Analyzing the Library Periodical Literature: Content and Authorship

Abstract

haring information in the library profession is largely dependent on the library periodical literature. The advantages of the journal include its currency, its capability of addressing many and varied topics, and its ability to disseminate widely the findings of investigations of major problems or specific aspects of them.1 It is also an important means of helping to close the gap between researchers and practitioners.2 The proliferation of library literature is evidence of the growing maturity of librarianship. Norman D. Stevens points out that library publishing evolved slowly in quantity and quality from an emphasis on bibliographies and other "tools of the trade" to materials of a more scholarly nature ''designed for use by librarians and information scientists in the performance of their professional duties and in their professional education and development. '' 3 The profuse, rich, and diverse body of literature that now exists can be attributed to several factors. One, of course, is the requirement of library and information science faculty to publish in order to receive tenure and career advancement. Some writers suggest that the increased trend toward faculty status for academic librarians is partly responsible; others argue that some libraries provide a work environment that encourages experi- Lois Buttlar is an Assistant Professor at the

Library and information science research areas: Analysis of journal articles in lisa

“…Hence, in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the emphasis was placed on aspects such as the technical and automation process (Buttlar, 1991;Feehan, Gragg, Haverner, & Kester, 1987;Jarvelin & Vakkari, 1990;Jarvelin & Vakkari, 1993;Nour & Peritz, 1985) and greater importance later on being given to research connected with information storage and recovery through catalogues and library databases (Koufogiannakis & Crumley, 2006;Tsay, 2004). Other spheres such as library cooperation, the use of surveys, and user training stand out in the present study.…”

Publication Patterns of U.S. Academic Librarians from 1998 to 2002

“…19 Although the overall trend is clear, successive volumes of a given journal do not always have a greater proportion of coauthored articles nor do all journals fit the trend. For example, Zemon show that in 1995 and1996, coauthorship 24 Seen in the context of those studies, the 41.09 percent of the present article is above the historic range. Perhaps one can a ribute the higher percentage to the present study's restriction to refereed articles.…”

An Analysis of Articles by College Librarians

“…6 She con cluded that academic librarians, not li brary and information science faculty, accounted for the major share of publica tion activity, that the Northeast and Mid west contributed the largest share of au thors, and that there were almost an equal number of articles written by men and women. Looking exclusively at articles published in C&RL from 1989 to 1994, James L. Terry noted a significant increase in the number of articles published by female authors, as well as dramatic growth in collaborative authorship.…”