A Bibliometric Analysis of Research by Canadian Library and Information Science Academics and Practitioners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/cais1908Keywords:
Library and Information Science, Academic Librarians, LIS faculty, Canadian universities, Scholarly Communication, Scholarly Publishing, Bibliometrics, CollaborationAbstract
Using data from the Canadian Publications in Library and Information Science Database, this study maps the scholarly contributions of Canadian LIS scholars and academic librarians to the field of LIS and examines whether Canadian LIS research is characterized by silos. This paper examines the similarities and differences in publications, impact, topics, and publication venues between academic librarians and scholars in Canada, as well as the extent to which academics and practitioners engage in research collaborations or reference each other’s work. While there is some overlap in research topics and publication venues between LIS academics and academic librarians, the two groups appear to act as distinct research communities with distinct topical foci and publishing habits. The two groups also do not appear to engage with each other strongly, either through collaboration or citing each other’s work.
Une analyse bibliométrique de la recherche par les chercheurs et praticiens canadiens en bibliothéconomie et sciences de l'information
Résumé
En exploitant les données de la base de données des Publications canadiennes en bibliothéconomie et sciences de l'information, cette étude présente les contributions des chercheurs et des bibliothécaires universitaires canadiens au domaine de la BSI et examine si la recherche canadienne en BSI est caractérisée par le cloisonnement. Cet article examine les ressemblances et les différences dans les publications, l'impact, les sujets et les lieux de publication entre les bibliothécaires universitaires et les chercheurs au Canada, ainsi que la portée dans laquelle les chercheurs et les praticiens s'engagent dans des collaborations de recherche ou se réfèrent mutuellement dans leurs travaux. Bien qu'il y ait un certain chevauchement des sujets de recherche et des lieux de publication entre les chercheurs en BSI et les bibliothécaires universitaires, les deux groupes semblent agir en tant que communautés de recherche distinctes avec des habitudes de publication et des sujets d'intérêt distincts. Les deux groupes ne semblent pas s'engager l'un envers l'autre, que ce soit en collaborant ou en citant leurs travaux respectifs.
Mots-clés
Bibliothéconomie et science de l'information; bibliothécaires universitaires; faculté de BSI; universités canadiennes; communication savante; édition savante; bibliométrie; collaboration
References
Aria, M., Le, T., Cuccurullo, C., Belfiore, A., & Choe, J. (2024). openalexR: An R-Tool for Collecting Bibliometric Data from OpenAlex. The R Journal, 15(4), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.32614/RJ-2023-089
Babb, M. N. (2017). An Exploration of Academic Librarians as Researchers within a University Setting. ERA. https://doi.org/10.7939/R3CF9JK1W
Borrego, Á., Ardanuy, J., & Urbano, C. (2018). Librarians as Research Partners: Their Contribution to the Scholarly Endeavour Beyond Library and Information Science. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 44(5), 663–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2018.07.012
Clayton, P. (1992). Bridging the Gap: Research and practice in librarianship. In P. Clayton & R. McCaskie (Eds.), Priorities for the future: Proceedings of the First National Reference and Information Service Section Conference and the University, College and Research Libraries Section Workshop on Research (pp. 73–76). D. W. Thorpe.
Figuerola, C. G., García Marco, F. J., & Pinto, M. (2017). Mapping the evolution of library and information science (1978–2014) using topic modeling on LISA. Scientometrics, 112(3), 1507–1535. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2432-9
Finlay, S. C., Ni, C., Tsou, A., & Sugimoto, C. R. (2013). Publish or Practice? An Examination of Librarians’ Contributions to Research. Portal-Libraries and the Academy, 13(4), 403–421. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2013.0038
Genoni, P., Merrick, H., & Willson, M. A. (2006). Scholarly communities, e‐research literacy and the academic librarian. The Electronic Library, 24(6), 734–746. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470610714189
Hall, L. W., & McBain, I. (2014). Practitioner research in an academic library: Evaluating the impact of a support group. The Australian Library Journal, 63(2), 129–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2014.898238
Hildreth, C. R., & Aytac, S. (2007). Recent Library Practitioner Research: A Methodological Analysis and Critique. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 48(3), 236–258.
Hoffmann, K., Berg, S. A., Brancolini, K. R., & Kennedy, M. R. (2023). Complex and Varied: Factors Related to the Research Productivity of Academic Librarians in the United States. College and Research Libraries, 84(3), 392–427. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.84.3.392
Larivière, V., Sugimoto, C. R., & Cronin, B. (2012). A bibliometric chronicling of library and information science’s first hundred years. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(5), 997–1016. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.22645
Mongeon, P., Gracey, C., Riddle, P., Hare, M., Simard, M.-A., & Sauvé, J.-S. (2023). Mapping information research in Canada. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science / La Revue Canadienne Des Sciences de l’information et de Bibliothéconomie, 46(2), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjils-rcsib.v46i2.15568
Paul-Hus, A., Mongeon, P., & Shu, F. (2016). Portraying the Landscape of Canadian Library and Information Science Research. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science-Revue Canadienne Des Sciences De L’Information Et De Bibliothéconomie, 40(4), 332–346.
R Core Team. (2023). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/
Sauvé, J.-S., Hare, M., Krause, G., Poitras, C., Riddle, P., & Mongeon, P. (2025). Canadian Publications in Library and Information Science: A Database of Research by LIS Academics and Practitioners in Canada. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science / La Revue Canadienne Des Sciences de l’information et de Bibliothéconomie, 48(1), 45–54. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjils-rcsib.v48i1.22200
Sugimoto, C. R., Tsou, A., Naslund, S., Hauser, A., Brandon, M., Winter, D., Behles, C., & Finlay, S. C. (2014). Beyond Gatekeepers of Knowledge: Scholarly Communication Practices of Academic Librarians and Archivists at ARL Institutions. College & Research Libraries, 75(2), 145–161. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl12-398
Vakkari, P. (2024). What characterizes LIS as a fragmenting discipline? Journal of Documentation, 80(7), 60–77. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-10-2023-0207
White, B., & Cossham, A. (2017). Partnerships or parallel lines? The contributions of practitioners and academics to library and information research. Information Research-an International Electronic Journal, 22(4), 1605.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jean-Sébastien Sauvé, Madelaine Hare, Geoff Krause, Constance Poitras, Poppy Riddle, Philippe Mongeon
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
