Citation analysis is a data-driven method that enhances library collection management – enhanced by new integrated tools .
Library collections are fundamental to the outcomes of teaching and research at an institution. They provide valuable resources that enable students and faculty to operate at an excellent standard. Despite their importance, university libraries face challenges and constraints – they are vulnerable to budget cuts, but have become adept at doing more with less for decades.
When librarians face hard choices about their collections, they frequently turn to usage data to determine which journals are most essential for their users. However, when budgetary constraints require cuts to journals that receive equal levels of usage, it creates a dilemma. The incorporation of citation analysis to your collection development strategy is a potent approach. This method assists you to identify the critical journals that drive your institution’s progress and cannot be sacrificed, even during unavoidable cutbacks.
Why use citation analysis for collection management?
Citation analysis is a research method used to evaluate the impact and influence of academic or scholarly work by analyzing the citations it receives in other publications. It’s been used by librarians from as early as the 1920s, helping to provide a clear picture of the journals that scholars rely on for education and research.
By tapping into existing data like cited reference lists to identify trends in authors’ publication habits , you can evaluate the scholarly contributions of individuals and institutions, identify important works in a field, and make informed decisions about resource allocation, funding, and collection management in libraries. Moreover, citation analysis also plays a crucial role in understanding the development and evolution of scientific knowledge within different disciplines.
Citation analysis delivers incredible value to collection management decisions. Librarians describe the technique as unobtrusive and concrete. That’s because it’s neatly packaged data that helps you spot the critical information you need, driving honest discussions and enabling fast decisions.
Putting tools together for simpler workflows
Among the most popular tools for citation analysis is InCites Benchmarking & Analytics™ (InCites) from Clarivate – a customizable, web-based research evaluation tool relied on by institutions around the world. Using publisher-neutral data sourced from the Web of Science™, InCites provides objective metrics for the analysis of publication, citation, patent and funding data that can be used for research assessment and to inform library collection development.
Now, analysis of journal utilization is faster via seamless integration between InCites and the Alma library management system from Ex Libris, part of Clarivate. If your institution subscribes to both InCites and Alma, you can easily see your researchers’ detailed citation activity in your library’s journal holdings – all in one place. You simply opt-in from the Alma platform to allow your Alma holdings information to be included in your InCites reports.
Reports that provide rich insights
The InCites Organization Report offers valuable insights by incorporating a Journal Utilization tool that enables you to pinpoint priority journals that are relevant to your institution by aggregating bibliographic data associated with faculty members affiliated with your institution. Moreover, libraries can now view a customized, comparative Alma Collection Report that combines publication and citation data from the Web of Science with collection holdings data from Alma.
Using the InCites Journal Utilization tool along with the pre-configured Alma Collection Report, you can make confident collection management decisions:
- Discover which journals your authors cite the most
- Identify which journals cite your authors
- Obtain a year-by-year breakdown of the journals your authors publish in
- See recommended journals not currently in your collection, which have high publication or citation activity associated with your authors
- View your collections mapped to Web of Science research areas to analyze coverage across disciplines
- Monitor the progress of your open access strategy, based on publication and usage data
Which journals are citing your authors the most?
Using the Journal Utilization tool and Alma Collections Report, you can see which journals cite your authors most often. This gives you an understanding of which journals are influenced by the authors at your institution and are building upon your institution’s work.
Using the customizable Alma Collection Reports, you can easily see patterns among publications citing your authors’ work within your library holdings and compare them to publications not in your collections.
The InCites collection development tools and reports provide valuable insights into actual scholarly publishing behavior. This data is essential for making informed decisions regarding the addition or removal of items from your library collection to optimize the allocation of funds to help you maximize library collection budgets while ensuring access to crucial resources that drive the success of your institution.
Try citation analysis for collection management
Citation analysis helps you recognize the content that’s essential to your institution’s research endeavors. By utilizing informative metrics, you can effectively support your organization’s research and educational programs even in times when budgets are constrained to ensure the sustainability and continued progress of your institution’s academic initiatives.
Learn more about how InCites Benchmarking & Analysis integrated with the Alma library management system can help you build collections that drive academic excellence.
