Research productivity of library scholars: Bibliometric analysis of growth and trends of LIS publications

The purpose of this paper is to explore, by a quantitative analysis, growth rates of, and trends in, global publications in the field of library and information science (LIS) produced by library science professionals.

A survey approach was used in this paper. Journal Citation Reports 2010 was the major source for selecting 40 LIS core journals. A bibliometric analysis was conducted. Visualization and mapping software was utilized to present a picture of the growth in and trends relating to LIS publications.

A total of 18,371 research articles were published from 2003 to 2012. A significant growth rate (11.37 per cent) was found in 2009. Self-citation tendencies have been increasing, with an average rate of 38.56 per cent. Of all publication types, “article” was the most popular among LIS researchers. China has contributed remarkably in terms of collaborative publications.

The present study could be helpful for library professionals, subject specialists and policy makers. These findings may encourage library professionals to integrate and monitor library functions through bibliometric analysis.

This paper identifies growth and trends in publications by LIS researchers through use of bibliometrics.