Library and Information Science

The international contribution by Japanese researchers to the field of science research is measured by a bibliometric approach: quantiatively the ratio of the number of papers published, to the number of authors and; qualitatively in terms of the ratio of editorship among international science journals, to the world share of citations.

The number of papers in the USA, UK, USSR, France and Canada has been declining in recent years according to “Science Literature Indicators Data Base,” while the number of Japanese papers has increased by 30% in the eight years between 1973 and 1980.

The number of Japanese contributors is 57,636 (7%) in “Current Contents Address Directory Science & Technology” 1984 edition, and holds the fourh position folllowing the USA, USSR and UK, and is followed by West Germany.

Japan holds the fifth position in the world share of editorship of international science journals following the USA, UK, West Germany and France. Larger numbers of Japanese editors are in Chemistry (4.62%) and Engineering (3.01%), and the lowest is Mathematics (1.83%).

The ratio of citation for Japanese contributions increased drastically (65%) over the ten years between 1973 to 1982, and makes a sharp contrast to the decrease among other major countries.

Japan holds the fifth position (6.1%) at the B. L. L. D. in the share of acquisition of science journals following the USA, UK, USSR and West Germany.