Research on the Discourse of Libraries During COVID-19 in YouTube Videos Using Topic Modeling and Social Network Analysis

Abstract

This study explored issues related to the library in the COVID-19 era in YouTube videos in Korea. This study performed social network analysis and topic modeling analysis by collecting 479 YouTube videos, 20,545 words, and 8,379 channels related to COVID-19 and the library from 2019 to 2020. The study results confirmed that YouTube, a social media platform, was used as an important medium to connect users and physical libraries and provide/promote online library services. In the study, major topics and keywords such as quarantine, vlog, and library identity during the COVID-19 pandemic, library services and functions, and introductions and user guides of libraries were derived. Additionally, it was identified that videos about COVID-19 and the library are being produced by various actors (news and media channels, libraries, government agencies, librarians, and individual users). However, the study also identified that the actor network is fragmented through the channel network, showing a low density or weak linkage, and that the centrality of the library in the actor network is weak.