The role of publication type in the evaluation of LIS programs

In evaluating library and information science programs, how important is it to differentiate publication types when counting faculty publications? Do books need to be counted along with journal articles? Drawing on data from an internal university review, publications and citations for a comparison cohort of senior faculty at four library and information science (LIS) programs, (University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), Illinois-Champaign, Indiana-Bloomington, and Michigan-Ann Arbor) are presented. These results shed light on issues regarding publication types (and, to a lesser extent, use of citations) in studies of program quality in the field. It is suggested that faculty publication types should be differentiated in program evaluations, that book production by faculty is important to such evaluations, and that the role of humanities-oriented LIS faculty may be misread or lost without attention to book production. Finally, based on these considerations, a formula is suggested for LIS program evaluation.