The Library Quarterly
Encyclopedia
The Library Quarterly is an academic journal
published quarterly by the University of Chicago
on subjects in library science
, including historical
, sociological
, statistical
, bibliographical
, managerial
, psychological, and educational
aspects of the field. It was established to fill a need for investigation and discussion set forth by the American Library Association (ALA
) in 1926.
The Library Quarterly was established in January 1931, the year that Lee Pierce Butler
joined the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago, which was where library science as the academic study of the relationship between books and users was originally conceived. Thus, its publication history parallels the existence of library science as a field of academic research.
The emergence of a journal devoted expressly to research in library science was met with conflict in the discipline according to the journal's first editor, William M. Randall. The controversy revolved around whether research and scientific method was needed in the field.
The unique covers of the journal feature emblems from booksellers or printers. Featured in every issue is a study of the particular emblem that focuses on the typographer, dealer, seller, and designer. As of 1975, 176 prints had been displayed.
The Library Quarterly is intended for an audience of librarians, educators, administrators, and others interested in the history and collection of books. Its editors employing double-blind refereeing to maintain its current mission of promoting and publishing cutting edge research that focuses on libraries and librarianship.
In 2004 The Library Quarterly went online, adding additional articles, content, and unique supplements. Online features also include most accessed and most cited articles.
At present, the Library Quarterly is edited by John Carlo Bertot and Paul Jaeger and the journal office is housed at The University of Maryland, College Park.
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
published quarterly by the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
on subjects in library science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
, including historical
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, sociological
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, statistical
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, bibliographical
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
, managerial
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, psychological, and educational
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
aspects of the field. It was established to fill a need for investigation and discussion set forth by the American Library Association (ALA
Ala
Ala may refer to:* Ala , a female demon in the Serbian and Bulgarian mythology* Ala , an Alusi in Odinani* Ala , a Republican-period, largely infantry, formation of 5,400 men...
) in 1926.
The Library Quarterly was established in January 1931, the year that Lee Pierce Butler
Lee Pierce Butler
Lee Pierce Butler was a professor at the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. He was one of the first to use the term "library science" Lee Pierce Butler (1884 – 1953) was a professor at the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. He was one of the first to use the...
joined the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago, which was where library science as the academic study of the relationship between books and users was originally conceived. Thus, its publication history parallels the existence of library science as a field of academic research.
The emergence of a journal devoted expressly to research in library science was met with conflict in the discipline according to the journal's first editor, William M. Randall. The controversy revolved around whether research and scientific method was needed in the field.
The unique covers of the journal feature emblems from booksellers or printers. Featured in every issue is a study of the particular emblem that focuses on the typographer, dealer, seller, and designer. As of 1975, 176 prints had been displayed.
The Library Quarterly is intended for an audience of librarians, educators, administrators, and others interested in the history and collection of books. Its editors employing double-blind refereeing to maintain its current mission of promoting and publishing cutting edge research that focuses on libraries and librarianship.
In 2004 The Library Quarterly went online, adding additional articles, content, and unique supplements. Online features also include most accessed and most cited articles.
At present, the Library Quarterly is edited by John Carlo Bertot and Paul Jaeger and the journal office is housed at The University of Maryland, College Park.