DOCUMENTATION NOTE: STATISTICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY—A HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE

Nearly ten years ago Alan Pritchard, in a ‘Documentation Note’ in this journal, reviewed the use of the term statistical bibliography, and, being dissatisfied with it, proposed bibliometrics as a better name for the subject. He con‐cluded his note by expressing a hope ‘that this term bibliometrics will be used explicitly in all studies which seek to quantify the process of written communication and will quickly gain acceptance in the field of information science’. That hope was indeed quickly realized. In the subsequent years the new term has gained almost—but not quite—universal acceptance by librarians and information scientists, and Pritchard's note, in turn, has been frequently cited in support of the new term's use.