A bibliometric analysis of IOLIM conferences 1977-1999

Since 1977, the International Online Information Meeting (IOLIM) in London has been the most important conference for users and producers of electroni c information. The organiser of the conference is Learned Information Europ e Ltd, a UK-based commercial organisation. In order to measure the impact o f these conferences on the library and information science literature in ge neral, a concept of conference impact factor (CIF) is explored for the firs t time. Following the pattern of journal impact factor (JIF), the study pre sents a methodology for exploring the characteristics of a core internation al conference and measuring its impact. The study used the online citations databases in DIALOG, as well as the CD-ROM version of Library and Informat ion Science Abstracts. Through statistical and bibliometric analysis, the p aper provides quantitative information about geographic distribution of mem bers of Organising Committees, Referee panels, authors, delegates and citat ions. Knowledge export of the conference is measured by the subject categor ies of citing journals. A list of the top most cited papers of the Proceedi ngs is presented, as well as the names of the citing authors and titles of the journals. Via time series, the study highlights trends and developments reflected by IOLIM.