Scholarly Publication by University Librarians: A Study at Penn State

The amount of scholarly publication that is required of academic librarians is thought to vary among different types of colleges and universities. The present study looks in detail at the aggregated publishing record of the librarians at Penn State University, an institution that requires publication as a condition of continued employment. Findings indicate that Penn State librarians are quite productive in terms of the number of publications they contribute to the literature, and they are strongly committed to research. Evidence suggests that increasing demands for publication have served to influence both the quantity and the quality of librarians’ publications in recent years.