Local Citation Studies-A Shortcut to Local Knowledge

Abstract

As a librarian new to the Biology Library at Stony Brook and faced with a substantial serials cut, it was imperative that the writer obtain quickly some "local knowledge" concerning the users of the Biology Library. One large segment of the user group is graduate students and it was decided to study their needs by investigating the patterns of citations in their theses and dissertations completed in the years 1989-92. A random sample of 2,030 citations was chosen from a total population of 13,100. These citations were coded to determine form, title dispersion and time span for both the total populations and biological specialities.