Global Research Trends of Public Libraries from 1968 to 2017: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis

This study aimed to highlight the articles published on public libraries over a 50-year period from 1968 to 2017. This bibliometric study used Scopus citation database to collect articles. All public libraries articles indexed in Scopus were included. The downloaded records were analyzed by using Excel and VOS viewer. The results of the study revealed that the process of publishing public libraries articles was ascending and the number of documents reached from 4 in 1968 to 97 in 2017. The paper of Audunson R. (2005) entitled The public library as a meeting-place in a multicultural and digital context: The necessity of low-intensive meeting-places was the most highly-cited article. Bertot (28), United States (935), and Loughborough University (44) were the most productive author, country and university, respectively. Visualization showed that Public libraries, libraries, and public library were the most commonly used keywords in public library articles. In addition, the Public Library Quarterly was the most important source of articles publication. Public Library Quarterly, Library Trends, and Library Journal were the top journals, and Bertot, Jaeger and McClure were the top authors cited in articles. This was the first study on the bibliometric analysis and visualization of public libraries articles. This study can help better perceive intellectual trends and dominant discourses in this area by providing researchers with a roadmap.