Journal profile · INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS
ISSN 0340-0352 · eISSN 1745-2651 · SAGE
IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.8 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 135 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 15.2% (journal website); 99 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS is published by SAGE and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Library Science and Administration, Library Science and Information Literacy and Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies, together about 32% of its articles. Its main subfields are Information Systems. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
IFLA Journal is an international journal publishing peer reviewed articles on library and information services and the social, political and economic issues that impact access to information through libraries. The Journal publishes research, case studies … | View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 8%); most named United States 3, Mexico 2, New Zealand 2, Mainland China 1, Italy 1 (13 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Library Science and AdministrationSocial Sciences12.1%
- Library Science and Information LiteracySocial Sciences10.2%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9.7%
- Library Science and Information SystemsComputer Science9.6%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering8%
- Library Collection Development and Digital ResourcesComputer Science4.8%
- Web and Library ServicesComputer Science4.7%
- Digital and Traditional Archives ManagementArts and Humanities4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Information Science & Library Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Information Science & Library Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.49LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 41OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 323OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.88OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 16.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 23.12%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 93LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,381 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 47 | 6 | 4 |
| 2025 | 99 | 47 | 326 |
| 2024 | 79 | 32 | 318 |
| 2023 | 40 | 17 | 345 |
| 2022 | 45 | 7 | 249 |
| 2021 | 74 | 16 | 630 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 1 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 15.2%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 13 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 62 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 135 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 36 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare9 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 150 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted9
- case studiesCase Studies provide a valuable record of practices of the LIS professions.Length not stated
- case studyArticles and features are normally published only in English. Authors whose first language is not English should not be inhibited from submitting contributors i…Length not stated
- editorialArticles and features are normally published only in English. Authors whose first language is not English should not be inhibited from submitting contributors i…Length not stated
- essaysEssays Provide informed analysis of viewpoints, trends,Length not stated
- original articleArticles and features are normally published only in English. Authors whose first language is not English should not be inhibited from submitting contributors i…Length not stated
- original articlesOriginal articles constitute traditional empirical research, drawing on quantitative, qualitative, or mixed research methodologies.Length not stated
- review articleArticles and features are normally published only in English. Authors whose first language is not English should not be inhibited from submitting contributors i…Length not stated
- review articlesA review article provides a detailed and authoritative summation of the current state of research and understanding on an important topic within the field.Length not stated
- viewpointArticles and features are normally published only in English. Authors whose first language is not English should not be inhibited from submitting contributors i…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more. Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data ava…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal. Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. For specifically requested color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice pro…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Double Anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0340-0352
- Electronic ISSN
- 1745-2651
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS
What CAS zone is IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Information Science & Library Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.8; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.6, h-index 41.
How long does peer review take at IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS?
The publisher reports about 135 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 15.2%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 150 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS based?
Of the 13 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3), Mexico (2) and New Zealand (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS open access, and what is the APC?
IFLA JOURNAL-INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .