, themost frequent subjects in both groups werethose discussing practical topics that in-volved the daily operations of libraries.5

Other articles have researched theauthorship of the literature, or studiedcertain populations such as U.S. LIS fac-ulty6 LIS professionals in Africa,7 or U.K.LIS chair holders8 to determine publicationproductivity within these groups. Severalstudies found that academic librarians aremajor contributors to the body of literature.Yerkey's examination of 855 documentsaffirms that academic librarians publishedthe greatest percentage of documents, fol-lowed by library school faculty and medi-cal librarians.' Another study on this topicfound that academic librarians produced43.6 percent (1,579) of 3,624 articles exam-ined.1" The articles previously mentionedalso note that, since academic librarians faroutnumber library school faculty, libraryschool faculty are the most productivewhen analyzed on a percentage basis.

For this study, the authors chose toinvestigate several aspects within a recentdecade (1994-2004) of LIS literature.First, the authors wished to examine whattopics were being discussed within thescholarly communications to see whatpatterns emerged over the years. Second,the authors wanted to study citation pat-terns to determine the characteristics ofthe top-cited researchers and materials.Research into the highly cited authorswould reveal the demographic of thisgroup as a whole, and the analysis of thetop-cited journals would illustrate wheth-er authors were primarily using journalswithin the field for their research.

March 2007

MethodologyThomson's Journal Citation Reports ([CR)Social Science Edition was consulted toascertain the journals of high repute withinlibrary and information science. This re-source was chosen due to the high-qualitystandards for journals indexed in Thom-son's journal citation products., Fifty-fivejournals appeared in the category of Li-brary and Information Science in the JCR in2003. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory was thenconsulted to ensure that the journals hadthe designation of Library and Informa-tion Sciences as a subject descriptor. Thiswas done to eliminate the journals thatfocused mainly on information science.Ulrich's was also used to determine that thejournals were indexed in both the LibraryLiterature and the Social Sciences Citation In-dex (SSCI) databases for the ten-year studyperiod. The twenty-eight journals that metthese criteria are listed in table 1, which issorted by impact factor. Impact factor canbe defined as "a measure of the frequencywith which the 'average article' in a jour-nal has been cited in a particular year orperiod. The annual JCR impact factor is aratio between citations and recent citableitems published.""2 The impact factor ofthe 28 journals listed in the table averaged.542. From the list of twenty-eight journals,ten journals were randomly selected by thecomputer for inclusion in this study, andthese journals are highlighted in table 1. Arandom sample of ten influential journalswas thought to be representative of thetrends of the literature as a whole duringthis time period, while also helping to keepthe study at a manageable size. The tenjournals studied reflect an average impactfactor of .604, slightly above the mean.

Each journal studied was searched bothin Library Literature and SSCI for the ten-year period of this study. Searches werelimited strictly to journal articles in thedatabases to eliminate items such as bookreviews, editorials, bibliographies, andletters to the editor. Each article's subjectsand citations were edited for consistencyand then imported into Microsoft Accessfor further analysis. If the information did

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature 157

not include all of the required fields suchas author, cited year, and source, the cita-tions were deleted. The group of deletedcitations represented a small percentage ofthe total citations. While SSCI was used todo the citation analysis, the subject analy-sis was determined using the subjects

listed in the indexing for Library Literature,as the subjects within the Library Literaturedatabase are much more detailed andconsistent than those in SSCL

ResultsA total of 2,220 articles were published in

TABLE 1Library and Information Science Journals that Met Criteria

(Those used in study are highlighted)

Title ImpactFactor 2003

Journal of Documentation 1.603

Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 1.473

College & Research Libraries 1.343

Information Processing & Management 1.179

Journal of Information Science 1.067

Library Resources & Technical Services 0.923

Library and Information Science 0.833

Library & Information Science Research 0.735

Journal ofAcademic Librarianship 0.647

Restaurator International Journal for the Preservation of Library and 0.559Archival Material

Library Quarterly 0.485

ASLIB Proceedings 0.459

Library Trends 0.440

Online Information Review 0.417

Journal of the Medical Library Association 0.408

Law Library Journal 0.326

Libri 0.312

Reference & User Services Quarterly 0.312

Journal of Librarianship & Information Science 0.294

Interlending & Document Supply 0.273

Library Collections Acquisitions & Technical Services 0.231

Library Journal 0.208

Information Technology and Libraries 0.200

Knowledge Organization 0.200

Journal of Government Information 0.086

Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 0.071

Zeitschriftfur Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie 0.069

NFD Information- Wissenschaft und Praxis 0.013

158 College & Research Libraries

the ten journals during the period of thisstudy. The journals varied considerably inhow many articles they published over thisten-year period. Library Trends publishedthe most articles (434), while Library &Information Science published the least (56).Of the articles studied, 41 percent werewritten with the help of a second author,and 13 percent were written by three ormore authors. This high collaborationrate has been noted in past studies on theliterature within the profession as well.'3 ,

1 4

A2000 article by Hart gives several reasonsfor this, such as increased quality withmultiple authorship and higher acceptancein peer-reviewed journals."5

SubjectsThe articles queried had an average ofthree subjects assigned to each article.Due to such a large number of subjectscovered, the subjects were divided into 43general subject categories. Once specificinstitutional names and personal nameswere excluded, the subjects were groupedinto five major categories. The categories(ranked by percentage of subjects that fellwithin that topic) were:

1. Library Operations (33%)2. Research in Library and Information

Science/Users (20%)3. Library/Information Science

Profession (18%)4. Technology (18%)5. Publishing/Publishing Studies

(11%)See Appendix A for the list of which

subjects fell under various categories. Thereader can tell from the results that practi-cal items are still what is highly discussedwithin the literature. As our professionchanges with new technologies, the lit-erature naturally reflects this. Most of thesubjects within the categories experiencedperiods of low and high discussion withinthe literature.

The subjects most covered withinLibrary Operations included cataloging,reference/information services, and userinstruction and education. Catalogingpeaked in 1997 with articles regarding

March 2007

automation. Traditional subjects includ-ing classification systems and authoritycontrol were also discussed frequentlyduring the study period. Other popularsubjects within cataloging that reflectedthe increase of technology that domi-nated this decade include metadata andthe cataloging of Internet Web sites. Thesubject of reference/information servicesrose from 1999 to its peak in 2001, with ar-ticles primarily on automation and virtuallibraries. Since many libraries were look-ing into or had implemented virtual chatservices during this time, this could eas-ily explain the popularity of this subject.The evaluation of reference/informationservices was a traditional topic that waspopular during this time period as well.User instruction/education rose sharplyin prevalence in the literature from 2000to 2001, with a large number of articles onbibliographic instruction geared towardcollege and university students. The bigpush toward information literacy duringthis time is most likely accountable forthis trend. Other topics that were popularwithin this subject include computer-as-sisted instruction and distance education.Due to the plethora of resources thatbecame available electronically duringthe time of this study, computer-assistedinstruction became the norm as morestudents were able to access materialselectronically and to take classes andobtain degrees from a distance.

In the category of Research in Libraryand Information Science/Users, the popu-lar topics were user studies, informationretrieval, and theoretical issues. Userstudies were popular as a research methodfor many of the articles. The studies wereprimarily conducted by surveys and usestatistics. This is consistent with findingsof an earlier study, which stated that themethods of research in library and infor-mation science are "heavily concentratedin the survey, historical, and observationand description methods."' 6 Some of themore popular topics for studies includedinformation needs, the Internet, onlinecatalogs, and serial publications. Articles

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature 159

on information retrieval reached a peakin 1999. All of the new electronic indexesand databases no doubt revived interest inhow users retrieved information throughthis new media. While there were manyarticles regarding the evaluation of infor-mation retrieval, there was also a largeportion that focused on the social aspectsof the topic. Of the theoretical topicscovered, the most popular were cogni-tion, information theory, philosophicalaspects of information science, knowl-edge management, and ethics. Academicand research libraries were the types ofinstitutions most discussed across allsubjects, particularly within the categoryof Library/Information Science Profession,followed by public libraries. Some populartopics discussed within librarianship andprofessional issues included relationswith faculty and curriculum, the statusof librarians in general--particularlyacademic librarians -philosophical as-pects of the profession, as well as variouscareers within the field. The subjects thatfell into the Technology category mainlycovered the Internet, information science,indexes and databases, and automation.The Internet, as we all know, has changedmost aspects of our profession, so it is no

surprise that it was heavily discussed dur-ing this decade. In 1994 there were veryfew articles on this subject, but researchincreased with a peak in 2001. The mostpopular topics within this subject were thedesign and evaluation of Web sites, likelydue to libraries making their Web presenceknown during this decade. Other topicsincluded Web portals and the Internetin general. Information science peakedas a subject in 1997, when the design ofinformation systems was a frequentlypublished subject. Other frequently pub-lished subjects within information scienceincluded optical data processing and opensource software. Popular topics withinindexes/databases included databases inthe humanities, databases with picturesand full-text databases. Automation wasthe one subject within technology thatdemonstrated a sharp decline during theperiod of this study. The subject was apopular topic until it peaked in 1997 andhas been decreasing in popularity sincethen. In the category of Publishing/Pub-lishing Studies, articles on serials andbibliometrics were the most common. Inserials, the most popular topic was theevaluation of serials, specifically scientificand library and information science jour-

FIGURE 1Library Operations

80

7060

:5O5CL 40

o0i

0..1

[3 Cataloging Years0 Reference/Information Services[3 User Instruction/Education

160 College & Research Libraries

nals. Escalating serial costs, particularly lication date from 1605 through 2004. Thein the sciences, forced libraries to evaluate majority of articles cited fell in the moretheir collections during this decade. For recent date range, with 62 percent of thea graphical display of the top subjects in articles cited published from 1990 to 2004.the categories, refer to figures 1-5. The top Journals with over 100 citations attributedtwenty-five overall subjects written about to them are listed in table 3. Most of thefrom 1994-2004 are listed in table 2. journals fell squarely into the subject area

of Library and Information Science, but theCitations few that did not (in order of times cited)Of the 47,389 citations listed by the journals were Communications of the ACM (Associa-studied, 19,482 (41%) were from sources tion for Computing Machinery) which iscited only once. Materials cited in articles primarily an information science publica-during the period studied ranged in pub- tion, and Science, a well-known and highly

FIGURE 3Library/Information Science Profession

45

40

,35Z1 30

025

( 0

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Years

w Librarianship/Professional Issues[3 Academic/Research Libraries

m Associations/Committees

0 Public Libraries

FIGURE 2Research in Librarianship/Users

70

60

" 50cc*) 40a.

( 30

.4. 20

.0

cn 10 111994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Yea rs

o User Studies m Information Retrieval o Library/Information Issues (theoretical)

March 2007

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature 161

regarded general science journal. This table thors are listed in Table 4. The list containsprovides information on all of the journals the authors who had more than fifty cita-that were heavily cited by the ten journals tions attributed to their work in the jour-studied, not just those indexed by SSCI, as nals queried in this study. The authors arethe JCR product provides. The result is a listed in descending order of total citationsmore complete list of what journals were to materials written by them. The readerheavily cited during this decade. should note that the number listed under

the "times cited in study" column is theAuthors number of citations that were culled fromThere were a total of 21,994 unique authors the specific journals studied for this article,cited in this study, with 69 percent of these not all journals over this time period. Whenauthors cited only once. The top-cited au- there was a tie between the authors who

[] Serials M Bibliometrics

FIGURE 4Technology

600

o

M 40C.

S30

U20

0 Jili n lifi1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Years

M Internet w Information Science 0 Indexes and Databases o Automation

FIGURE 5PublishingWPublishing Studies

60

* 50U

T 40

' 30~ 20

U) 10

01994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Years

162 College & Research Libraries

had the same number ofcitations to their workin this study, this wasindicated by a (T). The"works cited" columnindicates how many dif-ferent works were citedfor each author duringthe period of this study.As the reader can tell,the highly cited authorsare also very prolific.The average number ofdifferent works cited byauthors on this list wasforty. Although BirgerHjorland received themost citations to his workin this study (165), Ste-phen Wiberley, who tiedfor 28th place with 50 cita-tions to his work, had thehighest average numberof citations per work (4.2).The SSCI record containsthe author's address asone of its fields, so thissource was consulted tofind the affiliation of theauthors for their mostcited work. The institu-tions' Web pages werethen checked to see if theywere currently affiliatedwith that institution in2005. The top researchersare overwhelmingly af-filiated with academic in-

TABLE 2Top Subjects from 1994 through 2004

Rank Subject TimesCovered

1 Cataloging 548

2 User Studies 449

3 Internet 308

4 Serials 283

5 Librarianship/Professional Issues 279

6 Reference/Information Services 227

7 Information Retrieval 196

8 Information Science 189

9 Associations/Committees 156

10 User Instruction/Education 136

11 Indexes/Databases 135

12 Automation 134

13 Library/Information Issues (theoretical) 127

14 Academic/Research Libraries 121

15 Bibliometrics 106

16 Library/Information Issues (practical) 104

17 Administration 97

18 Collection Development 93

19 Information Needs 88

20 Public Libraries 85

21 Publishing/Publishers 82

22 Library/Information networks 77

23 Research Methodology 72

24 Literature Evaluation 71

25 Indexing/Abstracting 62

stitutions, specifically with LIS programs.It was found that most of the top-citedauthors were full professors or of high aca-demic rank at their institutions, indicatingthat they had worked in that capacity forsome time. Only a few authors fell out ofthis category. Several institutions had morethan one highly cited researcher, includingthe Royal School of Library and Informa-tion Science in Denmark, Rutgers Univer-sity, UCLA, and Indiana University. All ofthese programs except the Royal School ofLibrary and Information Science are ALA

accredited and offer Ph.D. programs inLibrary and Information Science. A ma-jority (75%) of the authors are currentlyworking in the United States, with onlyeight highly cited LIS researchers currentlyworking in other locales. The other areasrepresented include Denmark, the UnitedKingdom, and India. This is consistentwith findings from other studies, such asa 1993 article on international librarian-ship that "revealed a dominance by themore industrialized countries, whichpublished the majority of documents."' 7

March 2007

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature 163

TABLE 3Top Quartile of Journals Cited, 1994-2004

(Those listed in Table 1 are highlighted)Rank Source Times

Cited

1 Journal of the American Society for Information Science 1516

2 College & Research Libraries 1440

3 Journal of Documentation 828

4 Journal ofAcademic Librarianship 654

5 Library Journal 558

6 Library & Information Science Research 498

7 Library TRend& 454

8 Library Quarterly 4199 Reference & User Services Quarterly 407

10 Information Processing & Management 369

11 Library Resources & Technical Services 298

12 Journal of Information Science 296

13 Scientometrics 244

14 American Libraries 218

15 Information Technology & Libraries 216

16 Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 210

17 Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 201

18 Journal of Library Administration 190

19 Annual Review of Information Science & Technology 176

20 Collection Management 17321 Reference Librarian 167

22 Communications of the A CM 163

23 Research Strategies 158

24 Serials Librarian 134

25 ONLINE 133

26 Reference Services Review 131

27 ASLMB Proceedings 13128 Library Administration & Management 124

29 Library Acquisitions-Practice and Theory 122

30 Computers in Libraries 117

31 College & Research Libraries News 114

32 Knowledge Organization 114

33 Information Technology 108

34 Science 106

35 Serials Review 102

36 Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 100

TABLE 4Most Cited Personal Authors, 1994-2004 (in rank order)

Rank Author Most Recent Affiliation/Department Times WorksCited in CitedStudy

1 Birger Hjorland Royal School of Library and 165 56Information Science, Denmark/Department of Information Studies

2 Brenda Dervin Ohio State University/School of 135 52Communication

3 Carol Kuhlthau Rutgers University/School of 131 38Communication, Information andLibrary Studies

4 Blaise Cronin Indiana University/School of Library 127 65and Information Science

5 Peter Hemon Simmons College/Graduate School of 117 62Library and Information Science

6 Marcia Bates UCLA/ Graduate School of Education 105 40and Information Studies

7 Peter Ingwersen Royal School of Library and 101 43Information Science, Denmark/Department of Information Studies

8(T) F.W. Lancaster University of Illinois at Urbana- 100 58Champaign/ Graduate School ofLibrary and Information Science

8(T) Gerard Salton Cornell/Computer Science (deceased 100 521995)

9 Tefko Saracevic Rutgers University/School of 99 44Communication, Information andLibrary Studies

10(T) Eugene Garfield President and Editor-in-Chief of The 98 70Scientist/Founder and ChairmanEmeritus of the Institute of ScientificInformation

10(T) Tom Wilson University of Sheffield/The Department 98 27of Information Studies

11 David Ellis University of Wales/Information 96 31Studies

12(T) Nicholas Belkin Rutgers University/School of 92 39Communication, Information andLibrary Studies

12(T) Christine Borgman UCLA/ Graduate School of Education 92 42and Information Studies

13 Charles McClure Indiana University/School of Library 91 52and Information Science

14 Amanda Spink University of Pittsburgh/School of 81 44Information Sciences

164 College & Research Libraries March 2007

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature 165

TABLE 4Most Cited Personal Authors. 1994-2004 (in rank orderb

Rank Author Most Recent Affiliation/Department Times WorksCited in CitedStudy

15 Raya Fidel University of Washington/Information 79 25School

16 Maurice Line British Library, library consultant, 76 40editor Alexandria The Journal ofNational and International Library andInformation Issues (retired)

17 Carol Tenopir University of Tennessee/School of 73 53Information Sciences

18 S.R. Ranganathan Documentation Research and Training 72 54Center, Bangalore, India, founder,professor, and director (deceased 1972)

19 Patrick Wilson University of California, Berkeley/ 71 32School of Library and InformationStudies (deceased 2003)

20 Gary Marchionini University of North Carolina/School of 70 34Information and Library Science

21 Elfreda Chatman Florida State University/School of 66 16Information Studies (deceased 2002)

22 Michael Gorman California State University, Fresno/ 61 42Dean of Library Services at the HenryMadden Library

23 Stephen Harter Indiana University/School of Library & 60 28Information Science (retired)

24 Michael Buckland University of California, Berkeley/ Co- 59 31Director of the Electronic Cultural AtlasInitiative and Emeritus Professor in theSchool of Information Management andSystems

25 Mike Thelwall University of Wolverhampton/ School 56 30of Computing and InformationTechnology

26 John Budd University of Missouri/School of 55 35Information Science & LearningTechnologies

27 Walt Crawford Senior Analyst, RLG 53 29

28(T) Bertram Brookes University College, London/School 50 33of Library, Archive, and InformationStudies, visiting professor otheruniversities (deceased 1991)

28(T) Stephen Wiberley University of Illinois Chicago/ 50 12Jr. University Library

166 College & Research Libraries

Most of the authors listed are still activelyworking within the profession, with theexception of two who have retired and fivewho are deceased. Although LIS is still afemale-dominated profession, most of thetop-cited researchers were male, with a 75percent representation of the whole. Whilestudies indicate that men were much moreprevalent in the literature in the past, thesame studies now show that the gap isclosing in regard to gender and publica-tion. A 1999 study on the history of thejournal JASIS shows that participation infemale authorship increased over the yearsfrom 33 percent in 1955 to 43 percent in1995.11 Likewise, a 1996 article that studiedCollege & Research Libraries articles foundthat, for the first time since its publication,the number of articles primarily authoredby women equaled that of men from 1989through 1994, and the total number ofwomen authors was more than that ofmen.19 A shift in citations may soon reflectthis trend as well.

ConclusionThe analysis of LIS literature over a decadeillustrated that librarians are still largelywriting about the practical issues that facethe profession. As the issues change, ourliterature reflects these currents. Naturally,new technologies in information science,most notably the Internet, had a tremen-dous impact on almost every aspect of ourprofession during this decade. An analysisof authorship shows the highly collabora-tive nature of the profession, and citationresearch indicates that primarily journalswithin the field are used for research.Knowing which journals are highly cited

March 2007

is helpful to authors submitting scholarlywork by helping them to determine wheretheir research might have the largest useand influence. Additionally, the list willhelp them to determine which journalsmay be held in the highest regard forperformance appraisals, promotion, andtenure decisions. When used in conjunc-tion with other information such as localuse data, this could also assist libraries inmaking collection management and helppublishers track their competition withinthe field. The list of highly cited authorsrevealed whose research within the fieldwas well known and respected during thisdecade, although the demographics aredifferent from the profession as a whole.While prior studies indicate that academiclibrarians and LIS educators publish atnearly the same rate, it is clear from thedata gathered during this study that LISeducators dominate the list of authors whoare highly cited. Reasons for this differen-tial citation rate would be an interestingbasis for further study. The snapshot intime of the top-cited researchers will al-low those who wish to do studies in thefuture on the field's highly cited authors tocompare trends over time in demograph-ics such as gender, institutional affiliation,and job position. It could also serve tohelp those considering a Ph.D. in thefield to determine which universities haveprofessors who are highly cited withinthe literature. Periodic evaluation of theliterature is important because it grantsinsight into the evolution of the profes-sion by revealing the issues, resources,and researchers that are of importanceto our field.

Notes

1. Zhang Haiqi, "More Authors, More Institutions and More Funding Sources: Hot Papersin Biology from 1991 to 1993," Journal of the American Society for Information Science 48 (July 1997):662-66.

2. Philip M. Hider, "Three Bibliometric Analyses of Anthropology Literature," Behavioral &Social Sciences Librarian 15, no. 1 (1996): 1-17.

3. Stephen E. Atkins, "Subject Trends in Library and Information Science Research, 1975-1984." Library Trends 36 (Spring 1988): 633-58.

4. Lois Buttlar, "Analyzing the Library Periodical Literature: Content and Authorship," College& Research Libraries 52 (Jan. 1991): 39-53.

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature 167

5. Kalervo J5rvelin and Pertti Vakkari, "Content Analysis of Research Articles in Library andInformation Science," Library & Information Science Research 12 (Oct.-Dec. 1990): 395-421.

6. John Budd, "Scholarly Productivity of U.S. LIS Faculty: An Update," Library Quarterly 70,no. 2 (2000): 230-45.

7. L. 0. Aina and Patricia Neo Mooko, "Research and Publication Patterns in Library andInformation Science," Information Development 15, no. 2 (1992): 114-19.

8. Blaise Cronin and Elisabeth Davenport, "Profiling the Professors," Journal of InformationScience 15, no. 1 (1989): 13-20.

9. A. Neil Yerkey, "Publishing in Library and Information Science: Audience, Subjects, Af-filiation, Source, and Format," Library & Information Science Research 15 (Spring 1993): 165-84.

10. Ann C. Weller, Julie M. Hurd, and Stephen Wiberley, "Publication Patterns of U.S. AcademicLibrarians from 1993 to 1997," College & Research Libraries 60, no. 4 (1999): 352-62.

11. Thomson Scientific, "The Thomson Scientific Journal Selection Process." Available onlinefrom http://scientific.thomson.com/free/essays/selectionofmaterial/journalselection. [Accessed 5December 2005].

12. Thomson Scientific, 'he ISI Impact Factor." Available online from http://scientific.thomson.com/free/essays/journalcitationreports/impactfactor. [Accessed 18 January 2006].

13. James L. Terry, "Authorship in College & Research Libraries Revisited: Gender, InstitutionalAffiliation, Collaboration," College & Research Libraries 57 (July 1996): 377-83.

14. Ben-Ami Lipetz, "Aspects of JASIS Authorship through Five Decades," Journal of theAmerican Society for Information Science 50, no. 11 (1999): 994-1003.

15. Richard L. Hart, "Co-authorship in the Academic Library Literature: A Survey of Attitudesand Behaviors," Journal of Academic Librarianship 26, no. 5 (2000): 339-45.

16. Patricia E. Feehan, W. Lee Gragg II, W. Michael Havener, and Diane D. Kester, "Library andInformation Science Research: An Analysis of the 1984 Journal Literature," Library & InformationScience Research 9 (July 1987): 173-85.

17. Nonie Janet Bliss, "International Librarianship: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Field,"International Information & Library Review 25 (June 1993): 93-107.

18. Lipetz, "Aspects of JASIS Authorship," 994-1003.19. Terry, "Authorship in College & Research Libraries Revisited," 377-83.

Elegant Solutions for PreservationCall for a complete catalog

AN -......

Pamphlet Binders Bound Four Flap Enclosures ARCHIVAL PRODUCTSMusic Binders Archival Binders PO. Box 1413 Des Moines, Iowa 50305-1413Archival Folders Archival Boards 800.526.5640 Fax 888.220.2397Manuscript Folders AdhesivesLr_1 J m .. At. custserv@archival.com www.archival.com

Academy Folders Century BoxesNewspaper/Map Folders Record Album EnclosuresPolypropylene Sheet & Conservation Cloths

Photo ProtectorsConservation &-

Preservation Tapes archival.c )mTf

168 College & Research Libraries

APPENDIX A

Category

Library Operations

Research in Librarianship/Users

Library/InformationScience Profession

Subject

Cataloging

Reference/Information Services

User Instruction/Education

Library/Information Issues (practical)

Administration

Collection Development

Indexing/Abstracting

Acquisitions

Interlibrary Loan

Public Relations

Communications

Library Finance

Circulation

Library Staff

Disability Services

Library Environment

User Studies

Information Retrieval

Library/Information Issues (theoretical)

Information Needs

Research Methodology

Research in Librarianship

Library/Information Science Research

Librarianship/Professional Issues

Associations/Committees

Academic/Research Libraries

Public Libraries

Library/Information networks

LIS Education

Special Collections/Libraries

Archives/Preservation

Children's Libraries/Materials

Number

1,624

548

227

136

104

97

93

62

60

56

49

41

35

35

32

29

20

997

449

196

127

88

72

41

24

888

279

156

121

85

77

52

42

40

36

March 2007

Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature 169

Technology 871

Internet 308

Information Science 189

Indexes/Databases 135

Automation 134

Software 53

Electronic Publishing 52

Publishing/Publishing 560Studies Serials 283

Bibliometrics 106

Publishing/Publishers 82

Literature Evaluation 71

Monographic Publications 18

ACRL March 29-3 I 2007 in Baltimore

EthnolocfueLanguages of the WorldFifteenth Edition

edited by Raymond G. Gordon, Jr., 2005,1272 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-159-6,$8.00

The Essential Language Reference"one of the most comprehensive catalogsof languages"New York Times, July 2005

"a veritable guide to the world's ... languagesand cultures"ACRL, C&RL News Online, March 2005

"The efforts of numerous researchers result in alarge, densely packed work with concise fctsand figures."Booklist, November 2006

Visit Booth 10 at ACRL 2007 in Baltimooe tosee this exciting reference for yourself.

Enter to WIN a $25 Barnes&Noble gift card2 winners each day -Thursday and FridayAll entries through Saturday go into the -

Grand Price drawing for $ 100 S&N cardl

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: Analysis of a Decade in Library Literature: 1994-2004SOURCE: Coll Res Libr 68 no2 Mr 2007

The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and itis reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article inviolation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact he publisher:http://www.ala.org/