Lokman I. Meho, MLS, PhD
Chief University Librarian, Associate Professor
Dr. Lokman Meho received his Ph.D. in Library and Information Science in 2001 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After three years as Assistant Professor of Library Science at the State University of New York at Albany, he moved to Indiana University Bloomington where he was promoted to Associate Professor and received tenure. Dr. Meho is author of 30 journal articles—mostly quantitative studies intended to influence research policy and practice. His work highlights disparities in research, showing faculty and institutions how they compare to their peers to help them in decision making and planning. Dr. Meho is a recipient of several teaching, research, and service awards. He taught reference, research consulting, and collection development and management to over 1200 graduate students.
EDUCATION
- December 2001, Ph.D. in Information Science and Library Science, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- December 1996, M.S. in Library Science (summa cum laude), School of Library and Information Sciences, North Carolina Central University (ALA-accreditted)
- February 1996, M.A. in Political Studies, American University of Beirut
- June 1991, B.A. in Political Studies, American University of Beirut
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND POSITIONS (selected)
- 2009 to present, University Librarian and Associate Professor, University Libraries, American University of Beirut
- 2008 – 2009, Associate Professor (with tenure),School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University Bloomington
- 2004 – 2008, Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University Bloomington
- 2001 – 2004, Assistant Professor, Department of Information Studies (formerly School of Information Science and Policy), University at Albany, State University of New York
PUBLICATIONS (cited over 5,000 times, including citations in 20 different Wikipedia articles)
- Refereed Journal Articles (bold = lead author; asterisk = corresponding author)
- Meho, L. I.* (in preparation). Research impact of top CS and ECE conferences: an assessment of the coverage and accuracy of Google Scholar Metrics and Microsoft Academic against Scopus-based CiteScore. Expert Systems with Applications.
- Meho, L. I.* (in preparation). The Awards Index: Ranking the quality of university education and faculty based on the world’s most prestigious international academic awards. Quantitative Science Studies.
- Meho, L. I.* (submitted). Gender gap in highly prestigious international research awards. Quantitative Science Studies.
- Maalouf, F., Medawar, B., Meho, L. I.*, & Akl, E. A. (2021). Mental health research in response to the H1N1, Ebola, and COVID-19 outbreaks: a comparative bibliometric analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 132, 198-206.
- Meho, L. I.* (2020). Highly prestigious international awards and their impact on university rankings. Quantitative Science Studies, 1(2), 824-848.
- Bardus, M., El Rassi, R., Chahrour, M., Akl, E. W., Raslan, A. S., Meho, L. I., & Akl, E. A. (2020). The use of social media to increase the impact of health research: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(7) e15607.
- Zeinoun, P., Akl, E. A., Maalouf, F., & Meho, L. I.* (2020). The Arab region’s contribution to global mental health research (2009-2018): A bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11(182), 1-11.
- Sibai, A. M., Rizk, A., Coutts, A. P., Monzer, G., Daoud, A., Sullivan, R., Roberts, B., Meho, L. I., Fouad, F. M., DeJong, J. (2019). North-South inequities in research collaboration in humanitarian and conflict contexts. The Lancet, 394(10209), 1597-1600.
- Maalouf, F. T., Alamiri, B., Atweh, S., Becker, A. E., Cheour, M., Darwish, H., Ghandour, L. A., Ghuloum, S., Hamze, M., Karam, E., Khoury, B., Khoury, S. J., Mokdad, A., Meho, L. I., Okasha, T., Reed, G. M., Sbaity, E., Zeinoun, P., & Akl, E. A. (2019). Mental health research in the Arab world: Challenges and call for action. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(11), 961-966.
- Naja, F., Chatila, H., El Koussa, M., Meho, L. I., Ghandour, L., & Saleh S. (2019). Burden of non-communicable diseases among Syrian refugees: A scoping review. BMC Public Health, 19(637), 1-13.
- Meho, L. I.* (2019). Using Scopus’s CiteScore for assessing the quality of computer science conferences. Journal of Informetrics, 13(1), 419-433.
- Abiad, M. G., & Meho, L. I. (2018). Food loss and food waste research in the Arab world: a systematic review. Food Security, 10(2), 311-322.
- El Rassi, R.,Meho, L. I., Nahlawi, A., Salameh, J. S., Bazarbachi, A., & Akl, E. A. (2018). Medical research productivity in the Arab countries: 2007-2016 bibliometric analysis. Journal of Global Health, 8(2).
- Naja, F., Shatila, H., Meho, L., Alameddine, M., Haber, S., Nasreddine, L., & Hwalla, N. (2017). Gaps and opportunities for nutrition research in relation to non-communicable diseases in Arab countries: Call for an informed research agenda. Nutrition Research, 47, 1-12.
- Cronin, B., & Meho, L. I. (2009). Receiving the French: A bibliometric snapshot of the impact of ‘French theory’ on information studies. Journal of Information Science, 35(4), 398-413.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Sugimoto, C. R. (2009). Assessing the scholarly impact of information studies: A tale of two citation databases–Scopus and Web of Science. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(12), 2499-2508.
- Cronin, B., & Meho, L. I. (2008). The shifting balance of intellectual trade in information studies. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(4), 551-564.
- Cronin, B., & Meho, L. I. (2008). Applying the Author Affiliation Index to library and information science journals. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(11), 1861-1865.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Rogers, Y. (2008). Citation counting, citation ranking, and h-index of human-computer interaction researchers: A comparison between Scopus and Web of Science. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(11), 1711-1726.
- Sugimoto, C. R., Russell, T. G., Meho, L. I., & Marchionini, G. (2008). MPACT and citation impact: Two sides of the same scholarly coin? Library and Information Science Research, 30(4), 273-281.
- Cronin, B., & Meho, L. I. (2007). Timelines of creativity: A study of intellectual innovators in information science. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(13), 1948-1959.
- Meho, L. I.* (2007). The rise and rise of citation analysis. Physics World, 20(1), 32-36.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Yang, K. (2007). Impact of data sources on citation counts and rankings of LIS faculty: Web of Science versus Scopus and Google Scholar. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(13), 2105-2125.
- Shachaf, P., Meho, L. I., & Hara, N. (2007). Cross-cultural analysis of e-mail reference. Journal of Academic Librarianship,33(2), 243-253.
- Cronin, B., & Meho, L. I. (2006). Using the h-index to rank influential information scientists. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(9), 1275-1278.
- Meho, L. I.* (2006). E-Mail interviewing in qualitative research: A methodological discussion. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(10), 1284-1295.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Spurgin, K. M. (2005). Ranking the research productivity of library and information science faculty and schools: An evaluation of data sources and research methods. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 56(12), 1314-1331.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Tibbo, H. R. (2003). Modeling the information-seeking behavior of social scientists: Ellis’s study revisited. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 54(6), 570-587.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Haas, S. W. (2001). Information-seeking behavior and use of social science faculty studying stateless nations: A case study. Library and Information Science Research, 23(1), 5-25.
- Tibbo, H. R., & Meho, L. I. (2001). Finding finding aids on the world wide web. The American Archivist, 64(1), 61-77.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Sonnenwald, D. H. (2000). Citation ranking versus peer evaluation of senior faculty research performance: A case study of Kurdish scholarship. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 51(2), 123-138.
- Monographs (comprehensive annotated bibliographies)
- Nsouli, M. A., & Meho, L. I.* (2006). Censorship in the Arab world: An annotated bibliography. Introduction by Ghassan Tueni. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. 192 p.
- Meho, L. I.* (2004). The Kurdish question in U.S. foreign policy: A documentary sourcebook. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers. 720 p.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Maglaughlin, K. (2001). Kurdish culture and society: An annotated bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.356 p.
- Meho, L. I.*, & Nsouli, M. A. (1999). Libraries and information in the Arab world: An annotated bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. 352 p.
- Meho, L. I.* (1997). The Kurds and Kurdistan: A selective and annotated bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. 371 p. Selected as one of the best bibliographies in the field of History in 1996-1997 by ALA’s Reference and User Services Association.
- Chapters in Books (selected)
- Daniel, E.H., Meho, L. I., & Moran,Barbara B. (2016). Education for library and information science in the Arab states. In A. B. Click, S. Ahmed, J. Hill, & J. D. MartinIII (Eds). Library and Information Science in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 173-234). DeGruyter Sauer.
- Conference Papers, Panels, and Presentations (all refereed except last paper)
- Meho, L. I. (2015). Library and information science education in the Arab world. In Second SIBF/ALA Library Conference at the Sharjah Expo Center, November 10-12, 2015. (Presentation)
- Britz, J., Mehra, B., Rioux, K., Meho, L. I., & Bilal, D. (2007). Information behavior in developing countries: Research, issues, and emerging trends. In Proceedings of the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (October 18-24, 2007, Milwaukee, WI). Silver Springs, MD: American Society for Information Science and Technology. (Panel)
- Meho, L. I., & Sugimoto, C. R. (2007). Mapping the Scholarly Impact of LIS Faculty: Web of Science vs. Scopus. In Proceedings of the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 18-24, 2007). Silver Springs, MD: American Society for Information Science and Technology. (Paper – 12 p.)
- Yang, K., & Meho, L. I. (2007). CiteSearch: Next-generation citation analysis. ACM-IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (June 18-23, 2007 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). (Paper – 20 p.)
- Yang, K., & Meho, L. I. (2006). Citation analysis: A comparison of Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Proceedings of the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (Austin, TX, November 3-8, 2006). Silver Springs, MD: American Society for Information Science and Technology. (Paper – 12 p.)
- Meho, L. I., & Yang, K. (2006). Multi-faceted approach to citation-based quality assessment for knowledge management. In World Library and Information Congress: 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council (Seoul, Republic of Korea, August 20-24, 2006). (Paper – 14 p.)
- Meho, L. I., & Yang, K. (2006). Locating online government information: A comparison of FirstGov, Google, and Yahoo. In Proceedings of the 2006 National Conference on Digital Government Research (San Diego, CA, May 21-24, 2006). ACM Press, 2006. (Paper – 2 p.)
- Shachaf, P., Hara, N., & Meho, L. I. (2005). Cross-cultural analysis of virtual reference. In Proceedings of the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (November 2005, Charlotte, NC). Silver Springs, MD: American Society for Information Science and Technology. (Panel)
- Yang, K., Maglaughlin, K., Meho, L. I., & Sumner, R. G. (1999). IRIS at TREC-7. In E. M. Voorhees & D. K. Harman (Eds.), The Seventh Text REtrieval Conference (TREC-7), pp. 555-566. Gaithersburg, MD: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NIST.
- Non-Refereed Publications
- Meho, L. I. (2003). The International Journal of Kurdish Studies: A cumulative index and abstracts to volumes 1-16 (1986-2002). The International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 17(1-2), 121-154.
- Meho, L. I. (2003). Kurdish poetry: A guide to resources in Arabic, English, and French. The International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 17(1-2), 75-90.
- Meho, L. I. (2002). The Kurds in Lebanon: A social and historical overview. The International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 16(1-2), 59-82.
- Meho, L. I. (1997). Libraries, library science, and librarianship in Lebanon: A selective and annotated bibliography. Bulletin of the Lebanese Library Association, 2(5), 14-15. Reprinted in Bulletin of Bibliography, 1999, 56(1), 9-14.
- Dissertation
- Meho, L. I. (2001). The information-seeking behavior of social science faculty studying stateless nations. Ph.D. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina. Advisor: Helen R. Tibbo.
Research Grants and Awards
- The 2007 DIALOG/ALISE Methodology Paper Competition. For “E-mail interviewing in Qualitative Research: A Methodological Discussion,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(10), 1284-1295.
- OCLC/ALISE 2006 Library and Information Science Research Grant. For “Impact of Data Sources on Citation Counts and Rankings of LIS faculty: Web of Science vs. Scopus and Google Scholar,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(13),2105-2125.
- ALISE’s 2005 Bohdan S. Wynar Research Paper Competition. For “Ranking the Research Productivity of LIS Faculty and Schools: An Evaluation of Data Sources and Research Methods,” JASIST, 56(12), 1314-1331.
INVITED TALKS, WORKSHOPS, TUTORIALS, AND INTERVIEWS (selected)
- Lebanese Library Association 4th Conference, in collaboration with Asia and Oceania Regional Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Presentation on the role of bibliometrics in transforming the library on campus (Beirut, Lebanon, May 9-11, 2018)
- Middle East Medical Assembly 49th Conference. Presentation on “Arab mental health research and collaborations” (Beirut, Lebanon, April 19-22, 2018)
- Lebanese Library Association 3rd Conference. Workshop on “Use of bibliometric tools and techniques in collection development and management” (Beirut, May 17, 2016)
- GCC Committee of Library Deans and Directors 18th Annual Conference. Presentation on “Bibliometrics and university libraries” (Doha, Qatar, March 24, 2016)
- Sharjah International Book Fair/ALA Library 2nd Conference. Presentation on “Library and information science education in the Arab world” (Expo Centre Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, November 13, 2015)
- Keynote Speaker at the 1st Lebanese Library Association Conference. “Library and information science education in Lebanon” (Beirut, Lebanon, May 2011)
- Open University (UK). A full day tutorial on “Bibliometrics explained: citation analysis, h-indexes, impact factors and more” (Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, June 22, 2009)
- Special Libraries Association Conference, Science-Technology Division, “Citation tracking tools.” Presentation on citation databases (Washington, DC, June 16, 2009)
- Special Libraries Association Conference, Chemistry Division, “A measures toolkit for librarians.” Presentation on citation-based indicators (Washington, DC, June 15, 2009)
- Office of Vice-Provost of Faculty and Academic Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington. Presentations on citation analysis and research evaluation at promotion and tenure workshops for faculty, chairpersons, and deans (May 2008 and 2009)
- Office of the Dean of Faculties, Indiana University Bloomington. Led workshops on citation analysis and research evaluation for promotion and tenure candidates. The workshops were also attended by deans and chairpersons (Summer 2006, 2008)
- New York Academy of Sciences. Workshop on Mapping Science. Presentation on citation databases and the h-index. (New York, NY, April 4, 2006)
TEACHING
- Awards
- Courses Taught
- Collection Development and Management (3)
- Evaluation of Resources and Services (10)
- Foundations of Librarianship and Information Services (3)
- Information Technology Applications (5)
- Database Searching (9)
- Reference Resources and Services (17)
- Social Science Information (5)
- Student Papers (master students only, selected)
- Adamick, J. (2010). Islam in Europe: A research guide. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 49(4), 310-315.
- Anderson, J. (2009). Academic freedom in post-9/11 America: A research guide. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 49(1), 13-17.
- Beard, M. (2008). C.S. Lewis: A guide to resources. Collection Building, 27(4), 144-148.
- Betty, P. (2007). Haitian Americans: A research guide. Reference Services Review, 35(2), 230-248.
- Bluemle, S. R. (2008). Emily Dickinson: A research guide. Reference Services Review, 36(3), 252-263.
- Braune, S. M. (2005). Islam as practiced by the Kazaks: A bibliography for scholars. MELA Notes, (78), 1-17.
- Dwyer, T. (2008). Unitarian Universalism: A research guide. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 47(3), 210-214.
- Fogleman, S. (2009). A Research Guide on Islam in the Russian Federation. Slavic & East European Information Resources, 10:2-17.
- Higgins, S. M. (2007). Afro-Latinos: An annotated guide for collection building. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 47(1), 10-15.
- Horowitz, S. (2006). The Kelmscott Press and William Morris: A research guide. Art Documentation, 25(2), 60-65.
- Meehan, W. F. III, & Murray, S. R. (2007). A pathfinder of reference sources for the sport of rowing. The Sports Journal, 10(4).
- Monroe, A. (2008). American presidential power: A research guide. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(2), 122-127.
- Polacek, K. M. (2007). Euthanasia: A guide to sources. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 46(3), 13-19.
- Schlosser, M. (2006). Fair use in the digital environment: A research guide. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 46(1), 11-17.
- Slough, R. (2009). Latino health: An annotated research guide. Reference Services Review, 37(2), 234-247.
- Wadholm, G. M. (2008). Cultural diversity in Brazil: A guide to reference sources. Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 26(3), 63-80.
- Waller, J. H. (2005). True simplicity: An annotated bibliography on the Shakers. Journal of Religious & Theological Information, 7(2): 75-90.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE (selected)
- Editor (Editorial Board Member), Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (January 2016 to present)
- Editorial Board Member, Journal of Information Science (January 2021 to present)
- Research Assessment: providing in-depth analyses of research performance of faculty, academic units, journals, and institutions for hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions, as well as for ranking, benchmarking, and strategic planning purposes (2010 to present)
- Promotion and tenure support: identifying potential reviewers for promotion and tenure for hundreds of faculty members
- Referee for several journals
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Outstanding Service Award,Department of Information Studies (formerly School of Information Science and Policy), University at Albany, University of New York (2001 – 2004)
- Beta Phi Mu: The international library and information science honor society (Inducted on 12/19/2001)
- Frank Porter Graham Graduate and Professional Student Honor Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Inducted on 05/11/2000)
- Alpha Epsilon Lambda: The honor society of graduate and professional school students, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapter (Inducted on 04/14/2000)
- Faculty Assistantship, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1997 – 2001)
- Special Talent Award, North Carolina Central University (Spring 1997)
- Graduate Assistantship, American University of Beirut (1992 – 1996)
- Undergraduate Fellowship, Hariri Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon (1986 – 1991)
AFFILIATIONS (selected)
- Life member since 2008, International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics – ISSI
- Life member since 2001, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Alumni Association
- Life member since 1996, Middle East Librarians Association – MELA