Global patterns and regional disparities in library and information science research productivity

This bibliometric study examines global research productivity patterns in Library and Information Science from 1996 to 2024, analyzing 317,548 publications from 210 countries. Findings reveal profound regional disparities: Northern America and Western Europe produced 61.5% of global output and 71.3% of citations, with citations per publication of 21.62 and 24.05, respectively, substantially exceeding the global average of 15.66. Africa, comprising 55 countries, contributed only 3.3% of publications and 1.7% of citations. The top 30 countries accounted for 84.6% of global production, demonstrating extreme concentration. Analysis reveals a Matthew effect in citation patterns, where papers from high-income regions receive disproportionately higher citations. The study concludes that addressing these disparities requires increased research funding, infrastructure development, capacity-building programs, equitable international partnerships, and reformed evaluation systems recognizing diverse research impacts beyond traditional citation metrics.