Data Mining in Academic Libraries: A Systematic Review

Libraries, as organizations that typically deal with significant amounts of data, can use data mining techniques to make informed decisions based on discovered knowledge to optimize their services. Finding valuable hidden information or patterns in large amounts of data is highly important in library management and services. Academic libraries, as centers that continuously serve the scientific community, have been able to provide better services to their users by utilizing results from data-based studies for better resource and budget management or by using the information within their organizations. This study was conducted to systematically collect and analyze data mining studies in university libraries with a focus on applications, subject areas, techniques, and software used. Articles were retrieved from two major scientific databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) following PRISMA's preferred guidelines for literature review, and were screened and selected based on their relevance, techniques, software used, and subject areas.