Local impact of books: A comparison of libcitations from research-oriented and public libraries

Abstract

We explore the potential of libcitations from local research-oriented and public library catalogues for a study of the societal and cultural impact of books authored by academics from the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). The study relies on data from the bibliographic database VABB-SHW, the Flemish public library catalogue Cultuurconnect, and the Belgian research library catalogue UniCat. We find that whereas a majority of academically authored SSH books appear in research-oriented libraries, the holdings in public libraries are limited. However, libcitations in public libraries are indicative of societal and cultural impact, particularly for books written in the domestic language (in this case Dutch) and books that are not primarily aimed at academic peers (and are not peer-reviewed). Additionally, we find that the books held in local libraries include different genres and dissemination types, as SSH scholars contribute to the creation of societal and cultural impact in a variety of ways. An overview of the types of books attaining high scores in public and research-oriented libraries showcases avenues for the creation of societal impact through popularized literature.