Are Library and Information Science Journals Becoming MoreInternationalized?

摘要

This paper examines journal publications in the field of library and information science (LIS) to assess the level ofrninternationalization in their publications authorship pattern. The international production and communication ofrnscholarly knowledge is crucial to the growth of a discipline. Recent advancement in communication technology and thernrise of globalization have led to the hope of a more balanced flow of scientific knowledge. Nevertheless, scholars alsorncautioned the possibility of a global digital divide and a widening knowledge gap. This study analyzed the geographicalrnaffiliations of authors in 20 international LIS journals to track the longitudinal changes in LIS authorship pattern.rnFindings suggest an increase in the internationalization of LIS authorships over the years. However, the LIS authorshiprndistribution was still highly uneven in 2003 (Gini coefficient = 0.95). Economic power is still found to be a moderaternpredictor of publication performance. The findings of this study suggest that, at the moment of the writing, there is stillrnroom for the LIS field to be more internationalized. Further research is needed to identify the barriers in internationalrnscholarly communication and to explore the implications of such a communication pattern on scientific developmentrnand global equality.