Study on the law of aging in Library and Information Science

Abstract

Purpose

Aging research has traditionally been an important research topic in the field of Library and Information Science(LIS). The study of aging enables us to grasp the extent of development and the status of aging in LIS. The purpose of this paper is to explore the current law of aging in LIS and to research the impact of interdisciplinary citations on the aging of the discipline.

Design/methodology/approach

By using citation analysis methods and fitting them using the Barnett aging model, the aging law of LIS is explored with the help of aging indicators such as citing half-life and Price Index. For interdisciplinary study, the authors explore the pattern of interdisciplinary citations distribution by distinguishing LIS and non-LIS citations by journal name.

Findings

The results show that LIS is currently aging slowly and has reached a relatively mature stage. It has a high reliance on archival literature. The interdisciplinary citations distribution is broadly consistent with the overall citation distribution, and interdisciplinary citations can increase the age of applicability of the literature.

Originality/value

Based on LIS journal citation data, the paper validates the rationality of Barnett model applied in the field of literature aging research using nonlinear regression analysis, which can effectively reflect the aging law of literature and enable scholars to predict its development trend more accurately. In addition, according to the current trend of interdisciplinary citation, this paper explores the impact of interdisciplinary citations on the aging of the literature and provides a new idea for future aging research.

Citation

Song, Y., Shen, X. and Qiu, J. (2023), "Study on the law of aging in Library and Information Science", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 583-594. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-05-2021-0163