Why are new journals created? An international analysis of information and documentation titles (2013-2018)

The creation or title changes of scientific journals in the information and documentation (ID) area in the period 2013-2018 are analyzed. This study is based on 62 journals identified through the ISSN Portal and Ulrichsweb. Among the main conclusions regarding newly created titles, the leading role of academic publishers in expanding national university systems and open-access titles stands out. In general, new publications generate few articles per year, have little presence in databases, and receive few citations. Title changes were found only in journals published by commercial publishers. In both cases, journals with a general thematic scope predominate and a significant number of journals did not justify their creation or change of title.