Abstract:

［Purpose/Significance］This study aims to analyze the characteristics of the literature about distance education in library and information science (LIS), the characteristics of periodicals and the authors’ productivity from 1998 to 2017.[Design/Methodology］This article used the bibliometric methods. And a total of 2,416 pieces of periodical literature were retrieved from LISA and SSCI. ［Findings/Conclusion］The growing curve of literature on library and information science distance education seems as a linear growth. And English is used as the publishing language in the majority of literature. The three most popular topics in LIS distance education are library and distance education, distance education courses and contents teaching technology and course delivery. The distribution of the journals follows the Bradford's law. The core journals and highly cited journals are published mostly in the United States and the United Kingdom, and America ranks the first in the number of authors. ［Originality/Value］This study could be used to grasp the movement and development trend of academic research in the field of library and information science distance education for this period, and get an idea of the core journals in this field, which can provide a reference for academic research. By using the academic productivity of all the authors, the core authors in this field can be recognized, which could be expected to enhance communication and cooperation between scholars.

Key words: Library and information science, Distance education, E-learning, Bibliometrics, Bradford’s law