Scientific journal usage in a large university library: A local citation analysis

Citation analysis is a helpful tool for evaluating academic library usage. When only the publications of local users are analyzed, the results are even more relevant to the local library Manual collection of citations can be a time- and labor-intensive operation and has inhibited widespread use of local citation analysis. This study demonstrates how to use the Science Citation Index CDROM product and a personal computer to generate useful reports utilizing a much larger base of citations than previously has been possible. Moreover, the process is so relatively quick and easy that it can be run annually or whenever needed. In the study, over 35,000 citations from papers by scientific researchers at the University of Georgia were analyzed to generate reports useful for collection development.