Core international journals of classification systems: An application of Bradford's law

Abstract

By analyzing the source documents and their references by classification systems researchers in the world, this paperpresents core journals of the field during the period 1981-1990. The findings show that journal literature in this study confirms to Bradford's law and provides Cataloging & Classification Quarterly (CCQ) as the most productive journal, Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS) as the most frequently cited journal of the field and Knowledge Organization (KO), formally International Classification (IC) as the second productive and frequently cited journal of the field. The principal journals publishing source items differs from those used as reference sources of the field. The high-ranked international journals over the years are clearly those to be acquired to obtain the greatest coverage of the field for the least cost.