ABSTRACT
Using the literature of three foreign countries in four disciplines, files were constructed of 457 authors with American affiliations who chose to publish abroad. Arguments for and against their choices are listed. Three tests of the citation performance of the American papers in the twelve foreign titles selected were conducted. While the results disallow some of the more extreme viewpoints – they do allow for continuing controversy concerning the papers’ quality and the underlying motivation for their placement outside domestic channels. A final test shows that while a majority of Americans did not reappear as authors in these journals within three years, a sizable minority published there again and again. It is suggested that librarians quietly gauge the individually varying post-publication perspectives of their institution’s authors before making collection management decisions.
