Library and information science research in BRICS countries
| Pages | 183-202 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-10-2017-0101 |
| Published date | 12 March 2018 |
| Date | 12 March 2018 |
| Author | Manorama Tripathi,V.K.J. Jeevan,Parveen Babbar,Lohrii Kaini Mahemei |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
Library and information science
research in BRICS countries
Manorama Tripathi
Dr B.R. Ambedkar Central Library, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
V.K.J. Jeevan
Library and Documentation Division, Indira Gandhi National Open University,
New Delhi, India, and
Parveen Babbar and Lohrii Kaini Mahemei
Dr B.R. Ambedkar Central Library, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to highlightthe research output of library and information science of the BRICS
(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)nations during the ten year period, i.e. 2005-2014, as reflected
through the Web of Sciencedatabase.
Design/methodology/approach –This study used SocialScience Index (SSCI) of Web of Science (WoS)
citation database to collectdata for the ten year period. All records indexed in SSCI were refined by subject
area of “Information Science and Library Science”and selected countries. The downloaded results were
analyzedby using specific parameters.
Findings –WoS indexes different kinds of documents, such as articles, conference proceedings, biographical
items, book reviews, corrections, editorial material, letters, reprints and reviews. Out of the BRICS output, almost
90 per cent of papers were articles. Other types of documents included conference papers, review papers and
book reviews. China contributed nearly half of the documents followed by Brazil, South Africa, India and Russia.
On an average, a document had cited 34 references. More than one-third of records did not receive any citations. It
has been observed that the titles that had 11-16 words attracted the most number of citations. The top ten
publishers in whose journals the researchers published included Emerald, Elsevier and Springer. The primary
subject areas were information science and library science, information systems, interdisciplinary applications
and management. About 85 per cent of the documents were published in English. Around 93 per cent of the non-
English research publications were in Portuguese, the official language of Brazil.
Originality/value –There are not many studies on BRICS countries and that too about Library and
Information Science (LIS) researchoutput. This study may reveal insights into how LIS researchers interact
with local and globalissues in a specific spectrum of the world community.
Keywords China, Research, Information science, Russia, Bibliometrics, Library research, BRICS,
Library science
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
BRICS is an association of five major emerging economies, which are Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa. The association was earlier knownas “BRIC”before the inclusion
of South Africa in 2010. TheBRICS members are all developing countries (DCs), but they are
characterised by their large, fast-growing economies and they exert a significant influence
The authors appreciate the patience, time and guidance of editors, expert reviewers and respected
Professor B.K. Sen for motivating to make the paper what it is today.
Library and
information
science
183
Received7 October 2017
Revised28 December 2017
Accepted9 January 2018
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.119 No. 3/4, 2018
pp. 183-202
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-10-2017-0101
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2398-5348.htm
on regional and global affairs and are taking renewed interest in researchand development
activities. BRICS brings togetherfive major emerging economies, comprising43 per cent of
the world population, having 30 per cent of the world GDP and 17 per cent share in the
world trade (BRICS,2016).
The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics
Paper, “The World Needs Better Economic BRICs”on the basis of econometric analyses
projecting that the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China would individually and
collectively occupy far greater economic space, and would be amongst the world’slargest
economies in the next 50 years or so (BRICS, 2016). Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa are all developing their way to provide better academic and research environment in
their countries. What they have in common is their slow realization to turn research as a driver
of economic and societal development, as a way to enhance the quality, impact and access to
scientific solutions and technology products for improving the lives of their citizens. Bornmann
et al. (2015) studied the publications of BRICS in scientific journals and compared them with
other highly ranked nations of the world regarding a number of citations and collaboration
among the researchers between 1990 and 2010. They highlighted that the BRICS, except
Russia, produced more frequently cited papers than the top cited nations of the world.
Given the above, this paper has attempted to study the research output in the field of library
and information science in the BRICS countries. This paper has examined the research activity
in the library and information science and characterized its most important aspects. It has
covered the bibliometric analyses of the year-wise distribution of articles, category-wise
classification of papers, subject-wise categorisation of articles, authorship patterns, etc.
Library and information science in BRICS countries
Volodin (2000) depicted the development of library and information science as a social science
from “history of Librarianship”when it was also known as library history or information
history. It had significant influence of “Marxist dialectical”and “historical materialism”.The
subject was not connected to the world science community in the initial phase of its existence.
Ocholla et al. (2015) detailed about 38 undergraduate library schools to educate the
professional librarians and 13 graduate information science schools devoted to produce
professors and researchers in information science in Brazil. Ferreira and Dudziak (2013)
mentioned that there are currently 43 librarianship courses in Brazil (70 per cent) linked to
public (state and federal) universities, the southeast region holding 45 per cent of them,
followed by the south region, with10 per cent. There are currently 15 graduate programs, at
masters’and doctoral levels,in nine Brazilian states (Ferreira and Dudziak, 2013). There were
31 schools that offered Library and Information Science (LIS) programmes in 1985 in Brazil. In
1995, there were 13 schools that offered LIS programmes; the literature did not mention
anything about the remaining 18 schools (Fang et al., 1985;Maris and Giunti, 1999;Rodríguez
Gallardo, 2007). Khayundi (2011) highlighted that the professionals did not have adequate
education and training in Archival Sciences. In 1990s, archival science courses were started at
five different universities. The National Archive and the Association of Brazilian Archivists
had contributed remarkably in developing archival sciences as a subject in Brazil. Rodrigues
and da Cunha Marques (2008) reported how archival science has evolved and emerged as an
essential discipline. The universities in Brazil are offering research and training programmes in
archival science at undergraduate and graduate levels. The graduate levels include master’s
level and doctoral programmes and last fortwoandfouryears,respectively.
There are 26 institutions of higher education in Russia, providing training in LIS
including state universities and higher specialized institutions of culture (Donchenko and
Kerzum, 2006). Russian librarieshold unique collections but in most cases the development
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