Trends in Library and Information Science Research in Africa, 1991 - 2000

Abstract

An analysis of the papers published in the African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science (AJLAIS) during the 1996-2000 period was carried out with respect to the country of submission of papers, place of professional training of authors, major disciplines covered in the profession, format of publication cited, time-span of citations and ranking of journals cited. The aim was to determine the changing pattern in library and information science (LIS) research in Africa. The findings were compared to a similar analysis carried out for papers published between 1991 and 1995. The findings reveal that more papers were published in information science and archives than the previous period and research papers focusing on continental issues diminished during the latter period compared to the previous period. Also, most of the researchers used more up- to- date publications during the 1996-2000 period than the previous period. LIS Researchers in Africa overwhelmingly cited papers published in the UK and USA, as both countries published 62% of the papers cited during 1996-2000 as compared to 50% of publications that were published by both countries during1991-1995.


(African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science: 2002 11 (2): 79-88)