Academic

A study reported in 1973 based on the journal articles listed in the 1967 volume of Library Literature (4,418 journal articles in 247 journals) showed that, of 3,420 selected articles in 242 journals (excluding news and announcements about people and conferences, etc.), the 6 most frequently cited journals were as follows:

                Library Journal (incl. School Library Journal)          575 (16.8%) articles

                Publisher’s Weekly                                                    149 (4.4%) articles

                Wilson Library Bulletin                                              131 (3.8%) articles

                Medical Library Association Bulletin                           94 (2.7%) articles

                ALA Bulletin (American Libraries)                              88 (2.6%) articles

                Library of Congress Information Bulletin                   86 (2.5%) articles                (Source)

        Ibid…. showed that, of both total and selected articles, 5% of the journals produced “about 50% of the articles,” while 20% of the journals produced 80% of the articles. The bottom 50% of the journals contributed only 5% of the articles.            (Source)

        Ibid…. showed that, of the 3,420 articles, the 3 most frequently occurring subject areas were: administration (625 or 18.3% articles), literatures (401 or 11.7% articles), and professional education (290 or 8.5% articles).              (Source)

Two surveys, 1 conducted in 1973 (sample size: 300; responding: 259 or 86.3%) and then repeated in 1978 (sample size: 429; responding: 357 or 83.2%) of ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) academic librarians concerning professional reading showed thatin 1973 the average number of library journals read regularly in the preceeding 12-month period was 5.78 (95% confidence interval was 5.4 to 6.2 journals), while in 1978 the average number of library journals read regularly in the preceeding 12-month period was 5.9 (95% confidence interval was 5.6 to 6.2 journals). The average number of nonlibrary professional journals read regularly in the preceeding 12-month period was 1.0 for 1973 and 1.3 for 1978.               (Source)

        Ibid…. showed thatthe 4 most frequently read journals in each of the 2 surveys were as follows:

        IN 1973                                                              READ BY

                American Libraries                                                    90.0% of sample

                College and Research Libraries                                 86.1% of sample

                Library Journal                                                          69.9% of sample

                Library Resources and Technical Services                57.9% of sample

        IN 1978                                                              READ BY

                American Libraries                                             92.2% of sample

                College and Research Libraries                         88.6% of sample

        IN 1978                                                              READ BY

                Library Journal                                                  69.3% of sample

                Journal of Academic Librarianship                   44.0% of sample                         (Source)

A 1977 analysis of journal citations in the automation chapter of the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology for the 10 previous years (1,263 citations, 800 journal citations) showed thatthe 3 most cited journals were Journal of Library Automation (114 citations), Program (56 citations), and Library Resources and Technical Services (55 citations).               (Source)

A study reported in 1979 of the English-language literature of library administration (2,877 citations to materials cited in 364 refereed articles indexed in Library Literature between 1961-70) showed that, of 254 journal titles containing 1,149 article citations, 2 (.8%) journal titles contained 289 (25%) of the articles; 8 (3.15%) journal titles contained 575 (50%) of the articles; and 246 journal titles contined the remaining 574 articles.                 (Source)

        Ibid…. showed thatthe distribution of cited works by type was as follows:

                monographs                                   1,247 (43.3%) cited works

                journals                                         1,149 (39.9%) cited works

                governmental publications                 338 (11.7%) cited works

                miscellaneous                                    143 (4.9%) cited works                    (Source)

        Ibid…. showed thatthe 8 most frequently cited journals in the area of library administration were as follows:

                Library Journal                                    165 (14.4%) citations

                College and Research Libraries           124 (10.8%) citations

                ALA Bulletin [American Libraries]       94 (8.2%) citations

                Library Quarterly                                   50 (4.4%) citations

                Library Trends                                        48 (4.2%) citations

                Special Libraries                                     36 (3.1%) citations

                Wilson Library Bulletin                           29 (2.5%) citations

                Medical Library Association Bulletin      28 (2.4%) citations                   (Source)

A study reported in 1982 of publication and citation patterns in College and Research Libraries during the 40 years between 1939-79 and involving 1,775 articles showed thatthe 3 most frequently cited journals by articles in College and Research Libraries were (5,205 citations):

                College and Research Libraries              1,001 (19.23%) citations

                Library Journal                                          550 (10.57%) citations

                Library Quarterly                                       379 (7.28%) citations

10 journals (1.6% of the total number of journals cited) provided almost 55% of the total journal citations.                       (Source)

        Ibid…. showed that, of 11,658 citations to materials in College and Research Libraries articles, periodicals accounted for 5,205 (44.65%) citations; monographs accounted for 4,245 (36.41%) citations; and U.S. government publications accounted for 464 (3.98%) citations.                 (Source)

Dr. David Kohl

 "Libraries in the digital age are experiencing the most profound transformation since ancient Mesopotamian scribes first began gathering and organizing cuneiform tablets."

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