Library and Information Sciences research
Library and Information Sciences is a subfield of Social Sciences. Science Explorer counts 35k research works in it since 1950. 21.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
In short: professional training program merging of the two fields library science and information science.
- Research works
- 35k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 7.8k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 21.9% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Topics
- 2
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +1% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Library and Information Sciences research?
On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, Nigeria and India rank highest in Library and Information Sciences. By volume, the United States and Nigeria publish the most (1.5k and 389 works in 2022–2025).
By research quality, 2022–2025
- 1 United States · #1 all time 15.2% top 10% · 1.5k works
- 2 Nigeria · #5 all time 15.6% top 10% · 389 works
- 3 India · #7 all time 10.9% top 10% · 334 works
The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.
Of 3 countries ranked in Library and Information Sciences. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.
All countries ranked in Library and Information SciencesBy volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 1.5k works
- 2 Nigeria 389 works
- 3 India 334 works
- 4 Canada 179 works
- 5 Ghana 131 works
- 6 Australia 123 works
- 7 United Kingdom 120 works
- 8 Indonesia 117 works
- 9 China 81 works
- 10 Pakistan 68 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Library and Information Sciences research?
African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (Ghana) ranks first in Library and Information Sciences on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by .
By research quality, 2022–2025
- 1 African Library and Information Associations and Institutions Ghana · Accra · #14 all time 1.0% top 10% · 100 works
The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.
Of 1 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Library and Information Sciences.
Top 100 Library and Information Sciences institutionsBy volume, 2022–2025
- 1 African Library and Information Associations and InstitutionsGhana 100 works
- 2 Charles Sturt UniversityAustralia 31 works
- 3 East Carolina UniversityUnited States 26 works
- 4 Association of Research LibrariesUnited States 23 works
- 5 Delta State UniversityNigeria 23 works
- 6 University of TorontoCanada 22 works
- 7 San Jose State UniversityUnited States 22 works
- 8 University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States 21 works
- 9 University of South CarolinaUnited States 21 works
- 10 University at Buffalo, State University of New YorkUnited States 20 works
Who are the leading researchers in Library and Information Sciences?
Among the most productive authors in Library and Information Sciences, John F. Anderson, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie and John W. Berry rank highest on the composite score.
- 1 John F. Anderson United States · #928 worldwide 2.6k citations · 101 works
- 2 Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie United States · #953 worldwide 2.6k citations · 110 works
- 3 John W. Berry Canada · #1,713 worldwide 2.2k citations · 91 works
- 4 Joseph P. Newhouse United States · #3,106 worldwide 1.1k citations · 100 works
- 5 Stephen Krashen United States · #5,128 worldwide 2.5k citations · 58 works
- 6 John Carlo Bertot United States · #5,414 worldwide 648 citations · 70 works
- 7 Blaise Cronin United States · #5,873 worldwide 529 citations · 76 works
- 8 Paul T. Jaeger United States · #6,652 worldwide 618 citations · 104 works
- 9 Charles Oppenheim United Kingdom · #7,795 worldwide 344 citations · 122 works
- 10 Michael T. Ryan Australia · #9,636 worldwide 605 citations · 88 works
Re-ranked on the composite score from the 1,513 highest-output authors in Library and Information Sciences. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.
Top 100 Library and Information Sciences researchersWhere is Library and Information Sciences research done?
The largest centres of Library and Information Sciences research in 2022–2025 are Accra (Ghana), Chicago (United States), New York (United States) and Washington D.C. (United States). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Bathurst, Accra and Abraka.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Accra Ghana 115 works
- 2 Chicago United States 49 works
- 3 New York United States 49 works
- 4 Washington D.C. United States 43 works
- 5 London United Kingdom 39 works
- 6 Ibadan Nigeria 33 works
- 7 Toronto Canada 32 works
- 8 Bathurst Australia 31 works
- 9 Port Harcourt Nigeria 30 works
- 10 Atlanta United States 28 works
Where it is the local speciality
- BathurstAU · 31.5 works60×
- AccraGH · 115.5 works57×
- AbrakaNG · 22.9 works47×
- GreenvilleUS · 25.9 works46×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Library and Information Sciences than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Library and Information Sciences?
Among universities, judged by research, Eötvös Loránd University, University of Dar es Salaam and Charles Sturt University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eötvös Loránd UniversityHungary | 64.9 | 81.4% | 9.0× | 10 | — |
| 2 | University of Dar es SalaamTanzania | 62.4 | 64.6% | 23.3× | 12 | — |
| 3 | Charles Sturt UniversityAustralia | 58.2 | 40.4% | 60.1× | 32 | -23.0% |
| 4 | Nnamdi Azikiwe UniversityNigeria | 53.8 | 17.6% | 19.9× | 14 | +232.3% |
| 5 | University at Buffalo, State University of New YorkUnited States | 53.3 | 20.0% | 12.8× | 20 | +105.1% |
| 6 | University of South CarolinaUnited States | 52.6 | 20.9% | 15.3× | 21 | +84.1% |
| 7 | University of AlabamaUnited States | 52.5 | 32.8% | 12.5× | 13 | +78.0% |
| 8 | Lead City UniversityNigeria | 52.2 | 42.3% | 47.5× | 9 | — |
| 9 | Victoria University of WellingtonNew Zealand | 51.3 | 20.9% | 12.1× | 10 | +107.5% |
| 10 | Federal College of Education, KanoNigeria | 49.8 | 6.4% | 35.3× | 14 | +419.4% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Library and Information Sciences research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 1% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2019. The fastest-growing topics are Library Science and Information Literacy and Library Science and Administration.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.