''The Library Quarterly'' is a quarterly double-anonymous peer-reviewed

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

covering

library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...

, including historical,

sociological Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

, statistical,

bibliographical Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

managerial Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, psychological, and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

al aspects of the field. It is published by the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and was established to fill a need for investigation and discussion set forth by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

in 1926. The editors are Paul T. Jaeger (

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

), and Natalie Greene Taylor (

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

), with associate editors Jane Garner (Charles Sturt University, Australia) and Shannon M. Oltmann (University of Kentucky).

History

''The Library Quarterly'' was established in January 1931, the year that

Lee Pierce Butler Lee Pierce Butler (December 19, 1884 – March 28, 1953) was a professor at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School. He was one of the first to use the term "library science" (along with S. R. Ranganathan), by which he meant the scienti ...

joined the

University of Chicago Graduate Library School The University of Chicago Graduate Library School (GLS) was established in 1928 to develop a program for the graduate education of librarians with a focus on research. Housed for a time in the Joseph Regenstein Library, the GLS closed in 1989. GLS ...

, 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 ''Quarterly'' continued publication after the Graduate Library School closed in 1989. Howard W. Winger was managing editor from 1961 through 1972, in 1975, from 1980 through 1985 and from 1988 through 1989. More than 50 of his essays (particularly those on 16th-century printers' devices) appeared in ''The Library Quarterly''. When editorship was taken over by Steven P. Harter in 1990 Winger wrote a history of the journal's editorial boards. In 2002 editor, John V. Richardson, analyzed the peer review process in place at ''Library Quarterly''. A bibliometric analysis in 2006 on the 75th anniversary of the journal found that nearly 50% of the world's most cited library and information scientists were contributors. Until 2013, the covers of the journal featured emblems from booksellers or printers. Featured in every issue was a study of the particular emblem that focuses on the typographer, dealer, seller, and designer. As of 1975, 176 prints had been displayed on the journal's cover. The

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

libraries provide digital access to printers' devices, including those that appeared on the cover of ''The Library Quarterly''. In 2004 ''The Library Quarterly'' went online, adding additional articles, content, and unique supplements. Online features also include most accessed and most cited articles. A new team of editors, Editorial Board, and a new Reviews Committee were added in 2016. Jaeger, P. T., Taylor, N. G., Gorham, U., Sarin, L. C., Peterson, K. J., & Kettnich, K. (2015). "85 Years of ''Library Quarterly''". ''The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy'', 85(1), 1–5.

References

External links

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Index of ''The Library Quarterly'' covers, 1931 to date
{{DEFAULTSORT:Library Quarterly, The Quarterly journals Library science journals University of Chicago Press academic journals English-language journals Publications established in 1931 1931 establishments in Illinois