ANALYZING THE EVOLUTION OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE PUBLICATIONS AT KHUSHAL KHAN KHATTAK UNIVERSITY, KARAK: PATTERNS, TRENDS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS THROUGH A CONTENT ANALYSIS APPROACH (UP TO 2024)

Abstract

Background: The Department of Library & Information Science (DLIS) of Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak, was established in 2015 to develop Library and Information Science education and research in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Objectives: This study inspects the research productivity and publishing trends of teachers and scholars at DLIS, focused on theme areas, productivity excellence, and conventionality with universal research principles. Methods: A mixed-methods strategy was utilised, integrating bibliometric study of 178 faculty publications and 98 scholar thesis (2015–2024) with qualitative understandings resulting from departmental archives and annotations. Data were inspected to distinguish tendencies in oversight, thematic highlighting, publication importance, and acquiescence with academic standards.  Results: Faculty associates, predominantly Dr. Saeed Ullah Jan, lead departmental research, focussing on digital libraries, information knowledge, and information administration. Student thesis demonstrated heightened assignation with current Library and Information Science subjects; however, journal articles remain limited. Supervision designs markedly pretentious output superiority, whereas lacks were noted in research discernibility and access to universal resources.  Conclusion: The results designate a developing research philosophy at DLIS, accent chances to supplement student publication rates, extend global partnership, and support organizational rigour. It is advisable to implement planned interferences in mentorship, training, and access to academic databases to improve the research capability in Library & Information Science (LIS).

Keywords: Library and Information Science, Research Productivity, Publication Trends, DLIS, KKKUK