Articles

Hot Topics: Article Subjects in Peer-Reviewed Archival Science and Special Collections Journals, 2011–2021

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Abstract

While many studies have taken a broad look at topics and trends in library and information science journals, few have focused on archival science and/or special collections journals. This study presents a content analysis of publishing trends in eight archival science and special collections journals published in North America for the years 2011–2021. A total of 746 peer-reviewed articles were examined to determine their primary focus and coded using a classification scheme first developed by library and information science (LIS) researchers in the early 1990s. Topics were gathered for each article surveyed, compiled by publication year for each journal title, and recorded in tabular format. The collected data provide a way to track publishing trends among journals over the 10-year time span. Traditional topics such as instruction, the use of materials, and the arrangement and description of archival collections continued to be popular in the professional literature, but articles focusing on newer topics such as technology and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) were fewer in number. Technology did not occur as a top subject for any journal during any year of the decade, and DEI occurred as a top subject only a few times.

How to Cite:

Bishop Stoulig, D., (2025) “Hot Topics: Article Subjects in Peer-Reviewed Archival Science and Special Collections Journals, 2011–2021”, Archival Issues 42(2), 7-28. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/archivalissues.19821