Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books
Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books is a research topic within History. Science Explorer counts 11k research works in it since 1950. 10.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers covers a wide range of topics related to the history, production, distribution, and impact of books and publishing. It includes studies on ancient and medieval texts, the development of the publishing industry, the materiality of texts, historical libraries, cultural transmission through books, and the intellectual history associated with printed materials. The cluster provides insights into the evolution of written communication and its influence on societies throughout history.
- Book History
- Publishing Industry
- Materiality of Texts
- Historical Libraries
- Cultural Transmission
- Printed Books
- Manuscript Studies
- Bibliophilia
- Book Trade
- Intellectual History
- Research works
- 11k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 1.2k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 10.3% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +2% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books research?
By volume, Spain and Mexico publish the most (685 and 174 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Spain 685 works
- 2 Mexico 174 works
- 3 Argentina 150 works
- 4 Italy 113 works
- 5 France 98 works
- 6 United States 89 works
- 7 Brazil 55 works
- 8 Colombia 44 works
- 9 Chile 43 works
- 10 United Kingdom 33 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 Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Universidad Complutense de Madrid publishes the most Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books research, followed by Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Universidad de Salamanca.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Universidad Complutense de MadridSpain 83 works
- 2 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMexico 55 works
- 3 Universidad de SalamancaSpain 34 works
- 4 Universidad de SevillaSpain 31 works
- 5 Universitat de ValènciaSpain 28 works
- 6 Universitat de BarcelonaSpain 28 works
- 7 Universidad de ValladolidSpain 27 works
- 8 Universidad de ZaragozaSpain 26 works
- 9 Universidad Nacional de La PlataArgentina 22 works
- 10 Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaSpain 21 works
Who are the leading researchers in Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books include Walter Benjamín.
- 1 Walter Benjamín France 1.3k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books research done?
The largest centres of Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books research in 2022–2025 are Madrid (Spain), Mexico City (Mexico), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Barcelona (Spain). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Salamanca, La Plata and Valladolid.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Madrid Spain 196 works
- 2 Mexico City Mexico 86 works
- 3 Buenos Aires Argentina 59 works
- 4 Barcelona Spain 50 works
- 5 Seville Spain 43 works
- 6 Valencia Spain 42 works
- 7 Salamanca Spain 37 works
- 8 Santiago Chile 29 works
- 9 Valladolid Spain 28 works
- 10 Zaragoza Spain 27 works
Where it is the local speciality
- SalamancaES · 37.2 works59×
- La PlataAR · 22.9 works51×
- ValladolidES · 28.2 works50×
- CórdobaAR · 20.7 works44×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books?
Among universities, judged by research, Universidad de Zaragoza, Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Universidad de Extremadura 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 | Universidad de ZaragozaSpain | 48.3 | 23.0% | 42.8× | 26 | +114.0% |
| 2 | Universidad Complutense de MadridSpain | 38.4 | 11.0% | 66.9× | 83 | +33.1% |
| 3 | Universidad de ExtremaduraSpain | 38.0 | 28.8% | 33.6× | 11 | -10.0% |
| 4 | Universidade de Santiago de CompostelaSpain | 37.7 | 18.2% | 36.7× | 18 | +56.0% |
| 5 | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMexico | 37.2 | 15.9% | 34.7× | 55 | -21.9% |
| 6 | Universitat de ValènciaSpain | 35.9 | 13.5% | 33.5× | 28 | +62.0% |
| 7 | Universidad de MálagaSpain | 35.8 | 16.5% | 27.3× | 14 | +126.7% |
| 8 | Universidad Nacional de La PlataArgentina | 35.7 | 20.9% | 66.6× | 22 | -0.8% |
| 9 | Universitat de BarcelonaSpain | 34.9 | 14.2% | 30.7× | 28 | -12.6% |
| 10 | University of Castilla-La ManchaSpain | 32.9 | 12.3% | 34.4× | 14 | +129.6% |
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 Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2018. The fastest-growing topics are Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books.
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.