Topic Modelling and its Application in Libraries: a review of specialized literature

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Lamba, M.^a | Madhusudhan, M.^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007 (E): lambamanika07@gmail.com | [b] Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007 (E): mmadhusudhan@libinfosci.du.ac.in

Abstract: Text mining application is one of the most trending and highly researched areas in social sciences. To date, library professionals’ knowledge of text mining tools and practice is mainly limited, resultantly, the library community poorly understands the full range of issues related to text mining. This article provides information on applying a text mining approach called topic modelling in the library and information science domain. Topic modelling is a text mining approach that determines a generative model for documents. This article maps how topic modelling can be used in libraries through various databases during 2009–22 period. It was found that the gap between information users and librarians can be bridged by text mining training. The study concludes that librarians must develop text mining skills to meet their patrons’ needs.

Keywords: Text mining, Topic modelling, Digital libraries, Information services, Information retrieval, Latent dirichlet allocation (LDA)

DOI: 10.18329/09757597/2022/15207

Journal: World Digital Libraries - An international journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 105-120, 2022