THE LITERATURE OF THE INFORMATION PROFESSION IN ANGLOPHONE AFRICA - CHARACTERISTICS, TRENDS AND FUTURE-DIRECTIONS

Eighty articles published in African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science were analysed with respect to characteristics of t he authors, research trends and citation patterns. The study revealed a majority of the papers to be single-authored (81.25%). Most of the a uthors had a Master's degree (71.29%), while a significant proportion (24.75%) held PhDs. Seventy-five per cent of the authors were trained in Nigeria, the UK and the USA. Most of the papers were on librariansh ip (77.5%). Archives and information science accounted for 11.25% and 10% respectively. Only 1.25% of the papers were on publishing. Most of the journals consulted by the authors were published in the USA, the UK, Nigeria and South Africa. The four countries accounted for 82.35%.