Open AccessA bibliometric approach to evaluating the impact of national libraries
Author(s) -
David W. Hunter,
Paul Hambelton
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
library and information research/library and information research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2752-7336
pISSN - 1756-1086
DOI - 10.29173/lirg474
Subject(s) - proxy (statistics) , computer science , national library , value (mathematics) , library science , data science , machine learning
In order to understand the value to society of a national library, it is essential to go beyond counting usage figures and understand impacts; 'the difference that the library makes'. The paper suggests that, for the National Library of Scotland (NLS), a key impact is the generation of new knowledge. A viable proxy for measuring this impact is establishing the number of publications produced in which the authors cite the use of NLS collections or services. The paper proposes a simple methodology for estimating the number of such research outputs through a bibliometric analysis of Google Scholar and other research resources.