Understanding Taxonomical Botanist’s Usage of Special Collection in the Academic Library: A Bibliometrics Study of NTU Tanaka Collection

Abstract

Based on the representative attributes built around specific subjects or uniqueness in publishing forms, special collections are often viewed as important asset of research libraries. However, previous studies have pointed out the common issues of hidden collections and backlogs in many special collections due to the unfamiliarity of the collections. This bibliometric study adopts the research methods of document analysis and citation analysis to investigate NTU Tanaka Collection, a special collection about botanical literature housed by National Taiwan University Library. 204 of the plant taxonomist Tanaka Tyozaburo’s publications and the 792 citations he used are selected for citation analysis with reference to the history of taxonomic botany. The results of the study suggest NTU Tanaka Collection possesses significant and important references to taxonomic botanists in general, and to Tanaka’s research on the identification and phylogeny of citrus fruits in specific. According to the findings, this study provides a historical bibliography and a reference network of NTU Tanaka Collection. This study is one of the very few empirical studies that adopted bibliometric analyses in library special collection, and it also provides rather thorough and objective evidence of scholarly usage of special collections. The findings of the study contribute to the research and practices of special collection curation and outreach. (Article content in Chinese with English extended abstract)

Keywords

• special collection
• taxonomic botany
• bibliometrics
• citation analysis
• historical bibliography