Patterns of the publishing activity in the field of the croatian academic and special librarianship: 1950-2015

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify basic quantitative and qualitative indicators of the publication activity in the field of the Croatian academic and special librarianship through the analysis of the bibliographic items listed in the Bibliography of publications in the field of Croatian academic and special librarianship 1950-2015. Methodology. A quantitative analysis was conducted by sorting, grouping, and summarizing bibliographic data in order to determine publication patterns, chronological distribution of publications, number of authors, their affiliations, etc. A qualitative analysis was performed by coding and classifying publications into eight thematic categories to describe both the publications’ overall and chronological thematic orientations. Findings. The papers published in the national journals and conference proceedings were identified as the preferred mode of publishing (81%). Approximately a third of the articles was published in Vjesnik bibliotekara Hrvatske, the key national library science journal. A considerable share of articles (29%) was published by the specialized journals in the fields other than library and information sciences. This could be a proof that the academic libraries are embedded in the special information environments of their parent institutions. A half of the conference papers was published in the National Days of the Academic and Special Libraries proceedings. Thematic orientation of both the papers published in the journals and in the conference proceedings was similar. Dominant topics were library and information-service activities (23%), bibliographic control (17%), scientific communication analysis (17%), and library history (17%). The themes of professional development and lifelong learning were minimally represented (1%). The number of papers has been growing steadily since the 1980s, with dominance of single author papers (67%). The authors affiliated to the academic libraries wrote 31%, special libraries 23%, and the National and University Library in Zagreb 24% of the total number of papers. The valuable original contributions to the library and information sciences were also made by the master’s (66%) and doctoral theses (34%). Research limitations. The thematic analysis was based on the titles of the bibliographic items only, which could present a limiting factor. Value. This is the first comprehensive study examining the publication output in the field of the Croatian academic and special librarianship. The results can be a useful starting point for further analysis.