Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries 1800436572, 9781800436572

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Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries

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Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries

JOSILINE PHIRI CHIGWADA Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe

NGOZI MARIA NWAOHIRI Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Emerald Publishing Limited Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK First edition 2021 Copyright © 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited Reprints and permissions service Contact: [email protected] No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-80043-657-2 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-80043-656-5 (Online) ISBN: 978-1-80043-658-9 (Epub)

Dedication I dedicate this book to my beloved husband Isaya Chigwada who is also dealing with the effects of the industry 4.0 at his work place, my son Nathaniel Takudzwa Chigwada whose wish is to be an engineer, and my daughter Joanna Thandaza Chigwada who wants to be a doctor. These people have been my pillar of strength and give me the zeal to write academic articles for publication. Josiline Phiri Chigwada Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe I dedicate this book to Udodiri, my loving husband and our children Chijindu, Ucheomachi and Jachimma Nwaohiri with heartfelt thanks for their loving support and constant inspiration. Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

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Contents

List of Figures and Tables

xi

List of Abbreviations

xiii

List of Contributors

xv

Foreword

xvii

Preface

xix

Introduction

xxiii

Acknowledgements

xxv

Section I The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries Chapter 1  Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita

3

Chapter 2  The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Libraries Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba

17

Chapter 3  Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges Grace Msauki

31

viii   Contents

Section II Redesigning Library Space Chapter 4  Understanding the Information User in the Electronic Age Nneka Chinaemerem Agim and Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri

47

Chapter 5  Application of Industry 4.0 in Delivering Library Services to Special Need Library Users Pauline Iroeze and Comfort N. Owate

55

Chapter 6  Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services in ABCD Software-based Website Md. Nazmul Islam, Md. Nurul Islam, Egbert de Smet and Md. Shahajada Masud Anowarul Haque

63

Chapter 7  Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services for Effective Service Delivery Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo

77

Chapter 8  The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century Janet Onomeh Ubogu

91

Section III Research Support Services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Chapter 9  Academic Library Research Support Services in the Maker Culture Era Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial

105

Chapter 10  Research Support Services in Academic Libraries in the Digital Environment in Zimbabwe Thembelihle Hwalima and Nqobulwazi Khanye

131

Section IV Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services Chapter 11  Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals Josiline Phiri Chigwada

149

Contents    ix

Chapter 12  Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products: The Case of Midlands State University Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa

165

Section V Marketing of Library and Information Services Chapter 13  Marketing of Library Collections and Services in the Twenty-first Century Environment: The Use of Social Media Technologies Rosemary Maturure and Donald Rakemane

191

Chapter 14  Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources? Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey

201

Section VI Capacity Building of Librarians in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Chapter 15  Capacity Building for Library and Information Science Professionals in University Libraries Stephen Tsekea

217

Chapter 16  Reskilling the Library Workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri and Moses C. Nwosu

227

About the Contributors

235

Index

241

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List of Figures and Tables

Figures Fig. 5.1 Characteristics of Industry 4.0 58 Fig. 6.1 Live Chat 71 Fig. 6.2 Configuring Live Chat 71 Fig. 6.3 ABCD Site Admin 72 Fig. 6.4 Paste the Embedded Text Into Component Named “VRS”72 Fig. 6.5 Preview in ABCD Site Module 73 Fig. 6.6 UI in ABCD Site Module 73 Fig. 6.7 Admin Interface of Zoho Chat 74 Fig. 9.1 Evolution of the University’s Mission. Source: Adapted from Fernández, Fernández-López, Rey-Ares, and Bobillo (2019) 107 Fig. 9.2 Research Support Services of Academic Libraries. Source: Own elaboration based on González-Solar (2016) 109 Fig. 9.3 Major Issues Currently Facing Your Library. Source: Own elaboration based on Penny (2019) 111 Fig. 9.4 Services Provided by Academic Libraries. Source: Own elaboration based on Penny (2019) 112 Fig. 9.5 The Researcher in Context. Source: Adapted from MacColl and Jubb (2011). 113 Fig. 9.6 Most Common Technologies and Activities in Academic Library Makerspace. Source: Adapted from Burke (2015) 118 Fig. 9.7 Map of the Benefits of a Better Connection with Researchers. Source: Adapted from The Value of Libraries for Research & Researchers: A RIN and RLUK Report (2001). 120 Fig . 10.1 Research Life Cycle Approach. Adapted from the University of Warwick (2015) 136 Fig. 10.2 Framework for Research Support Services in Institutions of Higher Learning 140

xii    List of Figures and Tables

Tables Table 10.1 Roles of the Librarian in Research Support Table 12.1 Key Role Players and Responsibilities. Source: MSU Standard Operating Procedures (2019b) Table 12.2 MSU Libraries Sitting Capacity. Source: MSU Client Services Section (2019) Table 14.1 The 7Ps of Marketing

137 177 180 206

List of Abbreviations

4IR Fourth Industrial Revolution AFLIA Africa Library and Information Associations and Institutions AI Artificial Intelligence ALA American Library Association AR Augmented Reality AT Assistive Technology CAS Current Awareness Service CDP Collection Development Policy CD-ROM Compact Disk-Read Only Memory CPD Continuous Professional Development CPS Cyber Physical System DaMaHub Data Management Hub FOSS Free Open Source Software HEI Higher Education Institutions HIB Human Information Behaviour ICT Information and Communication Technologies IFLA International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions IM Instant Messaging IoT Internet of Things ISO International Standards Organisation JAWS Job Access With Speech LCoNZ Library Consortium of New Zealand LIASA Library and Information Association of South Africa LIAZ Library and Information Association of Zambia LIS Library and Information Science MARC Machine Readable Catalogue MAS Minimum Academic Standards MOOC Massive Open Online Course ODDS Online Document Delivery Service OPAC Online Public Access Catalogue RCZ Research Council of Zimbabwe RDA Resource Description and Access RDM Research Data Management RFID Radio Frequency Identification

xiv    List of Abbreviations SCARLET Special Collections Using Augmented Reality to Enhance Learning and Teaching SCECSAL Standing Conference of the Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa Library Information and Associations SDG Sustainable Development Goals SDI Selective Dissemination of Information UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation VIAF Virtual International Authority Files VRS Virtual Reference Service ZIMCHE Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education ZIMLA Zimbabwe Library Association ZULC Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium

List of Contributors

Nneka Chinaemerem Agim, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria Chidimma Agunwamba, Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, University of Nigeria, Nigeria Josiline Phiri Chigwada, Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita, Department of Information Sciences, University of South Africa, South Africa Egbert de Smet, University of Antwerp, Belgium Mercy Ekenma Echem, Department of Library and Information Science, Rivers State University, Nigeria Viviana Fernández-Marcial, University of A Coruña, Spain Llarina González-Solar, University of A Coruña, Spain; General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, Belgium Shahajada Masud Anowarul Haque, Ayesha Abed Library, Brac University, Bangladesh Thembelihle Hwalima, Gwanda State University Library, Gwanda State University, Zimbabwe Md. Nazmul Islam, Department of Information Science and Library Management, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh Md. Nurul Islam, School of Information Management, Nanjing University, China Anna Kaushik, University of Kota, India Nqobulwazi Khanye, Lupane State University Library, Lupane State University, Zimbabwe Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo, Department of Library and Information Science, Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Nigeria Rosemary Maturure, Africa University Library, Africa University, Zimbabwe Grace Msauki, Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis Research Unit, Zimbabwe Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri, University Library, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria Moses C. Nwosu, Department of Library and Information Science, Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Nigeria

xvi    List of Contributors Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa, Midlands State University Library, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe Comfort N. Owate, Donald Ekong Library, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Shweta Pandey, LNM Institute of Information Technology, India Pauline Iroeze, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria Donald Rakemane, Office of District Commissioner, Botswana Stephen Tsekea, Bindura University of Science Education Library, Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe Janet Onomeh Ubogu, Delta State University Library, Delta State University, Nigeria Delight Promise Udochukwu, Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, University of Nigeria Nigeria

Foreword

History has it that industrial revolutions have had tolls or impact on organisations and most of the time very catastrophic. Libraries whether big or small have also experienced the impact of industrial revolution at one time or the other. This book entitled Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Libraries is a wellarticulated attempt to capture the impact of the Industrial Revolution on libraries generally. There is no doubt that industrial revolutions have in one way or the other affected library functions, services or even the activities. The publication of this book is very auspicious and timely considering the paucity of books in librarianship particularly the one that delved into this ugly experience on librarianship. The efforts expanded on the production of this book by these seasoned library scholars assembled around the globe is highly commended. The book is divided into six sections each with corresponding chapter. Section one deals with “The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries.” This section has three chapters, namely: 1. Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries 2. The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries 3. Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities. Section two which is entitled “Redesigning Library Space” has five chapters, namely: 1. Understanding the Information User in the Electronic Age 2. Application of Industry 4.0 in Delivering Library Services to Special Need Library Users 3. Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services in ABCD Softwarebased Website 4. Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services for Effective Service Delivery 5. The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century. Section three entitled “Research Support Services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution” covers two chapters, namely: 1. Academic Library Research Support Services in the Maker Culture Era 2. Research Support Services in Academic Libraries in the Digital Environment in Zimbabwe.

xviii   Foreword Section four is broadly entitled “Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services” has two chapters, namely: 1. Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2. Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products: The Case of Midlands State University. Section five is entitled “Marketing of Library and Information Services” has two chapters, namely: 1. Marketing of Library Collections and Services in the Twenty-first Century Environment: The Use of Social Media Technologies 2. Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources? Section six which is the last section is entitled “Capacity Building of Librarians in the Fourth Industrial Revolution” and it has two chapters, namely: 1. Capacity Building for Library and Information Science Professionals in University Libraries 2. Reskilling the Library Workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The writers assembled different countries of the world here in their respective chapter presentations rolled out well researched papers for the benefit of librarians, educators, students of library and information science and the general public. I have no reservation in recommending this enviable text for all seekers of knowledge in librarianship and other related disciplines around the globe. Dr Basil Onyeoziri Edom – Associate Professor of Library and Information Science Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. April, 2020

Preface

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) also known as the industry 4.0 is defined as the bringing together of economies, scale and economies of scope to produce new technologies, which will in turn adopt the use of computers, Internet of Things (IoTs) and cloud computing to monitor production processes (Postelnicu, & Calea 2019). It is changing how people live, work and communicate and many trades have been highly affected by the 4IR, libraries included. This technological revolution called the 4IR is changing industries and the jobs within them and is described as a journey that industrial companies are taking towards a complete value chain transformation. Introducing connectivity, artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning into the workplace has meant that employers no longer rely on their teams having a static set of skills, but instead, requires adaptable, digitally-minded workers that are committed to lifelong learning. This book therefore X-rays the ways and to what extent computers, IoTs, social media, artificial intelligence, data mining, robotics and machine learning has affected information acquisition, packaging, storage, and delivery. It would be sufficient to say that the abovementioned technologies are just emerging and as such require up-to-date knowledge and skills fit for their use, as this will without doubt bring about enhanced information service delivery even to remote areas regardless of time and geographical location. An informed society is healthy, knowledgeable and a literate society. Information and research findings are the hubs around which institutions, organizations and industries revolve for their existence and competitive advantage. Twenty-first century libraries must employ the main areas of Industry 4.0 such as IoT, artificial intelligence, big data and computers in information products, services and marketing which are in turn given out to institutions, organizations and industries for health services and economic growth. Hence, Hang, Thuy, & Tam (2018) report that the industry 4.0 is breaking the structure of almost every industry, foreshadowing the transformation of the entire production, management system and training. The industry 4.0 will be the foundation for a dramatic transition from a resource-based, low-cost to knowledgebase economy. So long as universities and academic institutions are striving to boost their research and academic productivity through the development and implementation

xx   Preface of digital technologies in research, teaching and learning, the issue of reskilling and upskilling of these library staff cannot be over emphasized. Thus, Ntlotlang (2019) and Cardwell (2009) advised that libraries should conduct library staff skills audit exercise in order to identify each individual’s strength, ability and skills gap so as to have in-depth understanding of library staff competencies in regarding of their role of the demands brought about by technological revolution. The book comprises 16 chapters which serve as guide and information resource to library and information professionals. Library managers, heads of institutions and government policy makers can also benefit from the contents of the book to make available adequate funds and resources that will bring about technological revolution in libraries and the reskilling and upskilling of these information service providers who will make use of these technologies.

Organization of the Book The book is organized into 16 chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the Fourth Industrial Revolution and libraries and how it is affecting the operations and services of all types of libraries. It also states that librarians should have the needed competencies and skills in the Fourth Industrial Revolution in order to remain relevant. Chapter 2 showcases the changes that have been brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and point out that librarians should not overlook those changes. It states that libraries should adapt and embrace the changes brought about by industry 4.0 to meet the needs of the different types of patrons that they serve. Chapter 3 points out the challenges and opportunities of library 4.0 on sustainable development due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It highlights how libraries can take advantage of the disruptive technologies to meet the sustainable development goals. The challenges that are affecting libraries in embracing industry 4.0 are also explained. Chapter 4 discusses the information users of all categories and the challenges they encounter in their search for information in this electronic age. The study went further to bring to light the concept of digital literacy, classification of understanding the information user in electronic age, studies dealing with Information need and challenges of the information user in the electronic age. Suggestions on how to reach out efficiently and effectively to users was made. Chapter 5 addresses the problem of how industry 4.0 can support the special need library users in accessing and utilizing information services effortlessly, by combining theories, proposing strategic models, and articulating its opportunities for the special need users. The chapter concludes by providing an overview for librarians, library educators, students and researchers of how special need library users can be supported to access and utilize information services effortlessly using industry 4.0 components Chapter 6 documents how reference services can be enhanced in the Fourth Industrial Revolution using ABCD library management software to create an online live chat called Zoho chat. This is a virtual reference service which is used to provide feedback to patrons in real time. The chapter is a step by step guide of

Preface    xxi the customization process of Zoho chat via the library website using the ABCD site module. Chapter 7 deals with how information can be repackaged in the Fourth Industrial Revolution so as to meet the needs of various users who use the library. These users have different needs and various backgrounds and some are techno savvy while others are advanced in the use of technology. This chapter unpacks the concept of information packaging and repackaging and the strategies that are used in providing library services and products to patrons. Chapter 8 discusses the changing roles of librarians in the Fourth Industrial Revolution due to the rapid technological changes that are taking place. The challenges that are faced by librarians as a result of these technological changes are stated in the chapter as well as the need to build capacity among librarians to ensure that they are able to deliver their new roles. Chapter 9 explains the maker culture where there are changes in space, infrastructure and service organization. This also affects research support and academic libraries should create research support services which suit the maker culture. It points out the importance of research in higher education institutions and how the researcher can relate to librarians in the maker culture era. Chapter 10 documents the research support services in academic libraries in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Libraries are obliged to be innovative in delivering research support services due to the changes that are brought about by the industry 4.0 era. The issues that are discussed in the chapter involve the relationship between librarians and researchers, challenges experienced by librarians when offering research support services, role played by the librarians, and a framework that can be used to render the research support services. The importance of a national policy and the need to train librarians in emerging issues was highlighted in the chapter to ensure effective services are rendered to the research community. Chapter 11 deals with quality assurance in libraries so as to achieve the sustainable development goals. Libraries are regarded as the information hub of any institutions and patrons access such information as a way of understanding how they can contribute to the attainment of the sustainable development goals. In order to achieve that, there are standards which should be adhered to in order to offer efficient and effective services. All facets of the library including the library building, collection, human resources, service provision, qualification, library schools among others should meet these minimum standards that are laid down in various policy and procedures documents. Chapter 12 is related to the previous chapter and this documents the quality assurance and marketing of library services at Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. This is a case study of what is being done at the institution in all service areas to offer efficient services to the clientele. An element of continuous professional development came out to ensure that librarians are able to move along with the changes that are brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Chapters 13 and 14 document the marketing of library services and products in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Marketing is regarded as an essential

xxii   Preface component in the industry 4.0 era and libraries should seriously consider this in delivering services and products. Chapter 13 points out the importance of using social media technologies in marketing library services and products in the twenty-first century. This is another way of meeting the users where they are since most library patrons are now utilizing social media platforms to meet their academic needs. As a result, libraries now have official social media platforms that they use to communicate with patrons. The next chapter showcases the 7Ps of marketing library services which should be applied by librarians in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Chapter 15 discusses the need for capacity building among university librarians to meet the needs of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is caused by the changes in higher education and information technology as well as the learning landscape which is demanding new skills and competencies from library and information professionals. Chapter 16 reviews the industrial revolution phases down to the 4th industrial era or the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) with the resultant effects of upskilling and re-skilling the workforce for future fits of the industry 4.0 era. The chapter also provided answers to what skills today’s workforce need to develop as their roles evolve, what reskilling, cross-skilling, upskilling is all about and the various strategies through which library managers can adopt to encourage their workforce to re-skill, cross-skill and upskill. Josiline Phiri Chigwada Bindura University of Science Education Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

References Cardwell, P. (2009). Competences-based services reviews and workforce planning at Deakin University Library. Library Management, 30(8/9), 539–548. Hang, N. P.T., Thuy, L. E. & Tam, P. N. (2018). Impacting the industry 4.0 on the training quality and student’s satisfaction at Lac Hong University. Journal of Management Information and Decision Sciences; Weaverville, 21(1), 1–18. Retrieved from https:// www.abacademies.org/articles/impacting-the-industry-40-on-the-training-qualityand-students-satisfaction-at-lac-hong-university-7544.html Ntlotlang, T. (2019). Technology mediated tools as drivers of library researcher collaboration: The case of Botswana International University of Science and Technology Institutional Repository (IR). Retrieved from https://www.creativecommons.org/ licence/by/4.0 Postelnicu, C., & Calea, S. (2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution global risk, local challenges for employment. Montenegrin Journal of Economics; Podgorica, 15(2), 195–206. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2294465612/fulltext/ BB4084BBB44B4E59PQ/2?accountid=162970

Introduction

Examining the impact of industry 4.0 on academic libraries is a book that showcases the emerging issues in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The industry 4.0 era has affected all types of organisations and libraries were not spared in the process. This book provides answers to questions on how academic libraries can adapt to the emerging technologies so as to remain relevant in the institutions of higher learning where they are regarded as the hub of learning, teaching and research. Academic librarians should understand the new services and products that were brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution which is also regarded as 4IR or industry 4.0. Therefore, this book documents original research on the issues, opportunities, challenges and the effects of industry 4.0 on academic libraries. The target audience of this book are professionals, librarians, students, lecturers and researchers working in the field of library and information science, archives and records management, communication sciences, education, and information technology. The publication documents the changes that are taking place in the 4IR and what librarians should do to move along with those changes. The book summarizes the emerging trends and contemporary issues in academic librarianship. The impact of the book would be in providing reference information to students in the library and information science (LIS) schools in institutions of higher learning with the information sources required to gain knowledge and skills of twenty-first century librarianship. Lecturers would also benefit since they would have a reference source in contemporary issues in LIS. Academic librarians would gain the skills and knowledge that are required in offering services in the 4IR. The areas that are covered in the book include the 4IR and libraries, redesigning library spaces such maker space, learning commons, research commons, etc., reference services in the 4IR, electronic information services in the 4IR, research support services, information seeking behaviour in the 4IR, marketing of library services in the 4IR, and capacity building in the 4IR. The editors of the book wish you well and hope that you will enjoy the book as you come to terms with the impact of the 4IR on academic libraries and how you can enhance your competencies and skills to continue offering relevant services.

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Acknowledgements

The editors would like to acknowledge the assistance rendered by all those who took part in this project. The authors and reviewers that took part in the review process did a wonderful job. Without their support, this book would not have become a reality. First, the editors would like to thank each one of the authors for their contributions. Our sincere gratitude goes to the chapter’s authors who contributed their time and expertise to this book. Second, the editors wish to acknowledge the valuable contributions of the reviewers regarding the improvement of quality, coherence, and content presentation of chapters. Most of the authors also served as referees; we highly appreciate their double task. Josiline Phiri Chigwada Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

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Section I

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries

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Chapter 1

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita Introduction The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) also known as Industry 4.0 (Hussain, 2019; Frederick, 2016) is the current and developing environment where disruptive technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality are changing how libraries operate (Donna, 2016). The oddments of information reported by the media give the impression that robots, AI, cloud-based computing, big data and a combination of other technologies are gradually converging and merging to create a new reality which has the potential for revolutionising all aspects of life (Frederick, 2016). The 4IR is considered to be the outcome of the convergence of a number of technologies in industrial operations for example, the proliferation of robotics, AI, cloud computing, big data, linked data, 3D printing, biotechnology, and the integration of technology with the human body through wearable technologies (Frederick, 2016). These technologies are underpinned by access to datasets. Globally, the 4IR era has greatly affected the way library and information centres conduct their daily activities in ensuring that the dynamic and diverse needs of users are met. More focus has been placed on innovation forcing the libraries to re-examine the way they conduct their business leading to transformation of production, management, and governance in libraries. The Industry 4.0 era is calling for a librarian who has an in-depth knowledge of a specific field with sufficient knowledge of other fields including the ability to use the panoply of digital technologies in various areas. Chisita and Chibanda (2019) highlighted that digital technologies were stimulating revolutionary changes among libraries by changing how work is done or accomplished. Therefore, there is need to develop a library workforce that is not threatened by these new technologies through continuous professional development. Ahmat and Hanipah (2018) pointed out four strategic actions that should be taken by libraries to control the disruptive changes brought about by the 4IR. These are reshaping organisational behaviour, redesigning business model, restructuring Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 3–15 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201010

4    Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita business process workflow, and remaking job descriptions and roles. There are various types of libraries which include academic, school, public, and special, and all these libraries should move along with these changes. Hirschi (2018) noted how the gig or sharing economy would create new opportunities through crowd work and work on demand via apps (De Stefano, 2016). In crowd work, individuals complete a series of tasks online (e.g. reviewing documents, annotating photos, entering data) for an infinite number of organisations worldwide, facilitated by a platform. This economy will facilitate the growth of independent information practice in the form of information consultants, brokers, vendors, and mediators. De Mauro, Greco, and Grimaldi (2016) highlighted how the 4IR would enhance the value of librarians and their role in big data by creating value with regard to bibliometric, data sharing, and data curation. Thelwall (2008) argued that the emergence of the networked milieu has resulted in bibliometric evolving into closely related virgin subfields such as webometrics, infometrics and altmetrics, analysing statistical patterns between digital documents and sets of data. ‘Big Data is the Information asset characterized by such High Volume, Velocity and Variety to require specific Technology and Analytical Methods for its transformation into Value’ (De Mauro et al., 2016, p. 131). It is against this background that the chapter seeks to meet the following objectives: 1. To analyse the changing roles of librarians in the Industry 4.0 era. 2. To document the new skills required by librarians in the 4IR. 3. To examine various ways of continuous professional development in the Industry 4.0 era. 4. To recommend strategies to enhance continuous professional development for librarians in the Industry 4.0 era.

History of the 4IR The Industrial Revolution started during the eighteenth–nineteenth centuries in Europe and America in the iron and textile industries when the steam engine was invented. The Second Industrial Revolution took place from 1870 to 1940 prior to World War II (1939–1945) when steel, oil, electricity, and electric power were used for mass production, telephone, light bulbs, phonograph, and internal combustion engine were developed. Frederick (2016) noted that the phrase ‘industrial revolution’ is a buzzword that many readers undoubtedly encountered in their school history lessons and likely associated with a time-period lasting from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century where small homebased industries gradually succumbed to larger scale production in industrial shops. The industrial revolution was set into motion by technological changes in the form of invention of machines which could manufacture products faster and more efficiently than the home-based craftsperson (Frederick, 2016). The Third Industrial Revolution is regarded as the digital revolution where there was advancement of technology from analogue electronic and mechanical devices to the digital technology from 1980. There was the advent of personal computers, internet, and information communication technology (ICT). The 4IR was

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries    5 coined by Klaus Schwab a German Engineer and economist who is best known as the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (World Economic Forum, 2016). He pointed out that the 4IR will affect the essence of human experience (World Economic Forum, 2016a; Schwab, 2019, Smith, 2019). Libraries have encountered three phases of development within these industrial revolutions and these include the emergence of automation systems leading to the use of Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC) and Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), audio visual media systems and web-based indexing; the development of CD-ROMs, full-text databases, the Internet, and the Web; and the advancement of new technology that was used to accomplish complex tasks (Ahmat & Hanipah, 2018). This led to the development of maker spaces in libraries where there are collaborative work spaces for making, learning, exploring and sharing using high-technology tools and applications (Smith, 2019). Some librarians are now responsible for teaching robotics, coding, and programming skills to library patrons.

Industry 4.0 Tools and Applications in Libraries The 4IR is driven by specific types of technology which are big data, AI, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, advanced security systems, and the IoT (Hawthorne, 2018). Romanovs, Pichkalov, Sabanovic, and Skirelis (2019) added that there are growing technologies in the 4IR which include drones, 3D printing, AI, nanotechnology, robotics, among others. This has led to the increasing digitisation of products and services which is termed internet of everything. These tools and applications have the potential to boost productivity in libraries and can reduce costs as well as improve the quality of products and services.

Drivers of Industry 4.0 There are some drivers of the 4IR which has been noted as information communication infrastructure and emerging technologies, education and training, innovation, policy innovation, and responsive and context-specific strategies.

Information Communication Infrastructure Information communication infrastructure and emerging technologies such as cloud computing, IoT, that is the development of smart products, the internet of services and internet of energy topped the list in the 4IR (Lom, Pribyl, & Svitek, 2016). Digital connectivity in the Industry 4.0 era is provided by telecommunication technologies such as broadband to ensure that there is digital connectivity to enhance communication and collaboration as stated by the European Commission (2015). Libraries can take advantage of the use of 5G technologies, big data, the IoT and AI to increase efficiency and to make evidence-based decisions since data analytics can be used to gain more insights in understanding customer preferences, changing market conditions and to enhance efficiency in library services (World Economic Forum, 2016a; Golub & Hansson, 2017).

6    Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita High Processing Computer (HPC) is turning out to be a major source of hope for future applications development that require greater amounts of computing resources in various modern science domains such as bioengineering, nanotechnology, the 4IR and energy where HPC capabilities are mandatory in order to run simulations and perform visualisation tasks (Smari et al., 2016).

Education and Training There is an increased demand for skilled labour in the 4IR . Librarians should be skilled, innovative, and technological savvy as pointed out by Manda and Backhouse (2017). Xing and Marwala (2017) noted that the 4IR revolution will result in new forms of universities that will conduct teaching, research, and service in a dissimilar manner. Furthermore, Xing and Marwala (2017) foresaw the novel university characterised by interdisciplinarity, have virtualised classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and teachers. This implies that librarians should develop their skills to fit well in the changing work environment. These skills include the use of information communication technologies, communication skills, marketing skills, public relations skills, research skills among others. Libraries should also prepare and anticipate these future skills requirements so as to develop proper training programmes for the librarians and review job descriptions in line with these changes.

Innovation Due to the advent of technology, innovation is a key in the 4IR leading to the need for investment in research and development (Mckinsey Global Institute, 2015). These innovations would assist in addressing developmental challenges as stated by Buhr (2016). This calls for innovative policy and legislative reforms by libraries, institutions, and the government to support the digital transformations. Zhou, Liu, and Zhou (2015) reiterated the challenges that are brought about by the 4IR which include trade restrictions, data security, liability issues, and personal data privacy and these can be dealt with by strict regulations in the form of standards, legislation, and policies. The policies would address the issues of skills, infrastructure, funding and regulation among others.

Responsive and Context-specific Strategies In dealing with the Industry 4.0, there is need to have strategies that can be utilised by libraries to be efficient and effective. There is need for clear strategies with guidelines on how libraries should respond to the demands and challenges of the digital environment. However, in the developing world, libraries mostly fail to have strategies that respond to the local context. This has been stated by Majdalawi, Almarabeh, Mohammad, and Quteshate (2015) who pointed out that the major challenge in developing countries is not the absence of strategies but the available strategies do not suit the local settings. Manda and Backhouse (2016b)

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries    7 added that developing countries fail to adapt to the best practices leading to the implementation of poor strategies.

Changes Brought by the 4IR The 4IR brought about a number of changes in the library and the major change agents are automation and AI. This led to the emergence of other issues such as diverse users, library automation, embedded librarianship, open science, the use of social media platforms, and the changing roles of librarians. Some librarians feel threatened by the revolution and they believe that some certain groups of employees are getting redundant and will be replaced with new workers with the required skills or with machines. The librarians should be able to answer the information needs of diverse users such as the millennial generation, generation X, Y, and Z, and patrons with special needs. Libraries are now promoting digital literacy to ensure that the patrons are able to access and use the information using various technologies. All librarians’ jobs require digital skills and the use of technology is now a basic requirement. During the digital literacy training sessions, librarians would be unpacking issues such as how to deal with the information overload and imparting skills on how to conduct sound research as well as dealing with fake news on the internet. There are some libraries that have adopted Industry 4.0 tools and applications in their day-to-day activities. There is an advanced robotic conveyer system that transports books from Bryant Park off-site storage area to New York Public Library underground (Smith, 2019). At Connecticut West Port Library, two librarians, Vincent and Nancy are responsible for teaching AI to library users. Some libraries are collecting data using social media tools, drones, cameras, and other Industry 4.0 devices to analyse and use it intelligently. The University of Pretoria employed Libby, a client service robot in May 2019 as a way of evolving in line with the 4IR. According to the University of Pretoria (2019), the robot is responsible for providing guidance, conduct surveys, display marketing videos, and answering questions.

Why Continuous Professional Development? The 4IR brought about many changes which affect the way library services and products are offered. This calls for the need to continuously develop the knowledge and skills of librarians so that they stay abreast of the changes and know how they can positively impact the communities that they serve. There are new services in the research, teaching, and learning and these include big data, research data management, and open science such as open data, open access, open educational resources, and open methodology among other things. This shows that librarians are now taking new roles and responsibilities and they are now regarded as researchers and teachers. Librarians now teach information literacy to impart skills on how to access and evaluate information resources. Therefore, it is important that librarians should develop their skills to remain relevant in the Industry 4.0 era.

8    Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita

Opportunities and Challenges of the 4IR Manda and Dhaou (2019) pointed out that the Industry 4.0 brought economic and social opportunities and challenges which should be handled and dealt with appropriately in order to respond to it. This was supported by Manda and Backhouse (2017) and Schwab (2016) who stated that the tools and applications of Industry 4.0 can disrupt society, business and government through its innovations. The European Parliament (2016) identified the challenges experienced in Europe as changing business models, skills mismatch, intellectual property issues, and the need for investment, data issues, standards, and legal questions of liability. Dregger, Niehaus, Ittermann, Hirsch-Kreinsen, and ten Hompel (2016) pointed out that in Germany, the challenges in the Industry 4.0 era are increased social insecurity, job loss, new kinds of stress, and disqualification. Libraries can also take advantage of the opportunities that are offered by the 4IR and those in the developing countries can align themselves with the developed countries by embracing the use of AI, big data analytics and blockchain.

Opportunities in the Industry 4.0 Era Library users are now able to afford and access the digital world due to the advances in technology regardless of time and location. Libraries are now offering both on and off campus access to information resources and patrons only need an internet connection to enjoy the facilities where they can access the services 24/7. This has greatly increased the use of electronic resources since convenience of accessing library services had been improved. New products and services that increase the efficiency of library services are also being introduced in libraries due to the Industry 4.0. These include the use of social media platforms to communicate with clients, online reference services, online renewal of print materials, and self-services at circulation points. Libraries and librarians will have to reinvent and restrategise on how they can benefit from the numerous opportunities arising from the 4IR era as highlighted below: Libraries enable literate, informed and participative societies. When we look at the future, according to the debates in our teleconference, libraries will be trustworthy information brokers; will do more with new technology; provide universal access to information and scholarly works, whether it be media or information we already know or new media; preserving and providing access to information in all formats and providing trusted and effective support for political and social engagement. Libraries will be advocates for and facilitators of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where people create their own devices and objects. (Church, Butz, Cassell, Kamar, Swindells, Tallman, & Snellenberg, 2017, p. 2) The introduction of these new services have assisted library patrons since there is a drop in transportation and communication costs as they can transact from

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries    9 anywhere instead of physically visiting the library, thereby enhancing the quality of research and learning. Frederick (2016) foresaw a future whereby libraries would increasingly utilise 4IR technologies and processes to the execution of routine library work and services for the benefit of patrons. Such applications will rely on the proprietary data of the technology vendors and library data which likely will be consisting of a blend of proprietary and publicly accessible data. Therefore, library staff had also been relieved from repetitive tasks which can be boring.

Challenges in the Industry 4.0 Era Librarians lack skills to interpret and analyse data to successfully compete in the 4IR. The skills challenge will greatly affect librarians who are not e-ready in terms of e-skills and e-literacy which are pre-requisites in the smart society. There is a challenge of skills mismatch and skills redundancy that are caused by the advances in technology. The skills challenge is made worse by the poor infrastructure in most developing countries such as low broadband which would affect the implementation of Industry 4.0. This has led to greater inequality which causes increasing social and income inequality since those with skills and infrastructure are now at a higher level than those without. The major challenges are the displacement of workers by machines, potential unemployment due to the increasing demand for highly skilled workers and decrease in the demand for workers with less education and lower skills (Schwab, 2016). This would lead to demands of the high and low workforce. This had been stressed by Dregger et al. (2016) who pointed out that there are fears of displacement of humans at the workplace by machines due to automation. It was noted at the World Economic Forum (2016b) that the changes that are taking place due to the 4IR will have significant impact on jobs such as job creation and job displacement due to the skills gap. However, it has been noted that there is need for librarians to up skill in order to remain relevant in the 4IR since human intelligence and skills are needed. Libraries might fail to adapt to these new technologies to enjoy their benefits. There is need for support from the institution, ministry, and the government to ensure that a comprehensive and reliable industrial broadband infrastructure is established to enjoy the fruits of the 4IR as stated by Zhou et al. (2015). There is an issue of security and data privacy which causes cyber security threats (Waidner & Kasper, 2016). There is a need to develop new security measures to safeguard data and information in the 4IR (Manda & Dhaou, 2019). Dealing with big data and data analytics may pose a threat to the patron’s data privacy and protection if it is not handled well (Manda and Backhouse, 2016a). This can be caused by misinformation that can happen through the use of digital media. The 4IR’s impact will change all aspects of lives including our consciousness, privacy and ownership, consumption patterns, time management, knowledge and skills development, career growth, and social interaction (Schwab, 2016). Frederick (2019) noted that despite all the type of the benefits of the 4IR, there exists a profound potential for the emerging technological era to create an entirely new facet of the digital divide. Chisita and Rusero (2016) highlighted the need for

10    Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita libraries to tackle socio-economic deprivation and digital exclusion in order to turn the digital divide into a digital dividend and avert an implosive trajectory of exclusion. Schwab (2015) argued that despite opportunities, the 4IR exacerbates certain pre-existing inequalities, such as the digital divide. Robotics and machine intelligence may replace many of today’s jobs. The author further argues that if policy measures are not taken into account, the digitally marginalised, for example, the aged and poor would experience the harshness and cruelty of the digital divide. This implies that the poor in Kathmandu, Bagamoyo, Mutoko, Rourkela, Kibera, or Limpopo needs to be taken into account when policy makers plan projects for digital inclusivity. Schwab (2015) views the 4IR from a pessimistic and optimistic perspective, for example, in the former it is viewed as a dehumanising technology with potential to robotise humanity and thus to deprive human-beings heart and soul, then on the latter it can lead to creativity, empathy, stewardship and uplift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. The onus is on us as the human race whether to choose technology dead world (zombification) or earthly world whereby technology is not everything neither is everything technology.

Solutions and Recommendations Librarians should ensure that they develop their skills to remain relevant in the 4IR and be able to work in the big data era. There are various avenues that can be taken to reskill and up-skill librarians. These include but are not limited to formal education, exchange programmes, massive open online courses (MOOCs), webinars, conferences, workshops, contact leave, and seminars. Library and information science universities and colleges are developing short courses and new programmes that deal with the technological changes that are taking place in the Industry 4.0 era, for example, at the University of Cape Town the courses cover subjects such as research data management and a module on research data management is offered to other people who might not be students at the institution. This helps information professionals who are already in the system to develop their research data management skills which is a requirement for those who are involved in the research life cycle. There are a number of MOOCs that are offered, most of them are free of charge to up-skill librarians so that they continuously develop themselves. MOOCs serve as an unconventional paradigm to formal education and an efficient tool to be employed for the knowledge and skills development of the potential youth (Chatterjee & Nath, 2014). Some of them are found on Coursera, Edx, and Future Learn where universities develop these courses and certificates of achievements are offered after successfully completing the course. Most of these courses include practical lessons which help librarians to do hands on sessions which are essential in developing their skills. A lot of webinars are being developed and aired so as to impart skills of emerging trends in library and information science to librarians. Most of these webinars are developed by library associations and institutions such as African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AFLIA), International

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries    11 Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), American Library Association (ALA) and library and information science schools. In the event that some librarians fail to attend to the live session, recordings would be made available to ensure that one can view the webinar at any time which is convenient. Conferences are another way of gaining experience and skills in trending issues in library and information science. They provide a wonderful opportunity for networking and librarians are able to connect and share experiences thereby learning from each other. This can also lead to exchange programmes where librarians can visit other institutions to learn how they are dealing with the opportunities and challenges that are posed by the Industry 4.0 era. Some conferences can be national, regional or international and some are organised by national library associations while others are organised by regional and international associations. For example, national associations hold annual conferences, regional associations such as Standing Conference of Eastern Central and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL), African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AFLIA) hold conferences after two years, while International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has a conference every year. In some conferences, there are workshops that are done to equip librarians with new skills. These workshops are facilitated by experts in the field.

Recommendations The authors recommend the need to have support from top management since some of these continuous professional development activities require funds and time off from the busy schedule of librarians. Management support is needed to ensure that librarians are able to travel to the conferences, workshops, and seminars and also attend the webinars and MOOCs in order to learn the new skills required in the 4IR . Management support will also help to empower people and address the risks of losing jobs due to technological changes. This includes awareness creation on the opportunities and challenges that are brought about by Industry 4.0 and how librarians can continuously develop themselves to meet those challenges. Librarians should join and work with library associations to benefit with skills development on trending issues in library and information science. There are national, regional, and international associations that have various capacity building programmes for librarians. These include national associations such as Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA), Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA), Library and Information Association of Zambia, among others in Africa, regional associations such as AFLIA, and international associations such as IFLA. There are various mediums that can be utilised such as Google, MOOCs like Edx, Coursera, Future Learn among others, podcasts, and YouTube videos.

Areas of Further Study This chapter documented the changes and effects of the 4IR to libraries. Actual studies can be done by analysing how libraries are adjusting to these changes in the Industry 4.0 era. Librarians can be interviewed to examine how they are

12    Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita advancing themselves in a bid to up skill themselves so that they remain relevant in the highly technological era. It will be important to know how librarians are taking advantage of the various continuous professional development activities that are available. The other areas for further study on the impact of 4IR on libraries include but not limited to big data, modelling, simulation, forensic bibliographic reconstruction, computational platform, and complete approaches for the 4IR.

Conclusion The Industry 4.0 era or 4IR has greatly affected library services and products. Frederick (2019) predicts the possibility of libraries repositioning themselves as a critical element in the new reality of the 4IR. However, this vision is possible to realise if librarians have a bigger picture of the new scheme of things in the weird and wired world (Frederick, 2019). There are roles that had been greatly changed and new roles for librarians are emerging such as research data management, scholarly communication, and research among others. In order to remain relevant in the 4IR, librarians should possess research skills, communication skills, and public relations skills to ensure that they will be able to serve their clientele satisfactorily.

References Ahmat, M. A., & Hanipah, R. A. A. (2018). Preparing the libraries for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th IR). Journal PPM: Journal of Malaysian Librarians, 12(1), 53–64. Buhr, D. (2016). Industry 4.0 – New Tasks for Innovation Policy. [Online]. Retrieved from http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/wiso/11480.pdf Chatterjee, P., & Nath, A. (2014). Massive open online courses (MOOCs) in higher education – Unleashing the potential in India. In 2014 IEEE International Conference on MOOC, Innovation and Technology in Education (MITE) (pp. 256–260). Chisita, C. T., & Chibanda, N. P. (2019). The IFLA Global Vision Project in Zimbabwe: Towards a unified field road map for libraries. Mousaion, 37(2), 1–26. Chisita, C. T., & Rusero, M. (2016). Challenges and opportunities of reinforcing the PanAfrican movement in the advent of globalization. In C. Quist-Adade & W. Royal (Eds.), Re-engaging the African Diasporas: Pan-Africanism in the age of globalization (p. 161). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Church, J., Butz, C., Cassell, K., Kamar, N., Swindells, G., Tallman, K., & Snellenberg, R. V. (2017, 5 July). GLOBAL VISION DISCUSSION Report of the Government Information and Official Publications meeting: How a united library field can tackle the challenges of the future (p. 2). Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/files/ assets/gvsr/GV%20Report_IFLA%20Government%20Information%20and%20 Official%20Publications%20Section.pdf. Accessed on April 17, 2020. De Mauro, A., Greco, M., & Grimaldi, M. (2016). A formal definition of Big Data based on its essential features. Library Review, 65(3), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.1108/ LR-06-2015-0061 De Stefano, V. (2016). Introduction: Crowdsourcing, the Gig-Economy and the Law. Comparative Labor Law Journal, 37(3), 461–470.

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries    13 Donna, E. F. (2016). Libraries, data and the fourth industrial revolution (Data Deluge Column). Library Hi Tech News, 33(5), 9–12. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-052016-0025. Dregger, J., Niehaus, J., Ittermann, P., Hirsch-Kreinsen, H., & ten Hompel, M. (2016, May). The digitization of manufacturing and its societal challenges: A framework for the future of industrial labor. In 2016 IEEE international symposium on ethics in engineering, science and technology (ETHICS) (pp. 1–3). IEEE. European Commission. (2015). The factories of the future. [Online] Retrieved from http://www.effra.eu/attachments/article/129/Factories%20of%20the%20Future%20 2020%20Roadmap.pdf European Parliament. (2016). Industry 4.0: digitalization for productivity and growth. [Online]. Retrieved from www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/…/ EPRS_BRI(2015)568337_EN.pdf Frederick, D. (2016). Libraries, data and the fourth industrial revolution (Data Deluge Column). Library Hi Tech News, 33(5), 9–12. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-052016-0025 Frederick, D. (2019). The Fourth industrial revolution and the digital divide. Library Hi Tech News, 36(7), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-07-2019-0048 Golub, K., & Hansson, J. (2017). (Big) Data in library and information science: A brief overview of some important problem areas. Journal of Universal Computer Science (Online), 23(11), 1098–1108. Hawthorne, J. (2018). 4th industrial revolution (4IR) Characteristics. Tech & Inno. Retrieved from https://senat.me/en/4th-industrial-revolution-4ir-characteristics/ Hirschi, A. (2018). The fourth industrial revolution: Issues and implications for career research and practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 66(3), 192–204. Hussain. (2019). Industrial revolution 4.0: Implications to libraries and librarians. Library Hi Tech New, In Press. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-05-2019-0033 Lom, M., Pribyl, O., & Svitek, M. (2016, May). Industry 4.0 as a part of smart cities. In Smart cities symposium Prague (SCSP) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. Majdalawi, Y. Kh., Almarabeh, T., Mohammad, H. & Quteshate, W. (2015). E-Government strategy and plans in Jordan. Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 8(1), 211–223. Manda, M. I., & Backhouse, J. (2016a). Addressing trust, security and privacy concerns in e-government integration, interoperability and information sharing through policy: A case of South Africa. In Proceedings of the 2016 international conference on information resources management (CONF-IRM). Paper 67. [Online]. Retrieved from http://aisel.aisnet.org/confirm2016/67 Manda, M. I. & Backhouse, J. (2016b). Towards a “Smart Society” through a connected and smart citizenry in South Africa: A review of the national broadband strategy and policy. In International conference on electronic government and the information systems perspective (pp. 228–240). Springer International Publishing. Manda, M. I., & Backhouse, J. (2017). Digital transformation for inclusive growth in South Africa. Challenges and opportunities in the 4th industrial revolution. In 2nd African conference on information science and technology, Cape Town, South Africa. Manda, M. I., & Dhaou, S. B. (2019). Responding to the challenges and opportunities in the 4th Industrial revolution in developing countries. In Proceedings of the 12th international conference on theory and practice of electronic governance (ICEGOV2019), Melbourne, VIC, Australia, April 3–5, 2019 (10 pages). https:// doi.org/10.1145/3326365.3326398 Mckinsey Global Institute. (2015). South Africa’s big five: Bold priorities for inclusive growth. [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/middleeast-and-africa/southafricas-bold-priorities-for-inclusive-growth

14    Josiline Phiri Chigwada and Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita Romanovs, A., Pichkalov, I., Sabanovic, E., & Skirelis, J. (2019). Industry 4.0: Methodologies, tools and applications. In 2019 open conference of electrical, electronic and information sciences (eStream), Vilnius, Lithuania (pp. 1–4). doi: 10.1109/ eStream.2019.8732150 Schwab, K. (2015, October). Will the fourth industrial revolution have a human heart? Geneva: World Economic Forum. Schwab, K. (2016). The fourth industrial revolution: What it means, how to respond. Geneva: World Economic Forum. Schwab, K. (2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution-2119734 Smari, W. W., Bakhouya, M., Fiore, S., & Aloisio, G. (2016). New advances in high performance computing and simulation: parallel and distributed systems, algorithms, and applications. Concurrency and Computation Practice and Experience, 28(7). https:// doi.org/10.1002/cpe.3774. Smith, I. (2019). Public libraries in the 4th industrial revolution. Retrieved from https:// www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-meansand-how-to-respond/ Thelwall, M. (2008). Bibliometrics to webometrics. Journal of Information Science, 34(1), 605–621. University of Pretoria. (2019). Libby the library robot is on duty at UL. Retrieved from https://www.up.ac.za/alumni/news/post_2825427-libby-the-library-robot-is-onduty-at-up Waidner, M., & Kasper, M. (2016). Security in Industrie 4.0 - Challenges and Solutions for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In Proceedings of the 2016 Design, Automation & Test in Europe Conference & Exhibition (DATE). doi:10.3850/9783981537079_1005. World Economic Forum. (2016). The global competiveness report. Geneva: World Economic Forum. World Economic Forum. (2016a). The global Information Technology Report. Geneva: World Economic Forum. World Economic Forum. (2016b). The future of jobs: Employment, skills and workforce strategy for the fourth industrial revolution. Geneva: World Economic Forum. Xing, B., & Marwala, T. (2017). Implications of the Fourth Industrial Age for higher education. The Thinker, Issue 73, Third Quarter 2017. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/ abstract=3225331. Accessed on April 20, 2020. Zhou, K., Liu, T., & Zhou, L. (2015). Industry 4.0: Towards future industrial opportunities and challenges. In 12th international conference on fuzzy systems and knowledge discovery (FSKD) (pp. 2147–2152). IEEE.

Definition of Key Terms 4IR: the advent of cyber-physical systems involving entirely new capabilities for people and machines. Academic library: is a library that is attached to a higher education institution which supports the curriculum, and the research of the university faculty and students. AI: is an area of computer science that emphasises the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans.

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries    15 Continuous professional development: refers to the process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge and experience that workers gain both formally and informally at work, beyond any initial training. Embedded librarianship: programmes that locate librarians involved in the spaces of their users and colleagues, either physically or through technology, in order to become a part of their users’ culture. Industry 4.0: is the subset of the 4IR that concerns industry. Public library: is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. Research data management: is the care and maintenance of the data that are produced during the course of a research cycle. School library: is a library within a school where students, staff, and often, parents of a public or private school have access to a variety of resources. Special library: is a library that provides specialised information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialised and limited clientele, and delivers specialised services to that clientele.

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Chapter 2

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Libraries Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba Introduction “Literate, informed and participative society is a function of a library.” From the information-seeking behavior of library users, and looking at the future, the libraries will be trustworthy information brokers and this could be easily facilitated with the advent of the new technology that provides universal access to information and scholarly works, preservation, creating accessibility to information in all diverse forms and provision of efficient and effective political and social engagement support. Libraries will be advocates for and facilitates the Fourth Industrial Revolution where people create their own devices and objects. This was a resolution of the International Federation of Library Association and Institutions (IFLA) on July 5, 2017. (Church et al., 2017). The adoption of new technology and digital trend has made various organizations to desire a move with the trend which therefore has lent the need for improved product quality through the use of technology (Lee et al., 2014). Many organizations have experienced changes in the form of transformation and evolutional adjustments. Total product digitization and high-quality production are the areas these organizations are tilting toward (Erol et al., 2016). Industrial automation processes is a necessity if the goal of total or complete digitization has to be achieved and Industry 4.0 is based on these concepts (Kolberg et al., 2015).

Background The fifth law by the world-renowned father of library science S. R. Ranganathan states that the library is a growing organism. This continues to be a blueprint for libraries as we continue to thrive, adjust and advance in a changing world of technological environment. Library as a growing organism is still relevant as it was in 1931 and now in the twenty-first century (McMenemy, 2010; Noh, 2015). As the trends move toward greater dependence on web-based services and creation of virtual realities in libraries, it paves way for technological changes that

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 17–30 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201011

18    Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba bring about interaction models for education to become efficient (Demartini & Benussi, 2017). Technologies are fast changing the way we work, learn and live; which in turn, affect libraries and increase the need to catch up with our user’s information needs through technological ways. Lewis (2004) illustrated that libraries have undergone three phases of development. First was the machine-readable catalogue (MARC) development process which brought about the existence of automation system in libraries. Second phase began in the 1990s; the electronic libraries began with the invention of CDROMs, full-text databases, the web and the internet. Some 1960s technologies became extinct, for instance microforms and cassette tapes were replaced with the internet where information is available and easily accessible. Third phase brought the innovation of new technology that is used to complete more multifaceted tasks. These innovations had dominant features used to process data, text, audio and visual images. It is capable of analyzing large sets of data on the computer screen.

History of Industrial Revolution Everything in our world is changing, the discovery of the steam engine in 1760 (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries) began the First Industrial Revolution. An industrial revolution can be defined as an explosive leap in the industrial process, the development that produces a tremendous effect on societies (Antonella, Fabio, Raffaele, & Federico, 2018). The steam engine marks the First Industrial Revolution, which was used for all kinds of things. It brought about the era of the new mechanical manufacturing process that turned social structures (agrarian societies) into a more functional society and brought technological breakthroughs. It transitioned into the use of coal as a main form of energy which was used as transportation in trains. Interesting things began to happen when the Second Industrial Revolution came into play in 1900 with the invention of electricity and oil (internal combustion engine) which lead to power massive inventions and mass production. It brought about gas, telegraph, and roads. In 1960 (middle twentieth century), the Third Industrial Revolution began with the inventions of computers and information technology used to automate productions. This revolution brought about spreadsheets, telephones and personal computers. Klaus Schwab, a German engineer, an Economist, and the World Economic Forum Executive Chairman coined the phrase: the Fourth Industrial Revolution where he described it as building on the Third Industrial Revolution. It is the era of artificial intelligence, where computers react like humans with complete algorithms to become intelligent machines. It has brought about a huge wave of different technologies where the speed of information has increased the digitization of individual lives. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a new trend in which different innovative technologies become embedded within societies. Even though the Fourth Industrial Revolution grew out of the third, it is considered as a new industrial era because it comes with disruptive technologies. The Fourth Industrial Revolution came with the term Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) which is

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Libraries    19 the integration of machines, production systems, storage systems into intelligent networks; it is all about bridging the gap between the real and virtual world. It facilitates the combination of physical and distant objects. Its main objective is to produce technologies that are faster and more efficient. We are at the early stages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution where there is a bridging of the gap between digital, physical and biological systems. These physical systems include intelligent robots, driverless cars, smart sensors, drones; the digital systems include Internet of Things (IoT), data and services; and the biological systems include stem cells, synthetic biology and bio-printing. The Fourth Industrial Revolution unlocks the black box of the brain, it is the replication of our brain and how we apply it to realities. It is evolving at an exponential rate; it does not change what we do but how we do these things and who we become when we interact with these technologies. It redefines the human existence through artificial intelligence, robotics. We are more in touch with what happens around us and inside of us. It is a shift in the system, maximizing the human well-being. It comes with speed and unprecedented discoveries in human existence (Schwab, 2016). Even though the major concerns of the Fourth Industrial Revolution comes with inequality, there will be a massive gap between the wealthy and the poor, the beneficiaries of these disruptive technologies are the producers, stakeholders and providers. Technology has created the reason why income has greatly decreased. The workers in demand are those highly skilled and talented, but those with lower skill, less education and no exposure are in less demand. This gap will create a future where the winner takes it all that the economy has to offer, and the low-income earners and middle-class will struggle for the little in the economy (Schwab Klaus, 2015).

Fourth Industrial Revolution and Libraries The importance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in libraries is questionable, as many wonder if the library remains relevant with this new trend of technological developments where there is information in our environment and at our fingertips, “the internet of thing” where technologies are integrated in the human body. There is this wonder if there would be need for books on the shelves or will future families take their children to libraries for storytelling and what will be the function and the purpose of libraries? An average librarian does not understand the amount of work he does in libraries let alone an average person that still questions the purpose of being a librarian. We practically forget that the library has been playing the vital role of data creation and information management, with the amount of information crawling all over the web between trusted and fake information, libraries have proved to be resourceful in combating this disorganization. For instance, the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) (www.viaf. org), which collects different data from other organizations and national libraries across the globe, has its role of translating things, places and persons alike to Wikipedia. Libraries have been playing this significant role in the past. The use of Artificial Intelligence in libraries is unarguably important in this new era; it can be used to combat errors from the growth of mass data found on

20    Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba the web. It can be used as a baseline to detect errors; libraries can collect data intelligently via social media, mobile phones, surveys, telescope, drones and cameras. Marker spaces also come with this era which is defined as a collaborative space inside a library for exploring, learning, making, sharing ideas, thoughts, expertise, tools that use a no-tech to high tech tools. In some large libraries now, there is the integration of automated robots (Library-Robotic Conveyor System) with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and data from the library holdings/records to access and retrieve from the acquisition room which is in a huge distance and deliver these resources to users that requested for them. This becomes an illustration of how libraries can cash in on new technologies emerging from the developments of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Church et al. (2017) at an International Federation of Library Association and Institutions (IFLA) through special group discussion cited the need for libraries in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: libraries will be dependable information brokers, they will be custodians of universal access to information and scholarly works, they will be reliable and effectual support for political and social obligations. Libraries will be the supporters and promoters for the Fourth Industrial Revolution where people probe and produce their own devices and gadgets. For libraries to be at par with this new era, certain changes must occur within our organization. It is a wakeup call for libraries and librarians to adjust and come up with comprehensive action strategies to meet up with the expectations of this new era. Based on the different studies that have been done to showcase ways libraries adjust to disruptive changes. Ahmat and Hanipah (2018) have highlighted four main strategic actions the leadership of the library should adopt: Remould Organizational Operations, Reinvent New Models of Business, Reorganize Business Work Processes and Remodel Job Specifications and Roles.

Remould Organizational Operations In an ordinary organizational structure, staff at various levels fit into their different styles of organizational behaviors based on personality difference, leadership styles, management styles, and management cultures (Kwon, Farndale, & Park, 2016); this becomes pertinent for the library leadership to examine the trends and implement them based on their organizational operations when a new era emerges. Four factors are examined, they are: People (staff and customers), Organizational Structure, Environment and Technology. People need to be able to embrace changes and not constantly stick to the old ways of doing things. To change people’s mindset can be difficult, in what ways can they align themselves with the demands that come with the Fourth Industrial Revolution? The answer to this question depends on the organizational internal plan study. For changes to happen, there are behavioral theories and systems that can help change people’s behavior with a step by step guideline and intervention

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Libraries    21 until the ideal stage where they can accept change (Akmal & Rabiahtul, 2018). In organizational structures, libraries need to access their suitability in adapting to the pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution instead of remaining in the old conventional environment and ways of doing things. To adapt, libraries can adopt Holacratic Structure – this kind of structure builds on the process of bringing new governance that will motivate and enable staff to be more innovative and participate in decision making since it is not an autocratic system of government, leaders are not only required to make decisions and ensure implementations, but this can enhance greater productivity when everyone makes an input to the success of the organization. Secondly, the Flatarchies structure: this type of structure entails a more linear and expertise that form a team, it gives room for creativity and innovative thinking. This type of structure becomes commonly used when an organization is developing a new product or new technologies which require input ideas from different parts of the organization. It does not change the organization’s personnel but is effective to address and market industrial changes. As regards to Environment, there is a need for libraries to address their strengths and weaknesses from within and to outside the library, it gives the library more focus on how to run the library in this new era. Technology is also is an important factor to consider in organizational operations, with the help of technology, library staff is able to answer queries from their users irrespective of where the Librarians are. Libraries in the Fourth Industrial Revolution are characterized by open source, big data, cloud services, marker spaces, intelligent systems and librarian 4.0 (Noh, 2015). It becomes pertinent for libraries to have foresight on the kind of technologies to acquire depending on the hardware and software features. Tucker and Kimbrell (2013) listed some features to look out for when a library is about to acquire certain technology; More focus on quality than quantity, they should be userfriendly and the interface easy to understand; increase in maintenance cost and library business efficiency should be minimized; Underused and underrated technologies; and Technical flaws.

Reinvent Models of Business Osterwalder (2010) states that Libraries as a matter of urgency need to revamp new business models toward strategizing their business focus and framework to enable it to face the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Successful business organizations use Business Model Canvas (BMC), it helps to visualize, discuss, design and invent new business strategies. The Osterwalder’s BMC uses nine building blocks of elements: key activities, key partnership, customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources and cost structure. Fibrich (2017) stressed the scope of change that will be experienced by libraries and librarians when the need to develop new business models, which will suit the customers’ needs in their own terms and solve meaningful problems, arises. Libraries can use these nine blocks to generate structure discussions, portfolio of ideas to help reinvent new business models. (Featherstone, 2015)

22    Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba Reorganize Business Work Processes This is an activity that entails writing up policies and procedures that guild a particular business organization for the staff as well as customers in terms of products and services. It is therefore important that libraries should, as a matter of urgency, restructure their business work processes and remove structures that hinder the efficiency of service delivery to customers. It is time for any process level to position high automation competencies (Chang & Huygh, 2016; Noh, 2015).

Remodel the Job Specifications and Roles Libraries are strongly encouraged to study their new context of job descriptions and remould roles of every rank of staff to suit the Fourth Industrial Revolution process. It is paramount for libraries to study and design their state of affairs for job descriptions at every level of their workforce. The element of change is: for daily routine in libraries, for instance, shelving and shelf reading, which would be replaced by intelligent robots that have data inputs. However, the clause to this is the concern about motivation and commitment competences of processing new specialties of working skills within a particular frame of time, before it is deployed effectively in a new environment (Pfeiffer, 2016). For professionals – the pressure to equip one’s self with multiple, knowledgeable skills and being flexible in the use of these technologies is a driving force. Librarians are required to merge being technical with professionalism, with emphasis on specialists such as digital user advisor, digital content development manager, data scientist and outreach officer. For leaders in the library, the need for growth and development in handling emerging issues will confront the library as a growing organism. The need to develop policies that overrun many challenges in the Fourth Industrial Revolution becomes more disruptive (Allard, Qayyum, & Mehra, 2017; Miska & Mendenhall, 2018). It is therefore important that libraries should understand why things are happening the way they are today and looking at what lies ahead on how we remain pertinent can help us see future prospects as they present themselves to us.

Issues/Challenges/Problems Irrespective of the enormous benefits of an industrial revolution, libraries face various issues from the application of these innovative technologies. Some of these new technologies are applied in the library services as they are suitable for information handling in other to satisfy the needs of the literate society. Lambert (2017) is of the opinion that apart from job displacement which comes as a result of substituting human labor with technology, cyber security, hacking, risk assessment, and others are some of the challenges that accompany the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Some of these issues as was perceived by Christensen and Overdorf (2000) are disruptive changes and require the readiness of libraries and librarians.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Libraries    23 Disruptive Changes: These changes were said to have begun in the early 2000s. These changes are seen as paralytic for established organizations, this happens through the replacement of high innovative value of products, technologies and services. There are various components of these changes which include that some of these technologies are sophisticated but simplifies convenient access and solutions to problems of people who are in need. Aside from the fact that they simplify solutions, they are affordable and economical. Irrespective of these, Ken Chad a library consultant, is of the opinion that there are other ways through which the libraries can be disrupted the introduced innovative services which emanated from outside the library domain has grown substantially in the “total library” market which is now embraced by the new customers who prefer the new services over the conventional library services. (Chad, 2019) Some of the innovation services include the delivery of digital knowledge that are provided to customers on a low-cost scale, the use of rich products and systems to entice users of the products and quality skills of staff that will enhance the services rendered and capable of supporting customers’ demands (Muhammad et al., 2018). Readiness of Library and Librarians: The Fourth Industrial Revolution was not only technology-driven changes, but a change powered by disruptive innovation. It could change the focus of industries which may include the education sector, health sector, and the business environment; with the initial revolution, the focus of these industries changed. According to Mmutle and Shonhe (2017), the scope of change (for libraries and librarians) is unprecedented. She stated that the advent of new technologies and the process of solving new problems for customers, demands personalization which is of utmost importance. Customers’ service expectation is on the terms ascending to their ideals and needs. According to the research carried out by Saeed and Raffia (2014), there were efforts made to find out from librarians the barriers to emerging technologies in their library and the following were found: Information technology infrastructure, copyright, security, professional skills, frequent electricity failures, lack of will/motivation, etc. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not just about technology but innovations that may have a positive or negative impact on various sectors. Disruptive changes have made the conventional ways of delivering content to change (Jules, 2017). Skills Challenge: The development and implementation of smart and digital initiative requires knowledge communities to provide intellectual guidance, skills, and innovative systems which are needed (Abdoullaev, 2011; Scholl & Scholl, 2014). According to Manda and Backhouse (2016a), E-skills and E-literacy are seen as fundamental in the smart society. Skills mismatches and skill redundancy which are factors that resulted from the changes due to technology advances

24    Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba and manufacturing techniques are seen as skills challenges which result from the changing nature of jobs (Manda & Backhouse, 2016b; Ngulube, 2007). Security: In a world of Industrial 4.0, Waidner and Kasper (2016) arguably stated that security and data privacy is one of the major issues. They still maintained that the Fourth Industrial Revolution would require integration of systems for improved security and protection mechanism for a better collaborative networks and smart value production system. Data Privacy: Wainder and Kasper (2016) believe that the consistent use of data analytics might result in more issues when it pertains to data privacy and protection. They also believe that issues accompany data privacy in this “smart” era. Infrastructural Challenges: Aside from other challenges of developing societies such as China, technological and infrastructure challenges are also confronting. In this societies exemplified with china, analytics, development of networks and smart devices are seen as some of the identified challenges that have emerged as a result of the introduction of new technologies (Zhou, Liu, & Zhou, 2016). United Nations (2014), Report on International Telecommunication Union (2015) identified poor information and communication technology infrastructure as one of the major challenges which might affect the library. In the implementation of Industry 4.0, Manda and Backhouse (2016b) opined that poor broadband penetration is seen as a barrier hindering transformation in the supposed smart society driven by sophisticated technology. Copyright: The copyright law is not flexible for the library which results in libraries not being able to digitize all their documents for easy access to its collection. Lack of up-to-date Information: The Fourth Industrial Revolution demands up-to-date information to use and run cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and the internet of energy as these are drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Permanent Storage Problem: The common problem of libraries is the inability to secure a defined place for storing documents especially the digitized information resources in the developing countries. There is a contemplation of whether the place for storage should be temporary or permanent? Lack of Knowledge: The Fourth Industrial Revolution projected disruptive changes which the library staff should be knowledgeable about. There is not enough knowledge among the library managers and this resulted in the slowed speed of technology in the library. Lack of Skilled Professionals: The Fourth Industrial Revolution came with challenges that require human competence and established skills. Some of these established skills are needed to run these technologies. The skilled professionals needed to be trained, or the demand for new workers that could be skilled, innovative and technological aware (Manda & Backhouse, 2017). The library does not have these skilled professionals. Environment: There is a right environment for various technologies that must support the efficient running of these technologies and an appropriate environment which can tolerate and accommodate the changes that come with these

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Libraries    25 sophisticated technologies. The library’s main problem toward the accommodation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is an environment that is not technology orientated. Insufficient Finance: The introduction of the revolution came with the introduction of sophisticated technologies in the library. Sufficient finance is needed to run and maintain these technologies.

Controversies Certain Library staff and managers seem to be glued to the traditional method of doing work, however, the traditional way of rendering services is almost outdated because of the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the introduction of technology into society and the library, it has different feelings on different people, some are frightened and others are resistant to new technologies (Osiceanu, 2015). This could be attributed to fear for new technologies that come with the adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the library known as “Technophobia,” “Cyberphobia,” “Computer anxiety” and “Technostress.” Other people seem to be afraid for the challenges this implementation has brought to workplace such as havoc on the service productivity of employees, burnout which comes as a result of increased expectation, and development of new digital etiquette for employees who are not digital savvy (Jennifer Buchanan, 2016). Some are resistant to technology especially in workplace which could have emerged as a result of the shift from conventional use of other systems to an increased use of technology which threatens the initial status quo, the conventional routine of doing work and probably, the fear of being replaced from workplace by the others who are knowledgeable and have acquired the required skills to use the relevant technologies. The changes brought by the revolution can be both uncertain as it may be discomforting. It could invoke different reactions in people who could be confusing, stressed or afraid about challenges associated with the new technologies. These changes could be related to the effects of automation on the information manager. The introduction and adoption of automated library involved new technologies and acquisition of new skills. The process of using technologies to automate libraries and library services could be very tough for staff of the libraries that have little or no experience with technologies.

Solutions Librarians are in the middle of playing an integrated role of handling traditional service and digital service, the digital operation involves the use of sophisticated and modern technologies which are the major drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Libraries are forced to shift their emphasis from traditional libraries to digital libraries as a result of changes in the need of library users, meeting the expectations and needs of the present situations. These modern technologies come with challenges that require solutions. Some of the solutions for the acclaimed problems are as follows.

26    Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba Change of Staff Attitudes The problem, issue and controversies about the introduction of new technologies have resulted in resistance and fear. Inyang et al. (2014) are of the opinion that attitude is a representation of ideas, fears, conviction, prejudices, notions and feelings people have about any topic in particular. It could also be a representation of service value in the minds of the users utilizing the service instead of the service itself; attitude could be positive or negative. Positive attitude are essential for quality service utilization. With the advent of technology, some library staff members could perceive their work in a negative way while others may still have positive attitude toward their work. Research has been conducted on the variables which influence the attitude of librarians toward the acceptance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the technologies that drive it. The result of the research work in the United States revealed that attitude is an emotional tone disposition, to act in a way that may or may not be favorable toward a person’s objective or idea. In the definition of attitude, it could be seen as the man’s total inclination (which could be in the form shown in feelings of a person), prejudices on a matter of bias, personal notions, ideas, fears and convictions about a specific topic. A person’s attitude can make him to act on stimulus in a given way other than others (Adekunle, Omoba, & Tella, 2007). It is therefore paramount that library leadership study their staff and adopt the most effective motivator; they should as well establish policy that allows provision for training, retraining and seminars/conferences for staff (Inyang et al., 2014).

Training of Library Staff and Skill Acquisition The Fourth Industrial Revolution introduced the emerging technologies in the libraries which require formal training and skill acquisition. In the era of Industry 4.0, technologies brought into the library has affected the information professionals and changed the conventional ways of carrying out services. It could only take a librarian who is versatile in learning and flexible to meet up the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the library. With the paradigm shift in practices, policies and services, there is a need to train the staff members on how to effectively and efficiently use these emerged technologies in service rendering and practice of content description, maintenance and presentation of resources. Popoola (2007) is of the opinion that training is important because it motivates workers in the library; which is a service organization. Training helps to overcome the problem of resistance to technological changes. For example, it may include: Staff on the job learning, staff mentoring schemes, staff in-house training and staff individual study (Jones, Woods, & Guillaume, 2015). Training is done in response to specific training needs. Some of the library training needs include: implementing new software, introducing new products to staff members. Adequate requisite skills are sequel to training on the use of emerging technologies. This is to prevent reinforcement of anxieties and fears about the use of new technologies. Necessary skills are advised so as to boost the staff confidence in the implementation and use of newly introduced products. In the world where

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Libraries    27 the Fourth Industrial Revolution has taken the order of the day in every workplace, skills required for library and information professionals include: Technical skills and E-resources, Information technology and digitalization skills, Managerial skills, Support services, Communication skills, Library research and Quality assurance (Ansari, 2013).

Recommendations Library and information science professionals have a vital role to play in populating the amount of useful information in the public domain through conscious education of the stakeholders on the relative importance of sharing. They can champion digitization campaign and open-access approach. They can foster long-term availability of quality resources, leveraging on the Fourth Industrial Revolution through digital library which has been instituted with the emerged technologies. Libraries can also act as an organization deputed to define and put in place new models that would provide sustainability of library resources. Libraries can also serve as a link between the infrastructure and the user community in the future.

Conclusion The different types of library leaders need to agree to a consensual understanding to deal with the Fourth Industrial Revolution challenges and principles that will guide for best policies in libraries. The best line of actions will be circulated in libraries worldwide and also follow through with its implementation. In addition, with financial budgets in placement, libraries need to remould their organizational operations, reinvent new models of business, reorganize business work processes and remodel job specifications and their roles rather than purchasing these technologies and hiring specialists to operate these artificial intelligent machines and other advanced technologies. These strategic actions should be attained in libraries; failure to achieve these components mentioned will result to a herculean task for individuals to see the contributions of libraries. It is also paramount that library staff needs to improve their skills and devise a means of gaining new knowledge as this will help in changing the approach to work while also making deliberate efforts to be at the same pace as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, since the aim of every librarian is to help their users to be informed. To achieve this, there is the need to embrace novel innovations and technological advancement, as the Libraries cannot afford to be left behind.

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30    Delight Promise Udochukwu and Chidimma Agunwamba Noh, Y. (2015). Imagining Library 4.0: Creating a model for future libraries. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(6), 786–797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2015.08.020 Ntui, A. I., Adu, A. V., & Eyong, I. U. (2014). Motivation as correlates of work attitude of library staff in Tertiary Institutions’ Libraries in Cross River State. Nigeria Journal of Library and Information Sciences, 2(2), 55–65. Osiceanu, M. E. (2015, May). Psychological implications of modern technologies: “Technofobia” versus “technophilia”. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180, 1137–1144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.229 Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. NJ: Wiley. Pfeiffer, S. (2016). Robots, Industry 4.0 and humans, or why assembly work is more than routine work. Societies, 6(2), 16. Popoola, S. O. (2007). Workplace, Biographical and Motivational Factors Affecting Organizational Commitment of Records of Officers in Nigerian Federal Universities. Afr. J.Library, Archives. Informat.Sci., 17(1), 33–44. Report on Implementation of Evolving Telecommunication/ICT Infrastructure for Developing Countries. (2016). (Input Document to ITU-D Q.1/1 and Q2/1), December 2016. Available at https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Technology/Documents/ NGN/Report_on_Telecom-ICT_infra_20170117.pdf Report on Implementation of Evolving Telecommunication/ICT Infrastructure for Developing Countries (Input Document to ITU-D Q.1/1 and Q2/1) December 2016. Saeed, U. J., & Raffia, A. S. (2014). Impact of emerging technologies on University libraries of Pakistan, International journal of Digital Library Services, 4(3), 17–21. Scholl, H., & Scholl, M. (2014). Smart Governance: A Roadmap for Research and Practice. iConference Proceedings (pp. 163–176). Schwab K. (2015). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What It Means and How to Respond. Retrieved from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-12-12/ fourth-­industrial-revolution. Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution (pp. 1–184). Geneva: World Economic Forum. Schwab, K. (2017). The fourth industrial revolution: What it means and how to respond (pp. 1–192). New York, NY: Currency Publishers. Spacey, R., Goulding, A., & Murray, I. (2003). ICT and change in UK public libraries: Does training matter? Library Management, 24(1&2), 61–69. Tucker, S., & Kimbrell, J. (2013). The impact of web 2.0, web 3.0, and web 4.0 technologies used in distance education. In ICERI2013 Proceedings, Seville, Spain (pp. 6803–6809). IATED. United Nations. (2014). United Nations e-government global survey. Retrieved from www. broadbandcommission.org/documents/reports/bbannualreport2015.pdf Waidner, M., & Kasper, M. (2016). Security in Industries 4.0 Challenges and Solutions for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (pp.1303-1308). DOI: 10.3850/9783981537079_1005. Zhou, K., Liu, T., & Zhou, L. (2015). Industry 4.0: Towards future industrial opportunities and challenges. In 12th international conference on fuzzy systems and knowledge discovery (FSKD), Zhangjiajie, China, 15–17 August. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1109/ FSKD.2015.7382284

Chapter 3

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges Grace Msauki Introduction Libraries are viewed as crucial in the attainment of sustainable development due to their informational and educational role. According to International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA, 2018) libraries around the world offer a wide range of products and services that promote the achievement of each and every Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). The role of libraries in sustainable development has been intensified by the advent of dynamic sustaining technologies in the knowledge society, that have been ushered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Scholars have argued that while the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought in sustaining technologies that have improved the way libraries function towards advancing sustainable development, it has also brought in disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation, that have been hugely poised to disrupt the economy and eliminate middle-income jobs while the Internet of Things, block chain technology and cloud computing are viewed as ever-growing security threats to personal information. Libraries and librarians at large have to find ways and strategies of embracing not only the sustaining technologies, but also the disruptive technologies, in order to maintain their critical role in sustainable development through access to information. Irenoa, Tijani, and Bakare (2018) concur that libraries must indeed acknowledge technology trends and re-invent their services in order to remain relevant in the scheme of things, otherwise users will bypass processes and institutions that they perceive to be slow, unresponsive, unappealing and irrelevant in favour of a more direct approach to services offered by others that just might be good enough for what they need to do. This chapter hence sought to explore how libraries can leverage on the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies (Library 4.0), in order to maintain their role in sustainable development. This will be achieved through the following objectives:

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 31–44 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201012

32    Grace Msauki 1. Identify the roles played by libraries in advancing sustainable development. 2. Identify the opportunities brought by Library 4.0 technologies in enhancing the library role in sustainable development. 3. Identify challenges libraries face in embracing Library 4.0. 4. Provide possible solutions and recommendations for effective adoption of Library 4.0.

Background Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs as defined by the United Nations General Assembly and the World Commission (Emas, 2015). In a bid to guide development efforts worldwide, the United Nations (UN) launched seventeen (17) SDGs (Irenoa et al., 2018) in January 2016. The 17 SDGs are: no poverty (SDG1), zero hunger (SDG2), good health and wellbeing (SDG3), good education (SDG4), gender equality (SDG5), clean water and sanitation (SDG6), affordable clean energy (SDG7), decent work and economic growth (SDG8), industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG9), reduced inequality (SDG10), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), responsible consumption and production (SDG12), climate action (SDG13), life below water (SDG14), life on land (SDG15), peace and justice strong institutions (SDG16) and strong partnerships (SDG17). Libraries are viewed as crucial in attainment of these SDGs due to their informational and educational role. According to IFLA (2019), libraries around the world offer a wide range of products and services that promote the achievement of each and every SDG. From promoting literacy, to offering free access to information, they are safe welcoming spaces at the heart of communities, as they come with the indispensable support of dedicated staff with a deep understanding of local needs. They advance digital inclusion through access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), internet connection and skills; and they promote innovation, creativity and access to the world’s knowledge for current and future generations (IFLA, 2018). The resources and services libraries offer to patrons create opportunities for learning, support literacy and education, and help shape the new ideas and perspectives that are central to a creative and innovative society, hence affirming the placement of libraries at the heart of sustainable development. Libraries also play a crucial role in strengthening and preserving democracy from grass root level – all the way up to national level. According to Wilansky (2017), libraries are civic hubs for information and engagement, they encourage members of the community at large to be involved in their communities, to connect with local issues and become more knowledgeable citizens and voters thereby advancing sustainable development. Libraries provide equitable access to information, reduce digital inequalities through the provision of ICT infrastructure and internet at low cost and protect fundamental freedoms in accordance with the UN agenda 2030 and the Africa Union (AU) Agenda 2063. The UN Agenda 2030 and the AU Agenda 2063 both recognise access to information as crucial, and identify ICTs and the internet as horizontal enablers for sustainable

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development    33 development. The AU Agenda 2063 emphasises on connecting the unconnected to allow them to participate in the fast rising digital economies that will create tremendous opportunities for growth and transformation, further placing libraries at the heart of global and national development agendas.

Libraries and the Fourth Industrial Revolution Libraries have survived and maintained their role in sustainable development despite the changes and demands of the previous industrial revolutions. Previous industrial revolutions, that is, the first, second and third industrial revolutions liberated humankind from animal power, made mass production possible and brought digital capabilities to billions of people. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as the Industry 4.0, is however, fundamentally different (World Economic Forum, 2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought significant social and economic opportunities and challenges which require governments and all industry sectors, libraries included to respond appropriately (Manda & Dhaou, 2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterised by a range of new technologies that fuse the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human (World Economic Forum, 2019). It requires the establishment of a comprehensive and reliable telecommunication technologies and infrastructure such as broadband and other internet technologies that provide digital connectivity for effective communication, collaboration and integration of people, systems and machines (Manda & Dhaou, 2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution has ushered in sophisticated sustaining technologies for libraries, to simplify solutions to customers in ways that make them affordable, conveniently accessible, low cost and economically coherent value networks (Ahmat, Hanipah, & Library, 2018). Sustaining technologies also improve the performance of established products along dimensions of performance, or of processes to bring improvements in accomplishing the same thing, only doing it better (Lewis, 2004). Libraries are able to work on mobile, enabling them to engage more with their users or customers. While the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies have brought about positive changes on library’s information products and services, some scholars have argued that the technologies has also been disruptive (Ahmat et al., 2018; Manda & Dhaou, 2019). Ahmat et al. (2018) note that the disruptive changes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the libraries hugely come from many aspects, with the common discussion surrounding how libraries manage these technologies. Libraries are hence called to leverage on sustaining technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution while at the same time embracing the disruptive technologies in order to maintain its central role in sustainable development.

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development In a time where the pace of digital disruption is significant and is set to increase further, industry 4.0 is uniquely placed to empower people to access, explore and

34    Grace Msauki create technology. The adoption of industry 4.0 technologies in libraries (Library 4.0) comes with smart, faster and easier opportunities of providing the traditional library services to the patrons in order to meet the changing needs of local communities. Library 4.0 goes beyond simple access to resources; it curates communities of interest, and brings the skilled together with the curious, the techno savvy with the digitally excluded, and businesses with their future workforce. Library 4.0 has been proposed to include maker spaces, context-aware technology, open source, big data, cloud services, augmented reality (AR), state-of-the-art display, AI, big data analytics and block chain (Manda & Dhaou, 2019; Noh, 2015).

Maker Spaces Makerspaces, sometimes referred to as hackerspaces or fablabs or content creation spaces, are community-based design and fabrication workspaces where people meet to share resources and knowledge and to build and make things. Makerspaces might focus on electronics, robotics, woodworking, sewing, laser cutting, programming, computer technology, machines, science, digital art, electronic art or any other area involving collaboration and learning (Smith & Light, 2017). Incorporating maker spaces in libraries enables the library users to do more than just read and consume content; library users are given an opportunity to also create their own content, thereby fostering sustainable innovation which is critical for sustainable development. However, Fourie and Meyer (2015) argues that makerspaces especially in academic libraries, should not just be approached as spaces of making and creating, or just social spaces, but should be collaboration spaces, and learning spaces aligned with information seeking and extended knowledge, and sharing spaces for creating and disseminating new knowledge and experiences, for example on ‘how-you-did-it’, ‘how-you-created’ and where to from the ‘moment-of-creation’ – entrepreneurship. It is through collaboration and sharing ideas that community members are able to come up with innovative environment friendly solutions, for example, renewable energy sources, reuse and recycling projects (SDG7 and SDG11). Maker spaces can also expand the library role of supporting citizen participation through offering meeting places, and opportunities for community engagement as members gather, collaborate and socialise while learning new skills (Slatter & Howard, 2013). Makerspaces can provide sites for the experimentation, collaboration and creativity that underpin such knowledge production. Smith and Light (2017) connote that the prototyping activities prevalent in makerspaces cultivate many intangibles whose movement beyond the space can be significant for sustainable developments. These intangibles could be skills, experience, knowledge, people, issues, or ideas generated through prototyping projects, relevant for advancing sustainable developments in local communities and businesses.

Block Chain Technology Another possible feature of Library 4.0 is the use of block chain technology to enhance library services. The concept for block chain was first introduced in a

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development    35 2008 proposal by Satoshi Nakamoto to create a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash. It uses a distributed database (multiple devices not connected to a common processor) that organises data into records (blocks) that have cryptographic validation, are time stamped and are linked to previous records so that they can only be changed by those who own the encryption keys to write the files (American Library Association, 2017). Outside cryptocurrency boom, block chain technology also proves useful in libraries and information centres for interlibrary loans, scholarly publishing, credentialing, and the development of a universal library card (Smith, 2019b). Libraries can make use of block chain technology to build an enhanced metadata system to keep track of digital-first sale rights and ownership, to connect networks of libraries and universities, or even to support community-based borrowing and skill sharing programme. For libraries that have the resources and inclination, block chain is also a good fit for lab and makerspace-type initiatives and these drive a lot of tech start-ups, a field where more job opportunities are likely to appear (Smith, 2019b). This way, libraries through block chain technology can enhance its function of supporting creative and innovative entrepreneurship that address development challenges like unemployment (SDG8) and poverty (SDG1), expanding opportunities for all, including socially disadvantages groups, women and youth (SDG10), (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2017). Block chain technology has also been used in research data management. A successful example is the Data Management Hub (DaMaHub), an architecturally distributed research data management solution which enables scientists to collaborate on sensitive data privately and to make their authenticated research data permanently findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable to empower research replications universally and help scientists to build careers with attribution of data authorship. DaMaHub software uses Hyperledger, a block chain technology (Data Management Hub, 2017). Smith (2019b) further highlights that in addition to libraries adopting the use of block chain technology to enhance its systems and services, libraries can introduce block chain technology in multiple contexts depending on the interests of the community. At places where there are many senior citizens, for example, block chain technology may be applied to electronic health records. In a community where there’s interest in Bitcoin, libraries can educate and offer trainings on how block chain powers a cryptocurrency, show other digital currencies and discuss how things would change if digital currencies become more common (SDG4). For hands-on experience, a library can put together a class showing people how to set up and use a Bitcoin wallet. This library service will be towards ensuring that no one is intellectually left behind as asserted by the African Union Agenda 2063 declaration, that emphasise on connecting the unconnected to allow them to participate in the fast rising digital economies.

Artificial Intelligence AI is the science and technology that seeks to create intelligent computational systems (Shrivastava, 2018). It is concerned with the study and creation of computer

36    Grace Msauki systems that exhibit some form of intelligence, a system that learn new concepts and tasks, systems that can reason and draw useful conclusions about the world around us, systems that can understand a natural language or perceive and comprehend a visual scene, and systems that perform other types of features that require human types of Intelligence (Asemi & Asemi, 2018). AI techniques and tools are being successfully utilised in many areas such business, management, medicine, military and also in libraries. In libraries, AI has been used for chat bots ‘Ask the Librarian’ that can handle directional questions on a library website, alert when a book is due, and point a user to relevant library resources or answer simple informational requests (Springer Nature, 2019). AI combines expert systems, natural language processing, pattern recognition and robotics. This combination is reaching towards simulating many human capabilities such as reading, writing, grasping, calculating, speaking, remembering, comparing numbers, drawing, making judgements and even interactive learning (Abram, 2018). Abram further notes that in a library setup, expert systems work as a substitute for a reference librarian, in cataloguing, classification, acquisitions and indexing. On the user and content levels, AI is often used for moderation. The use of AI in content moderation has come to light owing to the dangers following live-streamed terror attacks, cyberbullying, political manipulation and more. AI could help to reduce the psychological impact by automatically blurring out parts of the content or ‘ask’ the AI questions about the content to prepare themselves or know whether it will be particularly difficult for them if they view (Daws, 2019). However, the effectiveness of AI in moderating supposedly harmful content is often questioned, and many agree that this task cannot be carried out by AI alone, and human moderators are still needed, as AI cannot completely address human feelings and conscience. An example of an expert system use in reference services is ANSWERMAN, a knowledge-based system to help users for reference questions on agriculture topics. It uses series of menus to narrow down the subject of the questions and the type of tool needed, and functions as either a consultation system or as a front end to external databases and CD-ROM reference tools. It is an advisory system for locating reference source books and factual data (Abram, 2018). AI has notably enhanced and improved the library’s information provision functions through the use of expert systems and robots. Libraries are now able to fulfil and extend their role in building the knowledge through providing information and confidence necessary for community members to engage in civic discussions. This is crucial in ensuring sustainable development at grass root level.

Augmented Reality Another feature of Library 4.0 is the use of AR in libraries. Abram (2019) define AR as a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view via a device like a tablet or a smart phone. Santos and Esposo-Betan (2017) and Craig (2013) however argue that AR is not a technology, but rather, a medium in which digital information is overlaid in the physical world that is in both spatial and temporal registration

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development    37 with the physical world and that is interactive in real time. This means that the AR has the capacity to fill the gap between the real and the virtual world in a perfect way, its fundamental objective is to add more information, or – meaning, to real objects or places, so as to improve our understanding of the world that we are observing (Del Cerro Velázquez & Morales Méndez, 2018). The AR functionality of filling the gap between the real world and the virtual world is one of the main characteristics that enable AR to be applied in a wide range of human activities with education being the most important. Educational efforts over several years have seen the positive involvement of libraries in education through offering referral services, information and teaching resources, individual tutoring programmes and educational classes, and outreach to specific groups with educational handicaps (Abram, 2018). The UN and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) point out that there are inequalities, stigmatization, and discrimination related to income level, gender, ethnicity, language, place of residence and disability that tend to affect progress towards Education For All (Del Cerro Velázquez & Morales Méndez, 2018). Libraries have thus leveraged on AR to support and contribute towards an inclusive, equitable and quality education (SDG4) as mentioned by UNESCO. Libraries can also use AR to deliver library resources and services in an attractive visual way to aid their patrons and learners in comprehension of concepts (Abdulrazzaq & Al-Ani, 2018). An example is the Special Collections using AR to Enhance Learning and Teaching (SCARLET) project, a marker-based app that uses QR codes and book covers to enable students to experience the best of the real and virtual world. Students can enjoy the sensory delights of seeing and handling original materials while enhancing the learning experience through enhancing the object with digital images, access online learning resources and information on items before them and on related objects held in the library (Baumgartner-Kiradi, Haberler, & Zeiller, 2018). Another example of the use of AR by public libraries is German Traces NYC, which offers an application that connects users to materials about New York City’s German heritage as they walk around the City (Spina, 2014). One public library uses AR for group experiences with seniors in care homes as an armchair (wheelchair) travel event (Abram, 2018).

Cloud Computing Another fundamental way of enhancing library services in the twenty-first century is through the adoption of cloud computing. Cloud computing is an emerging architecture by which data and applications dwell in cyberspace, facilitating access to users through any web-connected device (Swain, 2014). The user’s data and computing do not run in the terminal equipment such as personal computer, laptops, tablets or any handheld computer, but in a dedicated cloud server through a network so that the users can access more information resources through exchange and sharing with others (Jing et al, 2012 in Swain, 2014). Irenoa et al. (2018) opined that cloud computing can transform the way systems

38    Grace Msauki are built and services delivered, providing libraries with an opportunity to extend their impact. The pressure of the use of cloud computing services in libraries has also been fuelled by the extensive reliance and use of the Internet by library users making it imperative that libraries offer their services online since users have viable alternatives of finding information other than using a conventional library (Swain, 2014). Cloud computing plays pivotal roles in extending the reach of libraries, creates a seamless environment for real-time interaction between the library and its patrons, increases the potentials for collaboration, and enhances the general service routine within the library (Irenoa et al., 2018). Using cloud services creates the possibility and opportunity for resource pooling, that is, many patrons and libraries can use the same network, the same platforms and tools and functions simultaneously. Libraries are empowered to fully satisfy the needs of their respective clientele to the unimaginable magnitude; due to the fact that cloud computing is independent of location and can be accessed on any media having network connectivity and browsers. With cloud computing, information is not stranded on individual machines, it is combined into one digital cloud available at the touch of a finger from many devices (Wada, 2018). Cloud computing reduces the financial burden that most libraries suffer under due to chronic funding challenges. This in turn hinders libraries in fulfiling their informational role to advance sustainable development. Wada (2018) asserts that cloud computing services cover many library management services, including linking circulation, acquisitions and dissemination resulting in the cost efficiency. Libraries are then able to cut costs to a minimal level through cloud computing implementation, hence are able to advance their informational and educational towards sustainable development. However, despite its cost cutting features, cloud services are fully dependent on internet connectivity. Dutt (2015) argues that if there is connection failure, the user cannot access the content, and it requires bandwidth which most libraries do not have access to due to affordability. Instead of connecting the unconnected, it can however, widen the digital divide.

Challenges in Embracing Library 4.0 The adoption of new technologies as a way of implementing Library 4.0 poses challenges for libraries and librarians alike. This makes the whole process of adoption a very slow process especially in developing countries, if not impossible. Researchers have enlisted chronic funding shortages, technical skill deficiencies, resistance to change on the part of library workers and library users, technophobia-fear of new technology, and inadequate telecommunication infrastructure as the prominent challenges libraries face in embracing Library 4.0.

Chronic Funding Shortages Irenoa et al. (2018) enlists the shortage of funding as the top underlining challenge that most libraries in the developing country face in embracing Library 4.0.

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development    39 Libraries in developing countries are generally poorly funded and poorly recognised as a driver of sustainable development. The lack of regard for the library and what it offers to a community can be seen in the on-going low levels of funding for public library service (Smith, 2019a). Fourie and Meyer (2016) concurs that lack of funding remains an obstacle for most libraries, as they fail to procure suitable resources needed for the adoption of Library 4.0. This has resulted in challenges of inadequate infrastructure, facilities and technologies, and the failure to provide necessary continuous development programmes for their staff.

Inadequate Telecommunication Infrastructure Library 4.0 comes with technical demands for telecommunication facilities and infrastructure. These include: network connectivity, bandwidth, hardware and software. Broadband penetration is still viewed low in developing countries compared to developed economies that are considered leaders in broadband and other ICT infrastructure (Manda & Dhaou, 2019). Mojapelo (2018) adds that internet connectivity and power supply in developing countries is very unreliable, even when payments are fully made, electricity and internet interruptions are still rampart. This affects greatly the adoption of Library 4.0 as most of the technologies are fully dependent on reliable power supply and Internet connection.

Technical Skill Deficiencies The adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution in libraries brings about a challenge of skills mismatches and skills redundancy due to the changing nature of jobs as a result of advances in technology (Manda & Dhaou, 2019). Without the right skill set, library personnel are not competent enough too effectively match up with the demands of the new technologies putting the role of libraries at stake. Yahaya, Aliyu, and Adamu (2016) concurs with Manda and Dhaou (2019) and add that technical skill deficiencies also hail from the Library Schools’ curriculum, that are out-dated and do not reflect the changing environment and emerging Library 4.0 technologies. As a result, library schools are churning incompetent graduates in the industries. Technical skill deficiency also falls on the part of library patrons, they lack adequate digital skills to make use of the Library 4.0 technologies and services availed by the library.

Resistance to Change Ahmat et al. (2018) note that resistance to change poses the greatest threat, as it entails changing the mind-set of the people. They note that people’s behaviour does not change easily; rather, change in behaviour, especially habitual behaviour, occurs continuously through a cyclical process. Different approaches and intervention strategies are therefore needed to move one’s mind-set to the next stage of change, step by step, until it reaches the maintenance stage, which is the ideal stage of behaviour. Additionally, Yahaya et al. (2016) note that resistance to change is a mere attitudinal problem of librarians or library users not willing

40    Grace Msauki enough to embrace change and still prefer the traditional way of rendering services. This resistance can be driven by technophobia, which is the fear of new technology or is driven by the fear of the unknown.

Solutions and Recommendations In light of the discussion above, the writer recommends the following in order to overcome the listed challenges: 1. Chronic Funding Shortages a. Libraries should approach relevant ministries and bodies to lobby for libraries’ financing. Lobbying can be done through library professional associations and bodies. b. Explore other funding options for example commercialising reprographic/ photocopying services, offer fee-based community development life skills trainings that are not offered through formal education for example digital literacy. In a community where there’s interest in Bitcoin, libraries can offer fee-based trainings on cryptocurrency and other digital currencies and discuss how things would change if digital currencies become more common. c. Crowd funding – generous donations from community members or friends of the library can contribute towards the maintenance of the library. d. Hold community health and wellness expos that require participants to pay a certain fee and also source sponsorship from the private sector that support the cause. 2. Inadequate Telecommunication Infrastructure a. Lobby for infrastructure development and financing from relevant ministries and parent institutions in the respective areas where the libraries operate b. Approach the private sector for sponsorship on infrastructure related projects. The private sector usually have a budget or proceeds set aside for fulfilling the organisation’s corporate social responsibility obligations. c. On the unreliable power supply, libraries can make provision for alternative sources of power supply that will complement the general power to avoid disruption. This could be in form of backup generators of solar. 3. Technical Skills Deficiency a. Library personnel to be up skilled through continuous development programmes. Manda and Dhaou (2019) recommend training in e-readiness, that is, a combination of e-skills and e-literacy. They cite that e-readiness (e-literacy and e-skills) influences the ability to fully participate in social and economic activities in the smart society hence vital for enhancing library function in sustainable development. b. Library schools should ensure that the curriculum used in training is revised as and when needed in order to match up with the growing trend.

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development    41 c. Library schools can also partner with other library schools in developed countries to provide on demand short courses or refresher courses that aim at equipping the librarians with the necessary skills. d. Libraries can offer digital literacy training initiatives and programmes to the library users so as to develop competencies needed to ensure equitable access to information. 4. Resistance to change a. Hold awareness workshops for library personnel prior to the introduction of new technologies so as to foster acceptance and staff buy-in. This will reduce staff resistance to change. b. Motivate and encourage adoption of new technologies by incentivising and/or awarding the early adopters.

Future Research Directions The Fourth Industrial Revolution libraries and sustainable development debate is still yet to be fully explored and embraced, especially in developing countries. It is however, imperative that more research be done in this area so as to popularise Library 4.0 concept. Future research in this area could explore real life case studies of libraries that have embraced Library 4.0 in enhancing their role in advancing sustainable development so as to steer world libraries towards Library 4.0. The world has embraced Industry 4.0, Knowledge Management 4.0 and Marketing 4.0 among others. Future research can also explore the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Knowledge Management and how it contributes towards sustainable development in a knowledge-driven society. Despite the evergrowing technological changes, libraries still remain vital in enhancing sustainable development.

Conclusion This chapter sought to explore how libraries can leverage on the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies (Library 4.0), in order to maintain their role in sustainable development. This is in light of the growing changes in technological arena that keeps bringing up new technologies. The chapter unveiled the role of libraries in sustainable development amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution and discussed the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies libraries can adopt to enhance the library role in sustainable development. The chapter further detailed the challenges that libraries face in the adoption of Library 4.0 which included chronic funding challenges, resistance to change, technical skills deficiencies, and inadequate technological infrastructure among others. Possible solutions were provided in a bid to foster the adoption Library 4.0. Libraries remain critical in the advancement and attainment of SDGs at all levels. Instead of drowning in new technologies, libraries are called to be in the fore front and find innovative ways of adopting and embracing these new technologies. This way, libraries will maintain their critical role at the heart of sustainable development.

42    Grace Msauki

References Abdulrazzaq, A. H., & Al-Ani, M. (2018). The needed merge of augmented reality smartphone application with CAS and SDI library services. Smart Cities Symposium, 30(4). https://doi.org/10.1049/cp.2018.1398 Abram, S. (2019). Augmented Reality in Libraries: Technology Trends that Aren’t “OutThere” Anymore!. Lucidea. Retrieved from https://lucidea.com/blog/augmentedreality-in-libraries-technology-trends-that-arent-out-there-anymore/ Abram, S. (2018). Artificial Intelligence: Technology trends that aren’t “Out-There” anymore. Retrieved from https://blog.lucidea.com/artificial-intelligence-technology-trends-thatarent-out-there-anymore. Accessed on October 22, 2019. Ahmat, M. A., Hanipah, R. A. A., & Library, H. S. (2018). Preparing the Libraries for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th Ir). Journal PPM: Journal of Malaysian Librarians, 12(1), 53–64. American Library Association. (2017). Blockchain [Text]. Tools, Publications & Resources Website. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/blockchain. Accessed on October 18, 2019. Asemi, A., & Asemi, A. (2018). Artificial Intelligence (AI) application in library systems in Iran: A taxonomy study. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-Journal), 1840. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1840 Baumgartner-Kiradi, B., Haberler, M., & Zeiller, M. (2018). Potential of augmented reality in the library Eisenstadt, Austria: University of Applied Sciences Burgenland. Craig, A. B. (2013). Augmented reality concepts. Understanding Augmented Reality, pp. 39–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-240-82408-6.00002-3 Data Management Hub. (2017). Devpost website. Retrieved from http://devpost.com/ software/data-management-hub. Accessed on October 21, 2019. Daws, R. (2019). Use of AI in Online Content Moderation.pdf. AI News website. Retrieved from https://www.cambridgeconsultants.com/sites/default/files/uploaded-pdfs/ Use%20of%20AI%20in%20online%20content%20moderation.pdf. Accessed on October 22, 2019. Del Cerro Velázquez, F., & Morales Méndez, G. (2018). Augmented reality and mobile devices: A binominal methodological resource for inclusive education (SDG 4). An example in secondary education. Sustainability, 10(10), 3446. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103446 Dutt, M. (2015). Cloud computing and its application in libraries. International Journal of Librarianship and Administration, 6(1), 19–31. Emas, R., (2015). The Concept of Sustainable Development: Definition and Defining Principles, GSDR, Florida International University. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5839GSDR%202015_SD_concept_definiton_rev.pdf Fourie, I., & Meyer, A. (2015). What to make of all the hype about makerspaces – Tools, DIY and creativity only – Or is there an interconnected space for information and information resources? Library Hi Tech, 33(4), 519–525. Fourie, I., & Meyer, A., (2016). Role of Libraries in Developing an Informed and Educated Nation, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Retrieved from https://repository.up.ac. za/bitstream/handle/2263/57380/Fourie_Role_2016.pdf ?sequence=1&isAllowed=y International Federation of Library Associations (2018). Libraries and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Storytelling Manual. IFLA. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/ publications/libraries-and-the-sustainable-development-goals--a-storytelling-manual Irenoa, K. O., Tijani, R. I., & Bakare, O. (2018). Enhancing library services delivery in the 21st century in Africa: The role of cloud technologies. International Journal of Library and Information Science Studies, 4(4), 1–9.

Library 4.0 and Sustainable Development    43 Lewis, R. (2014). Communication Technology in the Developing Nations, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 20(2), 159–159. Manda, M. I., & Dhaou, B. S. (2019). Responding to the challenges and opportunities in the 4th industrial revolution in developing countries. In Proceedings of the 12th international conference on theory and practice of electronic Governance-ICEGOV2019 (pp. 244–253). https://doi.org/10.1145/3326365.3326398 Mojapelo, S. M. (2018). Challenges faced by libraries in a Democratic South Africa: A case of three community libraries in Limpopo Province. Information Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266666917712337 Santos, J. F., & Esposo-Betan, S. M. (2017). Advantages and challenges of using augmented reality for library orientations in an academic/research library setting. In Proceedings of the IATUL conferences (p. 12). Shrivastava, D. S. (2018). Artificial intelligence and expert system: Intelligent library. International Journal of Innovation and Research in Educational Sciences, 5(4), 3. Slatter, D., & Howard, Z. (2013). A place to make, hack, and learn: Makerspaces in Australian public libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 62(4), 272–284. https:// doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2013.853335 Smith, M. (2019a). Top ten challenges facing public libraries. Public Library Quarterly, 38(3), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2019.1608617 Smith, C. (2019b). Block chain reaction: How library professionals are approaching block chain technology and its potential impact. ALA Magazine, March–April, pp. 26–33. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/wp-content/ uploads/2019/02/0319-american-libraries.pdf Smith, A., & Light, A. (2017). Cultivating Sustainable Developments With Makerspaces | Cultivando desenvolvimento sustentável com espaços maker. Liinc Em Revista, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.18617/liinc.v13i1.3900 Spina, C. (2014, February 18). Keeping up with augmented reality. Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) website. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/ publications/keeping_up_with/ar. Accessed on October 23, 2019. Springer Nature. (2019). The impact of artificial intelligence on librarian services. Springer Nature website. Retrieved from https://www.springernature.com/gp/librarians/newsevents/all-news-articles/ebooks/the-impact-of-artificial-intelligence-on-librarianservices/16874432. Accessed on October 21, 2019. Swain, D. K. (2014). Cloud computing and its application in library management: A review of research E-lib. Sci. Res. J., 2(4), 1–9. (p. 10). United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). (2017). Promoting entreprenuership for sustainable development: A selection of business cases from the Empretec Network. Retrieved from https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ diaeed2017d6_en.pdf Wada, I. (2018). Cloud computing implementation in Libraries: A synergy for library services optimization. International Journal of Library and Information Science, 10(2), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.5897/IJLIS2016.0748 Wilansky, L. S. (2017). Five lessons for libraries looking to innovate in the 21st century. Knight Foundation website. Retrieved from https://knightfoundation.org/articles/ five-lessons-for-libraries-looking-to-innovate-in-the-21st-century. Accessed on November 2, 2019. World Economic Forum. (2019). Globalization 4.0 Shaping a New Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum. Geneva. Yahaya, I. A., Aliyu, A. A., & Adamu, A. A. (2016). Managing academic library services in Nigeria in the 21st century. http://ceurws.org/Vol-1830/Paper65.pdf (p. 4).

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Additional Reading European Commission. (2015). The Factories of the Future. [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.effra.eu/attachments/article/129/Factories%20of%20the%20Future%20 2020%20Roadmap.pdf International Federation of Library Associations. (2015). International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Toolkit: Libraries and implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/topics/libraries-development/documents/libraries-un-2030-agenda-toolkit.pdf Labangon, D. L., & Manabat, A. (2019). Establishing connections, bridging the gap: Library 4.0 and its role in digital humanities. In DLSU Research Congress 2019, Manila, Philippines. Noh, Y. (2015). Imagining Library 4.0: Creating a model for future libraries. The Journal of Academic Libraries, 41(6), 766–797. Popoola, B. O. (2019). Involving libraries in improving health literacy to achieve Sustainable Development Goal-3 in developing economies: A literature review. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 36(2), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12255. Tait, E., Martzoukou, K., & Reid, P. (2016). Libraries for the future: The role of IT utilities in the transformation of academic libraries. Palgrave Communications, 2, 16070 https://doi:10.1057/palcomms.2016.70

Key Terms and Definitions Bandwidth: It is the amount of data that can be handled or transmitted by an Internet connection at any given time. Cryptocurrency: Internet-based digital currency that is independent of the central bank. E-Literacy: Electronic literacy, the ability and skill to make use of electronicbased resources and media. Internet: Interconnected network of computer-based technologies providing a variety of information and communication facilities to whoever is connected to the network. Library 4.0: Libraries that have fully adopted and embraced Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to enhance its services and operations. Sustainable Development: Development that meets both the present and future needs. Sustaining Technology: Technologies that bring in new and positive improvements to the way of doing things without compromising on quality. Disruptive Technology: Technologies that bring with it changes that might negatively disrupt and displace some elements in the way of doing things.

Section II

Redesigning Library Space

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Chapter 4

Understanding the Information User in the Electronic Age Nneka Chinaemerem Agim and Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri Introduction The studies on information user and how he/she is affected by the electronic age has been a subject of current study with ceaseless advances influencing library and information science. According to Sreenivasulu (2000), the term “Information user” can refer to any person who interacts with an information system to search for and select resources he/she needs. These people can also be called end users, patrons, clients, searchers, consumers, readers, etc. Electronic age also known as digital age, computer age, or new media age is a period in human history characterized by the shift from traditional industry that the industrial revolution brought through industrialization to an economy based on information computerization (Deegan & Tanner, 2002). The main goal of library and information service is to meet the user requirements for finding and accessing relevant information. In other words, users are, or at least should be, at the center of any information service irrespective of whether it is free or fee-based, local, or remote. Understanding the behavior of an information user is paramount, as it is a potential aid to the development of library and information services, especially in this electronic age (Muqueem, 2007). Prompted by the introduction of computers in information processing in the late 1950s, a large variety of online databases and information search services began to be marketed in the 1960s. The rate of growth of local and remote online information services has increased significantly, with the appearance and proliferation of the internet and the World Wide Web some three decades ago. Information services now play a major part in almost all our day-to-day activities in today’s society. However, information services existed long before the invention of computers. Traditionally, libraries provided information services, and libraries have existed for centuries. Users and ease of use of information were the two major driving forces behind these services. The importance of users in the context of library and information services was acknowledged by Ranganathan in 1963 in his famous Five Laws of Librarianship in the 1930s, cited by Patrick (2014) which Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 47–53 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201013

48    Nneka Chinaemerem Agim and Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri are books are for use, every reader his book, every book its reader, save the time of the reader, and a library is a growing organism. It may be noted that although Ranganathan conceived these laws nearly a century ago in the context of libraries, they are very much applicable in today’s electronic information world where one can easily reword these laws to state information is for use, every user her [piece of] information, every [piece of] information its user, save the time of the user, and information is a growing organism. In other words, while creating and/or managing an information service in this electronic age, the librarians should always keep users in mind, try to understand them, so that every bit of information stored within the system is accessible by its target users, and as a corollary, users of the information system or service should find the information they require efficiently and effectively. Wilson Sreenivasulu and, (2000) commented, “However we define it, and from whatever year we choose to date it, information science has been concerned with the information user.” Over the past six decades, understanding information user has remained a major area of research, giving rise to several theories, models and new principles published in thousands of research papers and reports. Later, Wilson (2008) observed that “apart from information retrieval theories virtually no other area of information science has occasioned as much research effort and writing as ‘understanding information user’” or simply put user studies. In October 2010, a quick search on the ISI Web of Knowledge database for “user studies” produced 11,798 hits: 6,534 hits in computer science, 2,848 in engineering, 2,279 in psychology, 2,268 in education and educational research, 1,702 in behavioral sciences, 1,298 in telecommunications, 1,265 in information and library science, and 1,042 in health sciences, demonstrating that user studies is a major area of research in different disciplines. Wilson (2008) observed that “information needs” has remained a major area of investigation within user studies but, commenting on this claim, Bawden (2001) pointed out that progress toward having a theoretical understanding of information needs has been slow. Understanding the information user and his/her information needs are increasingly challenging areas of research in the modern electronic age, where numerous information products and services are being created for consumption by remote and widely varied categories of users. Typical example of information in a variety of information products and services range from numerous search engines and digital libraries to handheld communication and entertainment devices such as mobile phones, iPods and iPads, and e-books readers like the Sony e-book readers and Amazon Kindle. Over 10,000 articles have been published on different aspects of human information behavior (HIB) research and there has been a steady growth since 2000: “30 items per year during the early 1970s, 40 during the early 1980s, 50 by the late 1980s, 100 by 1990, and 120 items per year by 2005” (Case, 2007). Keeping track of such a rapidly growing literature is a challenging task. A major impact on the information user is the revolution that came along with the electronic age, for example, the web has brought a major revolution in the way we create, disseminate, access and use information. It has opened new opportunities for creators and users of information products and services because through them any information product or service can virtually reach every user on the

Understanding the Information User in the Electronic Age    49 planet. There are challenges too, because since users are remote and sometimes unknown, it is often difficult to design an information product or service that would meet the requirements of every potential user. Yet, every information product or service developer dreams to use the web to make their products or services available to users, however large or small the user groups are and whether they live next door or thousands of miles apart. All organizations – whether a government organization, an international organization like the United Nations, a city council, a university, a business, a professional organization, or a charity – now use the web to make their information products and services available to potential consumers. Some of these information products and services are free, others require consumers to register and pay. In order for the library to remain competitive on the market, or to constantly improve the quality of their information products or services, they need to conduct researches to understand the information user in this electronic age in order to meet up with their needs. The specific objectives of this chapter are as follows: 1. To classify the understanding of the information user in electronic age. 2. To discuss the concept of digital literacy. 3. To identify the information needs and challenges of the information user in the electronic age. 4. To suggest on how to reach out effectively and efficiently to information users in the electronic age.

Background Although it is possible through the web to reach a large number of consumers with an information product or service, a poorly designed website, product, or service can easily frustrate and alienate consumers thereby causing a loss of business for the organization. Usability specialists are often employed at every stage of the design of an information product or service, and regular usability studies are conducted once a product or service is on the market in order to detect problems, improve quality, and stay competitive. Conducting such usability studies is often challenging, but fortunately a number of guidelines and tools are available for the purpose. Usability studies of digital libraries primarily aim to find out how easily users can interact with the interface of the electronic library, find useful information and use retrieved information to accomplish specific tasks, and what their general impressions about the various features and functionalities of the library are. Some usability studies also aim to gather information about the non-users with a view to finding out why potential users don’t use the electronic library, and what can be done to make it usable for them.

Digital Libraries Versus Traditional Libraries Digital library (DL) is the combination of other libraries through networks, which users can access from home or work, and this makes it more accessible. Computers are better in searching, browsing and finding an information faster

50    Nneka Chinaemerem Agim and Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri for reference work which “involves repeated leaps from one source of information to another” (Lee et al., 2005). Information is shared through network making it available for everyone. A DL has a main website where there may be many different libraries attached to it. One can find information in which one used to travel long distances to get the stored information. It brings the convenience to get the unique material from long distance. DL is never closed, it is always open. Materials are neither stolen nor missed-shelved and information is available when and where the user wants it. Database is the best way to record and store information whereas in traditional libraries books are found in printed form, which is not the best way to store and record data (Lee et al., 2005). DL is basically an electronic library, which contains information in digital form (Muqueem, 2007). The facilities provided by the DL as compared to traditional libraries are (Lee et al., 2005): 1. Digital libraries bring the libraries closer to the users. 2. Computer technology is used for searching and browsing. 3. Information can be shared. 4. Information is always available. 5. New forms of information become possible.

Challenges of the Information User in the Electronic Age Some of the challenges confronting the information user in the electronic age include the digital divide and digital literacy.

Digital Divide The distinction between those who have access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and those who do not is called the digital divide. It marks the disparity between ICT “haves” and “have nots.” At first, the digital divide was defined in binary terms: a gap between ICT “haves” and “have nots,” but more recently researchers (Chowdhury, 2004) have noted that a digital divide can be of different types: ⦁⦁ The social divide: the difference in access between diverse social groups. ⦁⦁ The global divide: the difference in access to the internet. ⦁⦁ The democratic divide: the different applications and uses of online informa-

tion to engage and participate in social life.

There is a general belief that the digital divide only exists between the developed and developing counties. While this is true – because of the lack of ICT infrastructure, telephone, and internet access, and generally poor educational level and socioeconomic conditions of the population in developing countries – a digital divide also exists among different sectors of societies in developed countries. How does the digital divide affect usability of information products and services? Obviously, if people have no or only limited access to ICTs in general and internet and digital information services in particular, they will use no online information products and services, or fewer than others do. In a report on the

Understanding the Information User in the Electronic Age    51 digital divide, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2001) defines the digital divide as: the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the internet for a wide variety of activities.

Digital Literacy Digital literacy refers to an individual’s ability to find, evaluate, and compose clear information through writing and other mediums on various digital platforms. Digital literacy is evaluated by an individual’s grammar, composition, typing skills and ability to produce writings, images, audio, and designs using technology. While digital literacy initially focused on digital skills and standalone computers, the advent of the Internet and use of social media, has caused some of its focus to shift to mobile devices. Some of the important reasons for which libraries should try to understand information users’ behavior in the electronic age can be summarized as follows. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

To identify the potential users and their information need. To identify the information seeking behavior of information users. To ascertain about the perception and approaches of users toward information. To identify the weakness and strength of existing library resources and services. (v) To evaluate the library system, that is, how far the existing library system and services are able to meet the information needs of its’ users. (vi) To specify the problems and limitations of library which may discourage the information user from using the electronic library. (vii) To identify the level of digital literacy of the information users and challenges been faced in the course of utilizing digital media in the library. (viii) To improve the overall system and services of the library. (ix) To build up user-friendly resource collection.

Classification of Understanding the Information User in Electronic Age Basically, understanding the information user in the electronic age is a technique to assess the pattern of using library electronic resources. By this, the researcher can be able to examine and discover certain other factors associated with the use of electronic resources. According to Prasad (1992), he classified the information user studies under three broad groups such as: (a) Studies dealing with user behavior. (b) Studies dealing with the information use. (c) Studies dealing with information flow.

52    Nneka Chinaemerem Agim and Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri Similarly, Prasher (1991) has classified the information user studies under four broad categories such as (a) descriptive studies, (b) analytical studies, (c) survey-based studies, and (d) user-based studies. He has classified such studies taking into account the types of explanation provided in the studies. The different classes of users’ studies are discussed below:

Studies Dealing with the Behavior of the Users Such type of user studies primarily denotes a method of identifying the behavioral pattern of the users. It means such user studies are designed to reflect the information seeking behavior of the users in a given library environment. In such type, the interaction of the user is more a factor which is verified and determined while identifying the attitudes and behavior of users toward the library system and its’ valuable/learning resources.

Studies Dealing with the Information Use In this class, the pattern of using literature by the users becomes the basis of the study which can give a deep insight into the information handling and building a collection development for libraries as well as to provide the information services more effectively. In other words, any user study which is conducted to find out the use of any communication medium fall under the ambience of this category of information user studies.

Studies Dealing with Information Need Now-a-days, in Library and Information Science field, the concept of information, information need, and information flow which are confined to users, form one of the most extensive and amorphous areas of research. Such type of user studies are primarily designed to find out the pattern of library use, information systems, library materials, information seeking and gathering habits of various groups of users, etc. to elicit a substantial amount of valuable input for effective library planning.

Conclusion Users are most important component of any library because for them only libraries are established and maintained. Hence, it is important for a library system to conduct studies on information users to identify their needs, especially in this electronic age and to develop the library system accordingly. The very purpose of understanding information user is to help in designing, altering, evaluating, and improving efficiency and effectiveness of library system and services. Accordingly, libraries need to identify the potential users and their information requirements, evaluate the existing library systems and services in relation to their utility. There are several methods to conduct user studies by libraries among which survey method is the most important. It is conducted through questionnaire,

Understanding the Information User in the Electronic Age    53 observation, analysis of various library records, citation analysis, and personal interview. All these methods can be grouped under direct and indirect methods of user studies. Besides, there are some unconventional methods which include computer feedback that makes use of records generated from the result of a computer search. This method helps to identify various formal and informal channels of communication to make user studies more effective and meaningful. However, the choice of a particular method by libraries for user studies substantially depends on the nature of studies and types of users.

References Bawden, D. (2001). Information and digital literacies: A review of concepts. Journal of Documentation, 57(2), 218–259. Case, D .O (2007). Information Behavior. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 40(1), 293. Chowdhury, G. (2004). Access to information in digital libraries: Users and digital divide. In International conference on digital libraries, 27 February. Deegan, M., & Tanner, S. (2002). Digital futures: Strategies for the information age (pp. 30–35, 139). London: Library Association Publishing. Lee, J., & Lee, Y.(2005). A holistic model of computer abuse with organization. Information management & computer security, 10(2). Muqueem, S. (2007). Changing role of library professionals in the digital environment. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1849/4000 Patrick, L. C. (2014). Reimagining the library as a technology: An analysis of Ranganathan’s Five laws of library science within the social construction of technology framework. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 84(2), 152–164. Prasad, H. N. (1992). Information needs and uses (pp. 80–81). Varanasi: Indian Bibliography Centre. Prasher, R. G. (1991). Information and its communication. New Delhi: Medallion Press. Sreenivasulu. (2000). Library use and user research with 20 Case Studies, Concept (pp. 25–26). New Delhi. Wilson, S. (2000). Management of the digital library: New techniques for a new technology. Retrieved from http://www.bibliomining.com/nicholson/newvl.html Wilson, S. (2008). Management of digital libraries: Challenges and opportunities redefining the contemporary information professional’s Role. Retrieved from http:// drtc.isibang.ac.in/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1849/401/paper_kemparaj.pdf ?equence=1

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Chapter 5

Application of Industry 4.0 in Delivering Library Services to Special Need Library Users Pauline Iroeze and Comfort N. Owate Introduction Lawal-Solarin (2012) quoted MSN Encarta Dictionary which defines special need library users as an inability to perform some or all the tasks of daily life or a medically diagnosed condition that makes it difficult to engage in the activities of daily life such as the visually impaired, deaf, dumb, etc. Also in this context, physically challenged or special need library users refer to persons who are unable to utilize normal library services effectively; therefore, an alternative package (assistive technology (AT)) has to be provided for them. They are also referred to as special needs library users. Special need library users usually make use of AT in order to help them in utilizing library services effectively. AT is any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Examples of AT include wheelchairs, electronic communication systems, researchers, computer adaptations, walkers, and thousands of other commercially available devices (Ronald, 2007). The special need library users form part of the heterogeneous clientele which seek library services or information to supplement their desire for educational attainment. Regrettably, due to the peculiar nature of their impairment, their effectiveness to utilize the needed library information is therefore greatly affected. This is especially more when the said information is not comfortably packaged for the special need library users. This situation, no doubt, has created very difficult problems in their effort to effectively use library services and to perform excellently in their academic works. According to Wang (2012), Industry 4.0 makes full use of emerging technologies and speedy development of machines and paraphernalia to cope with global challenges in order to advance industry levels. The main concept of Industry 4.0 is to utilize the advanced information technology to deploy Internet of Things (IoT) services. Also, Mrugalska and Wyrwicka (2017)

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 55–62 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201014

56    Pauline Iroeze and Comfort N. Owate opined that the modern and more refined machines and tools with advanced software and networked sensors designed using Industry 4.0 components can be used to plan, predict, adjust, and control the societal outcome and business models to create another stage of value chain organization and it can be controlled throughout the whole cycle of a product. Thus, Industry 4.0 is an advantage to stay competitive in any industry including the library. Industry 4.0 surely has something promising for the special need library users. As more people with disabilities go to higher institutions, it is imperative for library managements to provide the same level of service to them as is provided to users without disabilities. Industry 4.0 components like the IoT services can be engaged in the design of assistive technologies to improve on the overall ability of people with physical challenge to access library services effectively and efficiently. The segregation and marginalization of persons with physical challenge is a human rights issue and also an economic issue for countries. When a significant section of society, estimated at 15 per cent of the world’s population, faces difficulty in receiving an education, transitioning into the labor market, and becoming economically self-sufficient, it not only undercut their rights and dignity but adds drastically to a country’s welfare burden (WHO & World Bank, 2011). Therefore, the library has to adopt new technologies like Industry 4.0 components to see to it that the special needs of users with disability are been met, and therefore help them achieve their life goals. Mary Pat Radabaugh of IBM will always say “For most people, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.” Also, Industry 4.0 can also make library use easier for the physically challenged. The specific objectives of this chapter are as follows: 1. To identify the various components of Industry 4.0 that can be utilized in the design of AT for the special need library users. 2. To propose how IoT services can be applied on assistive technologies like hearing aids, visual aid, and mobility aid. 3. To propose how cloud computing can be applied on assistive technologies like hearing aids and visual aids. 4. To propose how Mobile devices can be applied on assistive technologies like mobility aids, hearing aids, and visual aids.

Background Lewis (2004) opined that libraries have stumbled upon three phases of development over the last 50 years. He stated the phases as follows: ⦁⦁ The first phase started with the appearance of computerization system in the

libraries where paper began to be used less often than preceding years. It began in the late 1960s with the Machine Readable Catalogue (MARC) development process which was broadly argued about amongst professional librarians until 1990s when libraries could then boast about Online Public Access Catalogue

Application of Industry 4.0 in Delivering Library Services    57 (OPAC), and audio-visual media system as well as web-based indexes replacing the printed papers. ⦁⦁ The second phase was more about electronic libraries’ dominance which began in early 1990s with the development of CD-ROMs, full-text databases, Internet, and the Web. Throughout this period, some of the conventional technology used since 1960s were getting disrupted. For example, analog audio-visual records that were being stored in cassette tapes were then replaced and the media information became readily available and cheaper on the Web. ⦁⦁ The third phase came with the development of new technologies that were swiftly used to execute more difficult tasks. The new tools were developed to provide powerful features to process data, text, sound, and images and can be easily sent to distant partners. The new technologies were also capable to do analysis of large sets of numeric data on the computer screen. However, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has begun and the library has the chance to be part of it too. It is not going to be like before, because it not about the steam that powered our factories before, or even the computer system from the Third Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0 is about connectivity, is an opportunity to radically change the way organizations including the libraries responds to the needs of the society. The advancement of Industry 4.0 will be driven by a smart, interconnected, and pervasive environment. The opportunity for disruption is huge, and those left behind will feel it acutely. There is still a space for organizations like the library, to rethink and remake their services; however, the race has already started. The library needs to plan ahead with clear strategic options. The library need to focus on how smart information products and services can be designed and developed in order to still retain its major objective in the society. Integration however is key (KPMG, 2019). The Library needs to move away from isolated silo-driven development which limits scope and value with new projects, in order to move toward a large-scale and proactive integration across the organization, among their users and products, to ensure it is aware of possible opportunities Industry 4.0 has to offer. The library needs to think big and act bold, by nurturing innovation, developing disruptive thought processes and developing the status quo. Also looking for opportunities in every element of their value chain from which services are offered, how they are offered, to whom they are offered to, and how they are utilized.

Characteristics of Industry 4.0 Industry 4.0 is the future of universal manufacturing. It is the age of automation, of the digitalized factory and digitalized products, the fourth phase of industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0. There are about 10 characteristics of Industry 4.0 as shown in Fig. 5.1. The above characteristics can be categorized into four major components, which are cyber-physical systems, IoT, cloud computing, and cognitive computing. These components can be applied to help the special need library user or physically challenged achieve their aim effectively and effortlessly. This chapter

58    Pauline Iroeze and Comfort N. Owate

Mobile devices Location detection technologies

Internet of Things (IoT) platforms

Big data analytics and advanced algorithms

Cloud computing

Characteristics of Industry 4.0

Advanced humanmachine interfaces

3D printing

Big data analytics and advanced algorithms

Augmented reality/wearables Smart sensors

Fig. 5.1.  Characteristics of Industry 4.0. however focuses on how the first three components (cyber-physical systems, IoT, and cloud computing) can be put into use to help the special need library users.

Application of Cyber-physical Systems to Deliver AT Cyber-physical systems are a system in which a mechanism is controlled or monitored by computer-based algorithms. In cyber-physical systems, physical and software components are deeply intertwined, able to operate on different spatial and temporal scales, exhibit multiple and distinct behavioral modalities, and interact with each other in ways that change with context. Mobile cyber-physical systems, in which the physical system under study has inherent mobility, are a prominent subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robotics and electronics transported by humans or animals. The rise in popularity of Smartphone has increased interest in the area of

Application of Industry 4.0 in Delivering Library Services    59 mobile cyber-physical systems. Smartphone platforms make ideal mobile cyberphysical systems for a number of reasons, including: ⦁⦁ Significant computational resources, such as processing capability and local

storage.

⦁⦁ Multiple sensory input/output devices, such as touch screens, cameras, GPS

chips, speakers, microphone, light sensors, and proximity sensors.

⦁⦁ Multiple communication mechanisms, such as Wi-Fi, 4G, EDGE, Bluetooth

for interconnecting devices to either the Internet or to other devices.

⦁⦁ End-user maintenance and upkeep, including frequent re-charging of the battery.

Smartphone provides flexibility, portability and customizability for people with disabilities especially those with visual, verbal, and auditory disabilities. Smartphone now provide what is called “accessibility features” and allow for customization of devices. This automatically makes the physically challenged more independent as they no longer depend on professionals to do this for them. For instance, there are apps for smartphones to aid with memory and organization, control smart devices in the home, note taking, object recognition including currency, recording personal information to use in case of an emergency, and reaching for assistance in case of need. Apps such as TapTapSee has been found to assist users with visual disabilities in recognizing objects by taking a photo and identifying it through a database of crowd sourced images. There are apps to scan barcodes and identify the product, read aloud menus through optical character recognition, and pull up Braille keyboards. This allows people with learning disabilities or a visual impairment to use it with confidence, encouraging independence, and self-reliance. There are apps to aid individuals that are non-verbal to use icons, images, and storyboards to communicate such as TouchChat and SonoFlex. Smartphones with the right app installed, can assist individuals with hearing disabilities by providing instant captions for audio content including phone calls, voice amplification, video calling, and converting audio alerts into text. For example, SoundPrint, SoundAlert, decibel X, etc. There are educational apps that focus on assisting students with learning disabilities in learning and working on math, composition, and reading. The library can incorporate these Industry 4.0 components to bridge the disability divide, by making available smartphone with these mobile apps for the special users in the library.

Application of Cloud Computing to Deliver AT Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer resources, principally data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. The term is generally used to describe data centers available to many users over the Internet (Wang, 2012). There are quite a lot of initiatives investigating the use of cloud computing to deliver AT, and accessible content and services at low costs to persons with disabilities. For example, LucyTech Inc (2011) offers AT on the cloud to aid in lowering the cost of buying a license by distributing ownership over a larger user base. AT on the cloud helps to remove the constraint

60    Pauline Iroeze and Comfort N. Owate of requiring assistive software on every personal computer, and allowing its use on any public access computer that can connect to the internet from anywhere in the world. The Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII, 2011) is another program to use the cloud to store user interface preferences, such that any ICT device linked to the cloud can “change to fit users rather than requiring users to figure out how to adapt, configure or install access features they need.” For instance Web Anywhere, a project which provides a web-based text-to-speech reader for website navigation and use. It utilizes a web server to perform all of the text-to-speech conversions so the “heavy lifting” is performed in the cloud and no specialized software would need to be installed on a user machine. The initiative began as a tool for blind users but has been found helpful for those with cognitive disabilities as well, regardless of the quality of their sight. Another project, Access for All, would allow for “user profiles” to be stored and accessed in the cloud. Users could identify their accessibility preferences and how they would prefer information to be accessible to them such as how they want the text to be presented to them like presenting text in a larger font size, and compliant services could automatically access these profiles and use them to present information and web pages in the appropriate format. Users or caretakers will have to create a set of profiles, which could then be ported to compatible services, websites, or devices. In this way, users with disabilities could avoid spending the time and effort on configuring each service individually, and normally avoid repetitive and wasteful negotiation, qualifying, and explaining their needs.

Application of IoT to Deliver AT The IoT refers to a network comprised physical objects capable of gathering and sharing electronic information. The IoT includes a wide variety of “smart” devices, from industrial machines that transmit data about the production process to sensors that track information about the human body (Investopedia, 2019). Embedded devices can be made to gather and share electronic information. The Internet has been constantly evolving. One of the models that have originated in the recent past is IoT, which is able to provide immense convenience to everyone, especially people with physical challenge. The last so many years have seen the fruition of many “smart” products that connect to the Internet, and can be operated from anywhere in the world. For example Flic, a smart wireless button, is a product based on the IoT concept, which not only lets you control smart bulbs and appliances around the house as well as music, but with just a click (double click or hold) can send out e-mails, open phone browser, hang up phone call, open phone camera, start navigation system, and do much more. With such device using IoT concept, people with special needs can operate smart objects; this can be applied in the library like opening the library doors, navigating through the library shelves, etc. The library can provide such device to help the special need library users. Another example is the Nottingham Obstacle Detector (NOD) which is a hand held device subsume with ultrasound. The device gives feedback as a unique note on a musical scale which is audible, and depicts the distance of the obstacle (Jayant, Pratik, & Mita, 2012). The major aim for developing the Obstacle Detector

Application of Industry 4.0 in Delivering Library Services    61 Systems is to make the visually impaired person know about the obstacle beforehand. Such device gives user more insight about the person’s social environment and helps them to make decisions as soon as possible, thus allowing them to move around more confidently and effectively. The detector may be used in the library for navigation with help from professionals. The designed assisted device helps a visionless person to visualize the surrounding using the sensor and vibrations. In the area of the deaf, IoT still finds it way, many IoT devices are available and researches are ongoing for a perfect solution for deaf and dumb. One new technology is the vibe ring. The vibe ring system comes in the form of a wrist watch and two rings which have to be worn on both hands. The rings are designed to be the user’s ears as they listen for sounds coming from behind the individual. The wristwatch recognizes the sound captured by the rings and presents the information to the person wearing it in a way they can understand. The wristwatch part identifies the sound wave and displays this info to the wearer in an easy to read. The watch is designed to listen for certain key phrases from humans; this certainly helps the deaf to move around more easily and normally and can also be applied in the library by making them available to help special need library users access library services. Also in the area of mobility, IoT services can be applied. Physically challenged peoples majorly face problems in mobility; this makes them depend on wheel chairs for movement. Nowadays for the physically challenged or special need library users with mobility problem to visit the library, they need some ones help. So, researchers are developing internet-embedded wheel chairs for physically challenged people. Wheel chair that connects to the internet makes use of an IoT service, this makes it possible for the physically challenged or special need library users to do their activities and move to and around the library freely without assistance. Wheelchairs that developed should include sensors, that provide shortest path if they want to go anywhere. The library can also utilize this Industry 4.0 component to help the special need library users access the library effortlessly and also utilize the library services effectively.

Conclusion The emergence of Industry 4.0 has a lot of impact on the library’s day-to-day activities, and most especially for the special need library users, as it will help them without much effort to access the bulk library services the library renders. If the library has to keep up to its goal, it has to incorporate Industry 4.0 components in trying to meet the needs of its users especially the physically challenged. This chapter has shown the impact of some components of Industry 4.0 on the assessment of library services by special need library users.

References Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII). (2019). One-size-fits-one digital inclusion. Retrieved from http://gpii.net/. Accessed on October 14, 2019. Investopedia. (2019). The Internet of Things. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/ terms/i/internet-things.asp. Accessed on October 19, 2019.

62    Pauline Iroeze and Comfort N. Owate Jayant, S., Pratik, P., & Mita, B. (2012). World academy of science, engineering and technology. International Journal of Computer, Electrical, Automation, Control and Information Engineering, 6(10), 1262. Lawal-Solarin, E. O. (2012). A survey of library and information services to physicallychallenged students in academic libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/nnadozie.htm Lewis, D. W. (2004). The innovator’s dilemma: Disruptive change and academic libraries. Library Administration & Management, 18(2), 68–74. LucyTech Inc. (2011). The new generation of technology for a global and effective e-inclusion. Retrieved from http://www.lucytech.com/9101/index.html Mrugalska, B., & Wyrwicka, M. (2017). Towards Lean Production in Industry 4.0. Procedia Engineering, 182, 466–473. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.03.135. KPMG. (2019). Industry 4.0:Competitive advantage and technological transformation. Retrieved from https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/campaigns/2018/11/industry-4-0.html Ronald, J. (2007). “Assistive Technology for Individuals with Cognitive Impairment”. Assistive Technology Project Center on Disabilities and Human Development University of Idaho. Retrieved from http://idahoat.org/Portals/60/Documents/ Services/Resources/AT_CognitiveImpairmentsHandbook.pdf. Retrieved from November 21, 2019. Wang, L. (2012). Enterprise cloud service architectures. Information Technology and Management, 13(4), 445–454. doi:10.1007/s10799-012-0139-4 WHO & World Bank. (2011). World Report on Disability. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/ disabilities/world_report/2011/report.pdf

Chapter 6

Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services in ABCD Software-Based Website Md. Nazmul Islam, Md. Nurul Islam, Egbert de Smet and Md. Shahajada Masud Anowarul Haque Introduction Multiple terms are often used for virtual reference service (VRS) with the same meaning (Pace, 2003). It is sometimes interchangeably or ambiguously used with digital reference service (Lipow, 2002; Zanin-Yost, 2004), computer-mediated reference service (Kern, 2009), online reference service (Kenney, 2002), although all of them have some significant features to serve to their users. Reference service, by definition is “the process of establishing contact between a reader and his documents in a personal way” (Ranganathan, 1961). It is a guided service in the pursuit of information (Rothstein, 1961). When this reference is being provided in the library with the help of computer and related technologies, it is called computer-mediated reference service whilst through the Internet, it is called the online reference service. According to Colby (2002), a digital reference service encompasses the entire electronic reference concept, including tutorials, subject guides. Digital reference service can be provided both in asynchronous (not in real-time, e.g., e-mail and web forms) and synchronous way of communication (in real-time, e.g., live reference, Instant Messaging (IM) reference) (Bullard, 2003). The UKbased Virtual Enquiry Project defined Virtual Reference (VR) as “instant messaging or chat software to allow users to interact with library staff in real-time” (Eithne, Bedoya, Groom, & Patterson, 2010). The Library Consortium of New Zealand (LCoNZ) VR project defines Virtual Reference as “a real-time, online, one-to-one inquiry service” (Charlotte, 2009). VRS is meant in this research chapter as synchronous digital reference that can occur in real-time although according to NISO and Sloan, Online or Virtual or Digital whatever we call it is a new provision of reference usually provided using computer, Internet and digital reference sources (Kern, 2009; ZaninYost, 2004). Various communication channels are available to provide reference Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 63–76 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201015

64    Md. Nazmul Islam et al. services digitally such as through e-mail, IM service (chat reference), online SMS service, video conferencing, voice over IP, etc. For this study, we have mainly dealt with IM as the medium of VRS and a web-based documentary database through which we would like to show how modern libraries could provide reference service virtually to its users. As a new phenomenon, VRS helps to improve equity of access to library services without being physically present in the library (Eithne et al., 2010). Immediate response to fulfill the demand for information is the characteristics of the new generation of students. The usage ratio of IM has increased even more than e-mail among students day by day. As a result, libraries of the modern world turn to IM-based VRSs due to its broad acceptance among students (Danielle, 2011; Desai, 2003). IM-based VRSs can create a new user group that usually stays away from the library. These distance learners also get the prompt and efficient reference service along with the users who are physically in the library. It normally assists distant users in finding library materials, locating the place of materials, guiding the use of other library services, telling the status of materials and users. Therefore, it saves users’ time, labor and money. Students of the modern age are adept in using IM tools for communication, but they are not so proficient in formulating their research questions that are in their mind into search strategies. Due to the absence of appropriate search strategies and the knowledge in using the right Internet tools, search engines of any kind often do not produce the desired result. The librarian at an IM reference desk having skills on right Internet tools, formulation of search strategies, and subjective knowledge can elucidate the information need and bridge the digital gap between distance learners and the right information (Desai & Graves, 2006).

Literature Review Normally, IM Service as a medium of VRS is being provided in libraries and information centers through chat widgets. A chat widget is a small web application that is used for interactive communication through web chat. Usually, this chat widget can be embedded on any web page as a means of communication between library users and reference librarians. This chat widget does not require users to open a new account for communication. Anyone from anywhere can use this simple web interface for finding books/articles, locating materials, getting access to web reference sources, etc. This process simplifies the retrieval process by reducing the workload of the library. Mawhinney (2020) study finds that library users have a wide variety of methods at their disposal for interacting virtually with libraries. The study also finds that live chat is one of the important media of VRS offered by the library. It is also found that users are disinclined to use e-mail due to response time and the value of formality, but users are interested to receive the important e-mail which libraries offer to their end-users. In addition, the study shows that how VRS meet user demands and improved the library service. Khan and Zainab (2015) discussed about different types of VRSs that are used by modern libraries like

Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services    65 Library of Congress, Yale University, etc. They also showed what type of VRS are being used and how they used it for meeting the demands of their users. Lihitkar (2011) described how IM can be used for VRS. He also showed that how a library established VRS using Meebo. Chow and Croxton (2014) conducted a study among the university students to explore the usability of five VRSs, that is, instant messenger chat, e-mail, telephone, text messaging, and Skype video conferencing. The study recommended that user preference and gratification for VRS is highly connected with the service usability. Online chat was the highest rated VRS among the students. Sarkar (2013) demonstrated the ways and extent of a widget-based web application, for example, chat widget, library toolbar, course management softwares, Social ­Networking Site (SNS), etc. in library services across the continent. He showed what types of widgets were being used and how they were used. Like many other countries that heavily dependent on the Internet, IM or chat is also a popular online tool among the students of the UK. Eithne et al. (2010) surveyed in UK academic libraries on the usage pattern of IM or chat for inquiries as a mean of VRS. The survey tested some VRS that enabled the software to compare several features. Maximum IM software was not library-specific and unable to generate statistics automatically. Commercial software like Live Person and Question Point has a greater number of user-supported features than free software like Meebo. On the other hand, free software offers an easier customization feature and a reduced set of features free of cost as compared to commercial software. Complicated software often creates confusion, and needs more training among library staff, so reluctance or acceptance of library staff regarding IM software can play a major role in choosing the right software for the library whether it be commercial or free. California State University, Fullerton’s Pollak library began a pilot project in which IM was offered through the Meebo chat widget in 2008 although the library had been using another chat widget QuestionPoint since 2004 (William, Mallard, & Sage, 2009). The main intention of this project was to assess the usefulness and functionality of the embedded chat option of Meebo as a virtual reference tool. The study observed the successful implementation of a few proprietary-based traditional IM services like AOL and MSN Instant Messenger. The study found that IM reference transactions through the Meebo-enabled chat widget were significantly shorter than the transactions conducted with QuestionPoint. Meebo-based IM interface required low capital and personnel investment, and can be easily integrated into the workflow of the library and simpler to use (William et al., 2009). The LCoNZ Virtual Reference (VR) project had an aim to find the same VRS across the four libraries affiliated in LCoNZ. To achieve this, the VR project was formed to create a learner-centered service where various teaching-learning and library service activities can become closer to learner’s experience by identifying appropriate software after evaluating costs and benefits properly. The study selected software by judging a few criteria like user intuitiveness, collaborative nature, and technical requirements. Three proprietary software out of ten were primarily selected: QuestionPoint (OCLC), LiveHelper (LivePerson) and

66    Md. Nazmul Islam et al. VRLPlus (Sirsi) for analyzing the pros and cons of the software. Finally, the study installed Pidgin as an IM aggregator client and Meebome as a chat widget (Charlotte, 2009). The VRS through embedded IM is comparatively new technology in the libraries of Bangladesh. Although one or two libraries started to use IM-based chat widget for reference communication, no published articles are highlighting the implementation process of any chat widget in the context of the libraries of Bangladesh. Boateng and Liu (2014) found out the reasons why the libraries of developing countries stills feel hesitate to adopt new technology mainly due to limited time and training, and uncertainty about the outcomes (Chunmei, 2016). However, there have not been any studies so far depicting the customization process of the Zoho chat widget as an IM interface embedded in the ABCD software-based web module “Site” that can be replicated in the academic libraries of Bangladesh. As a result, this study as a test-based case would be more useful to those libraries that are far behind or planning in offering IM-based VRS for their distance learners.

Objectives Testing the compatibility of ABCD software in providing VRS was the main objective of the current study. In order to achieve this, there are some other specific objectives enlisted below: • To sign-up and sign-in process in Zoho account; • To create a component named ‘VRS’ in ABCD site admin; and • To examine Zoho chat in ABCD user and admin interface.

Methodologies For this, the website module of ABCD software (CMS for library website software platform), and Zoho chat (for IM service) have been used to test the adaptability in rendering web-based reference services. This software was selected because of its free and open source availability. The whole work can broadly be categorized into two steps: Zoho Account Creation and Customization Process and Embedding IM Text in ABCD Site Module. The step one deals with signing up an account, verifying e-mail for confirming the registration process and configure its embed user interface (UI) and generate code for VRS. Step two deals with creating a component for VRS from the ABCD “site admin” interface and copy the Embed text and paste into the text box of the component’s specific configuration dialog screen.

Zoho Chat Zoho chat delivers a powerful communication platform to create channels, share documents and do more in a modern environment available on computer and mobile phone (Shabdar, 2009). It is very easy to use and maintain. Zoho chat has

Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services    67 some excellent features that will help to understand the user’s need very quickly. The unique features of Zoho chat are listed below in brief: • • • • •

It can track the visitors by providing real-time insight about the users. The live chat window will help the visitors before they ask any questions. Answer the user query 24/7 using the customize Chabot. It can be customized easily according to the user’s need. It can compatible with any other analytics software such as Google analytics.

ABCD As a “Free and Open Source Software” (FOSS) for integrated library system, ABCD brings a new window for librarians to manage their day-to-day library activities in a timely manner. Because FOSS can be customized according to the user’s needs, FOSS saves the time of librarians so that they can spend their time in other developments of the library. There is much FOSS software such as ABCD, KOHA, and Evergreen, etc. Librarians are using FOSS for various purposes such as library automation, digitization, etc (de Smet, 2010). ABCD, acronym for Automatisación de Bibliotécas y Centros de Documentación, is one of such software (Dhamdhere, 2011). It was developed by BIREME (WHO, Brazil) in collaboration with the Flemish Interuniversity Council, Belgium, using UNESCO’s ISIS database-technology (de Smet & Dhamdhere, 2010). It covers all of the functions of the library, that is, acquisitions, patron’s management, cataloguing, loan management, serial control, etc. It facilitates to import bibliographic records from other libraries, for example, Library of Congress, Oxford University through the Z39.50 protocol. An “asynchronous reference service” named “Online Document Delivery Service” (ODDS) is also available from the ABCD Site.

Salient Features of ABCD de Smet and Dhamdhere (2010) identified the following features of ABCD: • It is fully web-based integrated library management software. It can be managed from any web browser. • Free open source software. Anyone can adopt it based on his/her requirements. • Compatible of MARC 21, UNIMARC, and Dublin core standards. • It enables librarians to import records from other libraries through Z39.50 protocol. • Web-based Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) that allow users to retrieve information very easily from all defined catalogues, databases and websites. • It supports Multi-lingual features. • Physical and electronic documents can be accessed with the same interface. • Librarians can set the permission of the library staff role in ABCD modules. • Display the book jacket images. • It can import and export data facility in both text-format and ISO-2709 format.

68    Md. Nazmul Islam et al. • Library staff can define, edit any new database structure and also copy the same from existing ISIS-applications. • It has numerous in-built and custom reports. • Purchase orders, track orders using baskets, generate reports, create vendor database can be done through the acquisition module. Users can submit purchase suggestion requests using the acquisition module. • The loan module provides all transactions of books (issue, renew, return, fine calculation), options to maintain the borrower database and generate statistical reports of transaction, fine and user. • All kinds of publishing pattern of journals can be managed through serial module.

ABCD Modules ABCD consist of the following modules. In ABCD, separate login IDs and passwords are required to access the different modules. The modules have been discussed based on the various works of literature (de Smet, 2009, 2011a, 2011b, 2012; de Smet & Dhamdhere, 2010, 2012). ABCD central has the following sub-modules: 1. User’s administration module allows librarians to specify user profiles with very granular permissions (actions allowed or disallowed) and to assign the users to these profiles with their specific access to different modules and databases. 2. The database administration module assists librarians or administrators to create a new database from scratch or from a pre-existing database (e.g., MARC 21, CEPAL) or to modify existing database structures (field/index definitions, print format, etc.). 3. The cataloguing module facilitates to enter data with authority control picklists, subfields can be handled separately and importing bibliographic records from other libraries using the Z39.50 protocol. It allows printing and generating various statistical reports. Records can be imported or exported easily. 4. The Acquisition module has the following four major functions: • Suggestions: This is the first step for ordering new materials. ABCD offers an excellent feature for patrons to make purchase suggestions through the ABCD Site. Librarians can consult the acquisition system activities through the suggestions overview option. It also involves management of the approval, rejection, bidding as well as the final decision (to purchase at what price) or not. • Purchase orders: Based on the suggestions provided by the users, librarians can create orders, check pending orders and receive the items from the vendors. • Databases: The ABCD Acquisitions module maintains four acquisitionrelated databases, that is, suggestions, providers, orders and copies (which later on will act as “pre-catalogued” entries). • Administration: Here, the Acquisition module offers to manage the configuration, statistics and reports as well as weeding options.

Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services    69 5. Loan module has the following four essential tasks: • Transactions: The main circulation transactions, i.e. issue, return, renew, reserve, fine calculation, borrower’s statement and borrowers history. • Databases: It mainly maintains the patron databases, transactions and fines of the borrowers. • Administration: Librarians can generate statistical reports of transactions, fines and users. • Configuration: It allows librarians to configure the definition of catalogues used in the circulation system (there can be more than one, each with their own structure), define user policies and set the calendars (holiday, weekend holiday to adjust date due), timetables and currency units.

ABCD Advanced Loan Module (EmpWeb) ABCD offers an advanced loan module that can cope with much more complicated situations, for example multi-branch organizations with different loan policies, etc. The transactions of this advanced loan module will be stored in SQL and can retrieve the user data from external SQL data sets along with ABCD’s own user database. Librarians can define more advanced policy rules through the JAVA script language “Groovy.” The EmpWeb Advanced Loans module of ABCD offers interesting benefit to the basic loans module, but at a price. The price is to be paid in installation of additional but free software (Java and an SQL-database), acquiring some additional skills, and a lot of effort in implementing the many customization features of EmpWeb (de Smet, 2011a, 2011b). EmpWeb has personal library-pages that allow users to check their own library loan status from the OPAC and an online reservation option.

ABCD OPAC ABCD OPAC enables library users to retrieve the bibliographic information from all defined catalogs with simple, intermediate or advanced interfaces. The OPAC search results can be displayed in any ISIS-format. The OPAC allows users to select, print, e-mail, export to XML of the displayed results. A new OPAC with integrated federated search and facets will be available as of 2020.

ABCD Serials Control System (SeCS-Web) It includes an advanced feature for serials (both print and online) in order to set up single or multiple libraries. Librarians can manage the following significant tasks using the ABCD SeCS-Web: 1. Titles management: It enables librarians to add new serial titles and their details (full ISSN standard). The serial records can be exported to union catalogs of serials. The title can be searched through a serials index. 2. Titles plus management: It supports creating and editing records with local administrative information on the serials, like local holding data.

70    Md. Nazmul Islam et al. 3. Templates management: Librarian can create and edit publication/frequency templates of serial publications very easily. 4. Utilities: User management, library management, statistical report of serials can be done using the utilities option. It provides numerous reports of serial holdings like print, online, free, paid, etc.

ABCD Site A content management system is available for the creation of the ABCD site. It permits librarians to create, manage and publish the portal. The site arranges information in a system that incorporates and interconnects reference databases, specialist directories, events and organizations. It offers a platform to incorporate the OPAC feature as a meta-search function to simultaneously search local and external bibliographic resources.

Functionality and Customization of Zoho Chat Widget in ABCD-Based Web Module The embedding process of Zoho chat into ABCD-based web module is very simple. The library authority signs up an account in Zoho chat to get HTML code for chat widget. Then, the HTML code can be inserted into the ABCD web module. The chat widget uses a flash player for auto-running. Any library user without opening an account can use the chat widget unlike a few proprietary-based software. The chat widget indicates the availability of the reference librarian to whom the distance users wish to contact. The user from any computer having an Internet connection just enters the text into the chat area of the widget to get a reference service. The reference librarian or any library staff, on the other hand, will be able to communicate with distance library users by logging into the IM service from any computer with an Internet connection. The entire process has two interfaces: front-end for end-user and back-end for library staff (Charlotte, 2009). The total customization process has been depicted below.

Zoho Account Creation and Customization Process Sign-up a Free Zoho Account Type: https://www.zoho.com/signup.html in the web browser and then click on sign-up for free. Then create an account by filling-up some individual information. Once you create your account, you have to verify your e-mail address by sign-in your existing mail address. After clicking the authentication link of mail for confirming the registration process provided by Zoho account, we now should click on “Continue to Sign In.”

Configure Embed UI for VRS Click on Live chat to configure chat widget and generate code for embed chat (Fig. 6.1).

Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services    71

Fig. 6.1.  Live Chat.

Fig. 6.2.  Configuring Live Chat. Type the name (Name of the chat account visible to administrator only), chat title (Name of the widget visible to end-users) and then click on generate code for embed chat (Fig. 6.2). Then copy the embed text and paste it into a component of ABCD site module.

Embedding IM Text in ABCD Site Module At first, we have to create a component from ABCD Site Admin through which we would like to paste embedded text code just copied from the Zoho account. So, we have to click on a component of ABCD site admin (http://localhost:9090/ site/admin/) (Fig. 6.3). As we would like to create a new component named “VRS”, so we have to click on new and type the name of component, for example, “VRS” in the Title box

72    Md. Nazmul Islam et al.

Fig. 6.3.  ABCD Site Admin.

Fig. 6.4.  Paste the Embedded Text Into Component Named “VRS.”

and select “HTML” as the type of the component and then click on “Add.” If we feel necessary we can also set the level of the position for the component “VRS” by clicking on increase/decrease level, move up/move down arrow and finally click on save. At this stage, we have created our new component named “VRS.” Now we would like to paste embed text into it. So, we have to click on the “VRS” component first. Then, we have to click on the source. Copy the embedded text generated from the Zoho account and paste it into this text box and then click Save (Fig. 6.4). Click on preview and let start the discovery. The VRS widget now shows in the ABCD site module (http://localhost:9090/site/php/index.php) (Fig. 6.5).

Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services    73

Fig. 6.5.  Preview in ABCD Site Module.

Fig. 6.6.  UI in ABCD Site Module.

Results UI from ABCD-based Website Users will be able to get VRSs by typing their names from the ABCD site module (Fig. 6.6).

Admin Interface from Zoho Chat The concerned librarian will be able to communicate with the distance users from admin interface of Zoho chat (Fig. 6.7).

74    Md. Nazmul Islam et al.

Fig. 6.7.  Admin Interface of Zoho Chat

Conclusion In this age of information technology, a VRS is an integral part of reference service. In the ABCD software, it is very easy to create a component and show it in the site module. It has a user-friendly and intuitive site module. On the other hand, Zoho chat has some special features like creating user groups, simultaneous communication for several users at the same time, can create several live chat widgets from single Zoho account, etc. Zoho chat also has some limitations, such as the library needs the workforce to provide such reference service virtually. Anyone can log in as a guest user. It is a simple feature of Zoho chat that may also create further disturbance for reference service because anyone can ask the question to the reference librarian as a guest user without being authorized users.

References Boateng, F., & Quan, L. Y. (2014). Web 2.0 applications’ usage and trends in top US ­academic libraries. Library Hi Tech, 32(1), 120–138. Bullard, K. A. (2003). Virtual reference service evaluation: An Application of unobtrusive research methods and the virtual reference desk’s facets of quality for digital reference service (Unpublished master’s paper, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Retrieved from https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/masters_papers/ws859k134 Charlotte, C. (2009). Implementing instant messaging in four university libraries. Library Hi Tech, 27(3), 393–402. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830910988522 Chow, A. S., & Croxton, R. A. (2014). A usability evaluation of academic virtual reference services. College and Research Libraries, 75(3), 309–361. https://doi.org/10.5860/ crl13-408 Chunmei, G. (2016). A survey of WeChat application in Chinese public libraries. Library Hi Tech, 34(4), 625–638. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-06-2016-0068

Compatibility Analysis of Virtual Reference Services    75 Colby, R. (2002). Virtual reference services … what, why and how? A report on a teleconfernce. Library Hi Tech News, 19(4). https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2002.23919dac.002 Danielle, D. (2011). Chat widgets as student/librarian communication tools. Library Hi Tech News, 28(3), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1108/07419051111145127 de Smet, E. (2009). ABCD: A new FOSS library automation solution based on ISIS. Information Development, 25(1), 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266666908101265 de Smet, E. (2010). Some ISIS-Software history and technical background on the new FOSS Integrated Library System ABCD. LIBER Quarterly, 19(3–4), 324–335. https://doi.org/10.18352/lq.7969 de Smet, E. (2011a). ABCD as a digital library tool. Paper presented at the International Conference on Digital Libraries and Knowledge Organization, Delhi. de Smet, E. (2011b). Special features of the advanced loans module of the ABCD integrated library system. Program, 45(3), 323–332. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330331111151629 de Smet, E. (2012). ABCD as a digital library tool. In A. Jose (Ed.), Advances in digital library development (pp. 135–145). New Delhi: MacMillan. de Smet, E., & Dhamdhere, S. N. (2010). ABCD: An open source automation tool for libraries. PEARL: A Journal of Library and Information Science, 4(4), 215–219. de Smet, E., & Dhamdhere, S. N. (2012). Publishing and sharing library resources with the ABCD Site. Information Development, 29(2), 183–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0266666912451187 Desai, C. M. (2003). Instant messaging reference: How does it compare? The Electronic Library, 21(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470310462380 Desai, C. M., & Graves, S. J. (2006). Instruction via instant messaging reference: What’s happening? The Electronic Library, 24(2), 174–189. https://doi.org/10.1108/ 02640470610660369 Dhamdhere, S. N. (2011). ABCD, an Open Source Software for Modern Libraries. Chinese Librarianship: An International Electronic Journal, (32). Retrieved from http://www.white-clouds.com/iclc/cliej/cl32.htm Eithne, B., Bedoya, J. K., Groom, C., & Patterson, L. (2010). Virtual reference in UK academic libraries: The virtual enquiry project 2008–2009. Library Review, 59(1), 40–55. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531011014673 Kenney, B. (2002). Live digital reference. Library Journal, 127(16), 46–47. Kern, M. K. (2009). Virtual references best practices (1st ed.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Khan, N. A., & Zainab, T. (2015). Virtual reference services in modern libraries. International Journal of Digital Library Systems, 5(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.4018/ ijdls.2015070101 Lihitkar, S. R. (2011). Establishing a virtual reference service. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 31(1), 31–34. https://doi.org/10.14429/djlit.31.1.760 Lipow, A. G. (2002). The virtual reference librarian’s handbook. New York, NY: NealSchuman Publishers, Inc. Mawhinney, T. (2020). User preferences related to virtual reference services in an academic library. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(1), 102094. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.acalib.2019.102094 Pace, A. K. (2003). Virtual reference: What’s in a name? Computers in Libraries, 23(4), 55–56. Ranganathan, S. R. (1961). Reference service (2nd ed.). Bombay: Asia Publishing House. Rothstein, S. (1961). Reference service: The new dimension in librarianship. College & Research Libraries, 22(1), 11–18. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.5860/crl_22_01_11 Sarkar, T. De. (2013). Prevalence of widget applications on library websites: An analytical study. New Library World, 114(3/4), 110–131. https://doi.org/10.1108/ 03074801311304032

76    Md. Nazmul Islam et al. Shabdar, A. (2009). Foundation Zoho: Work and create online (1st ed.). Berkeley, CA: Apress. William, B., Mallard, M., & Sage, R. (2009). Using Meebo’s embedded IM for academic reference services: A case study. Reference Services Review, 37(1), 83–98. https://doi.org/ 10.1108/00907320910935011 Zanin-Yost, A. (2004). Digital reference: What the past has taught us and what the future will hold. Library Philosophy and Practice, 7(1), 1–16.

Chapter 7

Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services for Effective Service Delivery Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo Introduction Information is a driving force in every society and the mission of libraries irrespective of their types all over the world, including information centres exist to provide information services that meet and satisfy the information needs of their clientele which is central to management responsibility. The nature of today’s library and information centre patron is changing on daily basis as a result of information and technological advancement which has posed challenges in library services. Users are more interested in obtaining information that is reliable, dependable, free from stressful retrieval and within the shortest time possible. In achieving this, information has to be properly packaged and repacked to allow for its meaningful utilisation. As a result of this, however, it requires librarians and other information professionals or experts to strategically design their information services to meet or suit and satisfy the various information needs, wants and demands of today’s patrons by means of effective information packaging and repackaging. For informational professionals, Kunneke (2001) posits that the focus must shift from the information provider to the information consumer (clientele). Consumers’ needs must guide organisational strategy. Packaging is not a new idea, but changes in information technology have enhanced the process, creating the potential for better service. Packaging is the bundling of product and services to address specific needs (Iwhiwhu, 2008). This can be done by reformatting and synthesising raw information; combining expertise on a subject with access to relevant information sources; and providing training or assistance to a user in accessing an information product. Dongardive (2013) states that librarians need to design information services for such clientele based on diagnosis of their information needs as inferred from (i) the roles they play; (ii) the structure of such roles in the given

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 77–89 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201016

78    Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo work environment or organisation; and (iii) their information use patterns, traits and characteristics (Hale, 1986). The composite data generated from such diagnosis would be used to repackage or customise information to match the needs and convenience of the user. Information packaging refers to ways of adopting information to suit the desired information need of a user. Different users may have different information need, as a result, it is important to understand the patron’s or user’s characteristics, this will determine their kind of information packaging required. This user’s analysis will assist the librarian come up with right design of service by packaging and repackaging the information to suit the various categories of users. Information repackaging is a process whereby information is obtained from different sources are packaged again in a more attractive way and disseminating such information products to meet the requirements of a specific clientele or user. Bunch cited by Abrigo (2009), describes information repackaging as a form of information service which emphasises on the following steps: selecting the appropriate materials, reprocessing the information in a form that can be readily understood by the user, packaging information and then arranging all these materials in a way that is appropriate to the user. The relevance of information packaging and repackaging cannot be underestimated. Information repackaging is a tool for marketing library repackaged information products and showcasing librarians’ services and skills. Information packaging helps librarians and information specialists to modify their services to suit the transformation that goes on within the world of information arena. It also adds value to information services such as information analysis, synthesis, editing, translating and transmitting its symbolic and media formats, it ensures accuracy, currency, easy comprehensiveness and convenient of use. With information repackaging, library users can easily identify sources of information in both physical and digital forms in response to their specific needs. A well packaged information can serves as a tool for decision-making process. In this age of technological explosion leading to information over lead, information repackaging is important because of its numerous benefits such as saving the time and cost for the user. The main thrust of information repackaging as summed up by Okunade (2015) is tailored towards producing the right information in the right place, at the right time and in the right form to whoever requires it through specialised information analysis and repackaging. There are three requirements for information repackaging: the material should be collected and organised efficiently; there should be the capacity to analyse their content and create new information packages from them; and the new package should be disseminated freely. To effectively package information, librarians and other information experts in their information service should select appropriate materials, reprocess and package the information, and arrange the material in a way that it is appropriate and helpful to the user. Therefore, the process of information repackaging to an extent depends on the availability of materials from various sources such as research institutes, government sources, online services and networks and indigenous knowledge (Iwhiwhu, 2008; Oyadonghan, Eke, & Fyneman, 2016). However, this chapter will address the reasons for information

Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services    79 repackaging in libraries, the methods adopted in repackaging information, various forms of information could be packaged, and strategic approach employed in libraries for information repackaging in response to the trends and issues of the twenty-first century information services delivery.

Concept of Information Packaging and Repackaging The concept of information repackaging is old, and librarians and information experts in rendering services tailored to information repackaging is also not new. The concept has been variously examined by different writers and it all came to the same meaning. Repackaging of information is re-arrangement of physical media in which information has been presented, which is tailored to the requirement of a specific clientele. It is the presentation of information in a more understandable, readable, acceptable and usable forms. The aim is to enhance the acceptance and use of information and the assimilation and recall of their contents (Dongardive, 2013; Okunade, 2015). Information packaging is simply the process of modification or amendment while maintaining the content for easy understanding and identification by the clientele to suit his or her interest for its effective use. Information repackaging is synonymous with information and technological trends. Information repackaging as advocated by Ugwuogu in Radhakrishnan and Francis (2018) is the provision of information to different categories of users in an encapsulated form based on team approach or needs assessment. Gupta and Ahmed in Okite (2013) view information repackaging or information consolidation as public knowledge specifically selected, analysed, evaluated and possibly restructured and repackaged for the purpose of serving some of the immediate decisions, problems and information needs of a defined clientele or social group, who otherwise may not be able to effectively and efficiently access and use this knowledge as available in the great amounts of documents or in its original form. According to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Okoroma (2014), repackaging of information refers to the presentation of information in a more understandable, reliable, acceptable and usable forms. For instance, academics/researchers usually need information for research. Considering that the final outcome of research is typed and printed, the electronic copy of the information needed by researchers is more appropriate to save the time of retyping the item of information, even the citation can easily be copied and pasted. Ugwuogu (2015) shares the same view but conclusively maintains that information repackaging is therefore the provision of information to different categories of users in an encapsulated form based on team approach or needs assessment in order to facilitate or yield quick and meaningful decision making for result-oriented impact.

Forms of Information Repackaging In the bid of library and information professionals to document their content and form collections to their users, Ugwuogu (2015) citing Rosenberg (1987), Agada (1995), and Iwhiwhu (2008) summarised the forms of information

80    Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo repackaging as drama, use of songs, storytelling, audio-visual materials translation into local languages, oral transmission, group discussions, poetry and technological tools. They further stressed that other media through which information could also be repackaged include: bibliography on discs, Internet, Wide Area Information Services, World Wide Web and social media. However, Okunade (2015) emphasised that, it is worthy of note that, the type of audience and their need may influence the format of presenting the needed information. In the same vein, Agbaji and Odumu (2017) identified the forms of information repackaging as: 1. Reformatting and synthesising raw information: This means changing the original form or state of information so as to make it easier for the user to comprehend. 2. Combining expert or consulting on subject with access to relevant information sources: This is engaging experienced librarians, information managers or subject specialists and reference librarians in packaging in a format that can satisfy the different users of information. 3. Providing training or assistance to a user in accessing information products: This could be in form of user education programmes and library orientation programmes. These programmes enable the users to be able to effectively exploit the libraries and information centres. 4. Drama: This is practical display of some practices or actions that captures the five senses. Information of all sorts could be transmitted through this medium. The message that needs to be transmitted could be reading culture, HIV and AIDs awareness and prevention, it could be patriotism, cultural awareness, etc. 5. Use of songs: Different messages or information on different issues can be used to compose different songs in different languages. In this case, the wordings are carefully chosen to depict in clear terms the information to be transferred. 6. Story telling: Information can be packaged and passed on to the targeted audience as an interesting captivating story. It is one of the most effective ways that could be used to repackage information especially to illiterate information users. It could be adopted by the library and information resource centre through the use of mobile libraries in the rural communities. 7. Audio-visual resources: Information could be repackaged through the use of audio-visual resources. Many definitions abound as to what the audio-visual resources really are, most of such definitions are in terms of equipments and resources and their use in the learning process. According to Udensi (2004) and Ashaver and Igyuve (2013), Audio-visual resources include objects, models, photographs, paintings, drawings, diagrams, films, charts, posters, specimens, bulletins, boards, project materials, slides, filmstrips, audio recordings, video recordings, transparencies, motion pictures, etc. Information can be repackaged and transferred through the use of audio-visual resources. Repackaging of information through the use of these resources is indeed one

Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services    81 of the most effective ways that information can be successfully transferred from one group or another in any society. 8. Translation: Information can also be repackaged through the translation of relevant documents into various local languages in the society like Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, etc. Important information can also be translated into pidgin English that the common man on the street can easily understand. Translations can also be done in the newspapers using simple English. This can also be done through such media like fact information sheets like posters, hand bills, magazines, pamphlets, etc. In this way, important information on different issues can be repackaged in different dialects and taken to the grassroots in the different communities. 9. Technological tools: A database is a technological tool for handling information. A database is a collection of files containing related information stored and could be retrieved at a desired time for the purpose of dissemination. As storage devices, information can be repackaged and stored in it. Information on different subject areas can be organised and stored in the CD-ROM. 10. The Internet: Information can be repackaged and circulated via the different internet connectivity. Oni (2004) rightly stated that the Internet offers a wide range of services which can enhance library and information centre operations or services.

Importance of Information Repackaging Information packaging and repackaging is important in a number of ways. SelfPackaging: Librarians are considered as gateways to information, corporate image of the library and serve as a role model to users. As librarians, your etiquette in terms of dress code, appearance, attitude or approach, exposition, etc. are ways and means of self-packaging. The way you package yourself goes a long way to determine the manner users would approach and the kind of questions that would be asked you. It is important that librarians be conscious of their self-packaging because it may make or mar the utilisation of information and the library. It will determine whether the information would be of economic value (in terms of price) in the eyes of the user. Information well packaged can enhance its utilisation by users. In the view of Nwokocha (1997), accumulated information is only useful for national development when optimally utilised by the appropriate group. One way of ensuring maximum information utilisation is by packaging it in a form that the target audience will appreciate. Information repackaging helps to eliminate physical and social problems without compromising quality and content of such information (Unegbu & Nwanekezie, 2014). It adds value to information services such as information analysis, synthesis, editing, translating and transmitting its symbolic and media formats, it ensures accuracy, currency, pertinence, comprehensiveness and convenience of use (Agada, 1995). Such information added value or services could be in the form of one on one communication that is not readily available elsewhere. This type of communication is one important form

82    Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo of repackaging as it gives room and avail users the opportunity to obtain practical information based on personal contact. Information repackaging can also be used to customise information or knowledge to meet specific user needs. It also can be used for the enhancement and facilitation, ensure proper organisation, and for effective communication. For instance, when it is repackaged into leaflets, CDs or other formats, it is easier to disseminate to the people in a language they understand. It is deliberately organised such that it meets the needs of the people. This in turn helps to facilitate interactivity among users, knowledge base, and technology to ensure timely delivery of relevant information. Information repackaging saves the time of different groups of users spent on laborious perusal of bulky information (Okoroma, 2014).

Reasons for Packaging and Repackaging Information With the explosion of information and communication technologies where traditional concepts or ideas are repacked and presented in new formats, users’ are often faced with the challenge of how to search, retrieve, interpret and make right use of the available thousands of information online to solve their various needs and wants. For this reason, it is necessary that, libraries and librarians need to design and repackage the information services in line for such clientele based on diagnosis of their information needs and wants. Information repackaging is very useful as advanced by Taylor and Rives; Alexander in Okunade (2015) due to the under listed reasons: -  To customise information into such a way that it meets user needs. -  It keeps user updated on the latest information available and relevant to them. -  To facilitate dissemination, organisation and communication. - To simplify, that is, an annotated bibliography is like a map in the world of information overload. -  To facilitate interactivity between users, knowledge base, and technology. -  Individual research workers/students/scholars need information not ‘documents’. - Information seekers are always interested in a narrowed down field (specialised) that will enable them to ‘read smart’. - Provision of real information to users is a key. Users should not grope in darkness. - Information services and repackaging is the evaluation of information in its quest to meet specific user-needs. - Information enables the researcher to reinforce individual searches for solutions, makes follow-up on new information, evaluates source for authenticity and authoritativeness. As a result, information repackaging serves as a saving tool, as a systematic and selective sorter of useful information, as a means for more extensive information transmission and delivery, as an opportunity for the practical application of research results, and as a means for the prompt delivery of relevant information.

Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services    83

Strategies for Information Packaging and Repackaging in Libraries and Information Centres Dongardive (2013) identified some of the most useful strategy of information packaging and repackaging. They include analysis and consolidation of information: This is one of the most useful strategy of information repackaging such that it provide the following advantages: user can be saved from lengthy and time consuming perusal of materials on a particular topic, duplicate and poorly produced materials can be weeded out, it is possible to provide with a more comprehensive and authoritative view of existing information on a particular topic quickly and at less cost and user can be able to draw new knowledge from these materials. In this strategy, information is repackaged mostly in the form of literature review, case studies, and state-of-the-art papers. These all sources of information follow some common procedure, for example, gathering of available information about a particular well-defined topic, analysis, comparison and assessment of new information required by users and drawing up of conclusions reflecting newly acquired knowledge. Current Awareness Services (CAS): This plays a major role in repackaging of information and providing current, new repackaged information to the user in the library. CAS is a system for reviewing newly available documents, selecting items relevant to the need of an individual or group and recording them so that notification may be sent to those individuals or groups to whose needs they are related. CAS include review of publication immediately upon receipt, selecting information pertinent to the programme of the institution, send notification to the users about items or information of interest to them. Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI): This is also one strategy of information repackaging for users. It refers to tools and resources used to keep a user informed of new resources on specified topics. It is a service within the organisation as pointed by Dongardive (2013) which concerns itself with channelling of new items of information from various services to those points within the organisation where they usually serve some ones interest. SDI is a modification of CAS and is unrivalled for its effectiveness in calling user attention to those few items found in current literature, which are directly relevant to the practice of their professions and the pursuit of their interests. SDI provides anticipatory services in the sense that the most useful information is identified based on pre-determined needs of users. Online SDI service provides textual information which involves graphics, charts or images, etc. in addition to text. Bibliography: This is another means of packaging and repackaging information. In the processes of packaging the information, information professionals will be able to find or fish out the errors in the information generated and try to fill the gap by comparing from different sources. These errors could be corrected through the compilation of bibliographies by connecting the information seeker with other sources of information on that particular subject. Examples of bibliography are abstracts, annotated, national and co-operative bibliographic bulletin, etc.

84    Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo Handbook: Is a reference book to be carried in the hand, giving concise information on a particular topic. Handbook providing a practical reference tool to help practitioners, researchers and other users of library and information professionals. Some handbooks provide core information by easy ways, for example, communicate family planning messages and dispel-dismiss unconfirmed reports and correct misconception. This is also one important source of repackaged information. Translation of Materials: Language barrier is one of the greatest challenges to the flow of information. This problem exists when different local variety of languages is used in a country, and at the international level. Such language can become a complex problem and it affects the sharing and use of information. Thus the translation of materials is one of the important techniques in repackaging of information at national and international information centres.

Strategies of Information Repackaging Tailoring, reduction and special assemblage of material according to Dongardive (2013) is a strategy of information repackaging. He stated that the strategy involve abstracting, excerpts, extracts, reprints, hand manuals and packages of materials for repackaging information in library for different user’s needs. Abstracts: Abstracts are concise summaries of publication, but they do not offer any interpretation of evaluation of the publication. It is being used in tailoring, reduction and special assemblage of materials as strategy for information repackaging. Abstract are usually contained in journals, report of meetings and conferences, thesis, books and patents specifications. Abstracting reduce the amount of time spent in information gathering and selection. It provides readers a comprehensive idea of the content of the document and allows user to select their appropriate source of information in specific area. Excerpts and Extracts: This is a process of selection or passage taken from a longer work such as a book, movie, musical composition or document. It is a technique in tailoring, reduction and making a special assemblage of materials. Reprints: This is a process of taking direct photocopy of sections or pages of a publication. It is particularly useful when a publication is available in limited copies, or when a user need is restricted to specific section of a publication only. It is a technique of tailoring, reduction and making a special assemblage of material, which is a strategy of repackaging information. Reprint should be taken with a brief note giving the title, author, publisher of a publication, as well as the address of its distributors, and the publication should be briefly described. Handbook: This is a reference book to be carried in the hand, giving concise information on a particular topic. Handbooks provide a practical reference tool to help practitioners, researchers and other user of library and information professionals. Some handbooks provide core information by easy ways, for example communicate family planning messages, confirmed reports and correct misconception. This is also one important source of repackaged information.

Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services    85 Packages of Materials: This is one of the major techniques of tailoring, reduction and making a special assemblage of material in information repackaging activities at information centres and libraries. The material package is usually a compendium of various kinds of materials presented in the form of abstract, loose sheets, curriculum materials, syllabus, course outlines, lesson, data sheets, reports, reprints, excerpts, scripts, etc. which are often times simply reprinted. The materials in a package deal with different aspects of a particular topic, they may share similar themes and set of objectives. Material packages are used as tools in training, as instructional materials for teacher and students, as reference tool for information workers and the mass media, and as reference materials for resource speakers to name some uses. Material package generally begin with an introduction to explain their objectives and main theme in relation to the various materials included. Directories and Inventories: Directory is a reference book, it provides an alphabetical list of persons, institutions, and organisations, usually with information about how to contact them. Inventory is a record of business’s current assets including property owned merchandise on hand and the value of work in progress and work completed but not sold yet. Directories and inventories provide information to user with a handy guide to appropriate information source. It provides information about organisation, projects, activities, names of officials. Thus, directories and inventories are important source in information repackaging activities. ‘African directory of demographers, published by the United Nations commission for Africa’ and ‘Directory of Organizations and Institutions with activities in population and family planning in Thailand’ are the common examples of directory and inventory. Publicity Materials and Announcement of Current Events and Programme Activities: Material publicity and announcement of current event and programme activities, is a strategy in repacking information and creates a more understandable package of information for user to make them aware of current activities, programme, information about various discipline, and new opportunities to participate in various types of events. In this process, sources of newsletters, news sheets, news services, audio-visual materials, etc. are being used to disseminate repackaged information to the concerned users. Newsletters: Newsletter is the most popular medium of alert for conveying current events, activities, publications, research studies, news or event about different communities and popular personalities. Examples are UNESCO regional office for education in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok and Thailand and ‘Population Education in Asia and the Pacific Newsletter’. News Sheets: It is a shorter version of newsletters and consists of no more than four pages. News sheets are printed on simple paper and it is usually made for minimum costs and for saving the time in preparation and delivery. News sheet contains recent news events which require immediate transmission. Examples are POPIN, International Network, UN. News Services: News services provide print and broadcast media with current articles. A news service is generally a package of new release materials. Examples

86    Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo are PCE MEDIA SERVICE, a project of the population centres foundation Makati, Metro Manila. Audio-visual Materials: Audio-visual material is useful for motivation and information campaigns, training, educational programme, and its publicity. It is useful for slide tape presenting materials on various activities, services and its accomplishment. It provides material used by trainers, teachers, and other practitioners to backstop their business activities. Other strategy for information repackaging in an online environment as seen by Oyadonghan, Eke, and Fyneman (2016) includes e-book: An e-book is an electronic version of a traditional print book that can be read by using a personal computer or by using an e-book reader. This is repackaged information from the traditional printed book to electronic or e-book version, so the user can read from the user’s computer or reading device. With this, users can purchase an e-book on diskette or CD. E-journal: This is a digital version of a print journal, or a journal-like electronic publication with no print counterpart, made available via the Web, e-mail, or other means of internet access. It is a periodical publication which is published in electronic format, usually on the Internet. E-journals have been repackaged in such a way that it presents several advantages over traditional printed journals. E-newspaper: This is a digital version of a print newspaper, or a newspaperlike electronic publication with no print counterpart, made available via the Web, e-mail, or other means of internet access. An electronic magazine is a self-contained, reusable and refreshable version of a traditional magazine that acquires and holds information electronically.

Tailoring Information to Meet Clienteles’ Needs For tailoring information to suit clienteles’ needs, Unegbu and Nwanekezie (2014) identified the various ways. These include: ⦁⦁ content repackaging: This implies assembling the content of information to the

taste of particular users. They pointed that users would appreciate the value of information repackaged that meets their information needs. ⦁⦁ Medium repackaging: Information would be meaningful to users if it is communicated in a medium they can easily understand. This implies that libraries and information centres should form the basis of repackaging information medium to the reach of the rural areas. ⦁⦁ Time schedule: Time schedule is an important and determinant factor to the use of information that not every user has the time to ask a friend or colleague for information. As such, they advised that information scientist should know the appropriate time to pass information to the user. ⦁⦁ User interface: This means that information should be given to users at the place closer to their location or residence to make it easier.

Types of Users and Their Information Needs/Sources Various categories of users exist in all libraries irrespective of the type. However, in order to understand information and its users, it is important to identify the

Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services    87 users and their varied needs. Since we have different users of information for different purposes, librarians need to be aware and package information putting into consideration with special attention to their characteristics. This will enable or assist the librarian and information professional depending on the type of library to direct the right information to the relevant recipients without much waste of time. The ability to examine the various user group and their preferences no doubt determine the type and content of information to be repackaged and concentrate effort on the appropriate mode of packaging activities. Oyadonghan et al. (2016) in their view emphasised that an understanding of the nature of information is a prerequisite to the effective and efficient packaging of information to suit organisational needs. Different users’ information needs as seen by Bello and Ojo (2018) are educational information need, property information need, sport and games information need, political information need, financial information need, religion information need, business information need, geographical information need, social information need, security information need, agricultural information need, health information need amongst others. According to the user’s portfolio, other areas information is needed are: for decision making, research, teaching, job performance, recreation, creating issues and problem solving, etc. Information could be sourced everywhere and at any time. Some of the source could be through gossip and feedback, media houses, social media, library resources such as books and non-book materials, seminars, workshop, conferences, social clubs, churches, mosque, market, schools, etc. Okunade (2015) categorised users of information as follows: 1. General readers: This type of users makes good use of the reading materials offered by the library. They borrow different documents of various disciplines. The group may be broken down into adults, general readers and children. The adult general readers use the libraries for a variety of purposes, but mainly for leisure needs. This is the category mainly associated with public libraries. Child readers will also be found in public libraries as well as in school libraries. Child users have both educational and leisure needs which must be provided for, and being children, their needs must be catered for at the levels which are appropriate for them. 2. Subject readers: This type of users concentrates their use of library materials on a subject field. They are working in or studying; students are included in this category. Students form a high proportion of the users of academic libraries. Their needs for this type of library are linked to the courses they are taking. Subject specialists such as chemists and doctors, lawyers and engineers are mainly found in special libraries. Usually, special libraries are geared towards satisfying only the need of users to which they were meant. 3. Users with special needs: Users placed in this category are those who have impairments. The impairment may be physical, visual or hearing. Physically impaired subgroups who use wheel chairs have the ability to access material visually, but may have difficulty physically accessing them, unless special help and services are made available to them. The visually impaired users need special format for reading such as braille, audio-cassettes (talking books); they

88    Mercy Ekenma Echem and Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo can access materials through computers using JAWS software. The hearing impaired users do not have the major physical problem. They can see, walk to the shelves, select books, but they have a problem of communication with the member of staff who serves them. They may use a sign language, but there may be nobody within the staff who knows the sign language. Their problem is either psychological or social. 4. Non-reading user: This type does not make use of any reading material. They are made up of users who make use of library materials, but not documents. Such users are those who visit the library to use computers, audio-visual materials, or listen to a lecture. They may enter the library to view exhibitions mounted by an organisation to promote their material. Although they are not using the reading material, yet they are users.

Conclusion Information repackaging in simple words is to package information again or transfer from one form to another in a more attractive package. Repackaging services are the result of attempts to cope with the information explosion and the competition for fast, reliable, convenient and efficient information support for corporate decision making. Information repackaging is a way of improving library services, particularly in this era of electronic information. Librarians and information professionals must give critical look into this issue with the view of implementing it in routine library services to users because its future value cannot be quantified with the demerit of not providing it.

References Abrigo, C. M. (2009). From raw materials to end product: developing an online information resource for the international labour organization Journal of Philippine Librarianship, 29(1), 13–23. Agada, J. (1995). Analysis of Information Repackaging (IR) Processes using the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Model. Journal of Instructional Science and Technology, 1(1), 1–7. Agada, J. (Forthcoming). Information repackaging. In H. Achleitner (Ed.), Information brokering. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Agbaji, Y. O., & Odumu, W. (2017). Information repackaging: A Panacea for Libraries and Information Resource Centres in Nigeria. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 6(6), 59–63. Retrieved from www.ijbmi.org Ashaver, D. & Igyuve, S.M. (2013). The use of audio-visual materials in the teaching and learning processes in colleges of education in Benue State-Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME), 1(6), 44–55. Bello, S. A., & Ojo, R. F. (2018). Information repackaging services in Nigerian public libraries. East African Scholars Journal of Education, Humanities and Literature, 1(1), 30–39. Retrieved from http://www.easpublisher.com/easjehl/. Accessed on May 3, 2019.

Packaging and Repackaging of Information Products and Services    89 Dongardive, P. (2013). Information repackaging in library services. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 2(11), 204–209. Hale, M.L. (1986). Administrators and information: A review of methodologies used for diagnosing information use. Advances in Librarianship, 14, 75–99. Ilo, P.I. & Yusuf, F.O. (2015). Bridging the gap between town and gown through information repackaging: the role of centre for learning resources, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria. Ebonyi Journal of Library and Information Science, 2(1). Available at http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/6520. Accessed on March 1 2020. Iwhiwhu, E. B. (2008). Information Repackaging and Library Services: A Challenge to Information Professionals in Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 178. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/178 Kunneke, K.J. (2001). The paradigmatic shift of service organisations: A proposed marketing model for South African university libraries. M-Inf thesis, University of South Africa, Pretoria. Nwokocha, U. (1997). A national information policy: The ingredient lacking from the Nigerian information industry. Library Review, 46(5), 344–350. http://dx.doi. org/10.1108/00242539710178489 Okite, M. (2013). Information repackaging for user-oriented service delivery in libraries and information centres. In: A. O. Issa, K. N. Igwe, & C. P. Uzuegbu (Eds.), Provision of library and information services to users in the era of globalization (pp. 452–460). Lagos: Waltodanny Visual Concept. Okoroma, F. N. (2014). Information repackaging to target groups for a fee: A strategic plan. Education Journal, 3(5), 308–315. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar. org. Accessed on May 3, 2019. Okunade, B. (Ed.) (2015). Information repackaging and community information servicescourse manual. University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre Open and Distance Learning Course Series Development. Ibadan: University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan. Oni, F. A. (2004). Enhancing the performance of library operations through appropriate information technology. In E.C. Madu (Ed.), Technology for information management and services: modern libraries and information centers in developing countries pp. 95–109). Ibadan: Evi-Coleman. Oyadonghan, J. C., Eke, F. M., & Fyneman, B. (2016). Information repackaging and its application in academic libraries. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology, 4(2), 217–222. Radhakrishnan, S., & Francis, A. T. (2018). Information repackaging services and products: A study with special reference to Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL). Indian Journal of Information Sources and Services, 8(1), 79–82. Udensi, J. N. (2004). Audio-visual materials and information technology in teaching and learning processes. In E.C. Madu (Ed.), Technology for information management and services. Ibadan: Evi-Coleman Publications. Ugwuogu, U. O. (2015). Expectations and challenges of information repackaging in Nigerian academic libraries. International Journal of Learning & Development, 5(2), 56–64. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijld.v5i2.7514. Accessed on April 28, 2019. Unegbu, M. & Nwanekezie, N. (2014). Economics and marketing of information services and products. Owerri: Cel-Bez Publishing.

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Chapter 8

The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century Janet Onomeh Ubogu

Introduction It is a recognized truth that libraries have witnessed momentous changes in recent years. This transformation, which is being brought about by information and communication technologies (ICTs), has improved the way information services are rendered to patrons. The conventional ways of information distribution have given way to digital means of communication. While the growth and use of ICT in library routines has improved and eased the distribution of information and access, it has also provided innovative roles in information provision, distribution, and transfer. The librarian no longer plays a passive role; rather he or she assumes a lively role. The librarian is no longer a keeper of books, but the gateway to countless information sources (Haber, 2011). Ariole, Oyemike, and Okorafor (2017) posited that the environment of information services is shifting as a result of the awesome power of technologies. In the present-day environment, librarians are harnessing the potentials intrinsic to ICTs to provide information services to meet the various needs of their users. As library schools roll out library graduates in masses, it is very important that sufficient thought is given to the library situation. The well-known manual library practices are steadily giving way to electronic library services. In the same vein, the groundwork/training of manual librarians should also give way to the training of electronic librarians, who, by their skills and know-how, will occupy the vital phase of library and information services. In as much as the diffusion of ICTs to the library science field is having great influences on the natural world and mode of service accessible to possible patrons, it is also changing the kind and manner of training given to librarians-in-training. Libraries in Nigeria are not divorced from this technology revolution. As information providers, they are constantly under pressure to provide relevant sources of information to their immediate communities.

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 91–102 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201017

92    Janet Onomeh Ubogu Technology enables and enforces change. According to Ugwuogu (2015), librarians, personnel, and clientele, must create a number of adjustments as a consequence of any library computerization plan, whether it is a unique realization or relocation. One important area is the connection between people and knowledge. Individuals have to revolutionize the way they act and assume work well in a mechanized atmosphere. Okomanyi (2016) observed that as users and lecturers turned in great numbers to the web, few, if any, dispute that it was a reliable source of dependable information. Distrustful of the value of information found on the web did not dishearten its attraction. Nevertheless, data indicated that the use of the web and other ICT amenities have continued to advance. The implication is massive, and unless libraries are ready to amend and adopt innovations in the modus of their functions, they may end up being edged into unimportance, even in areas of their core capabilities.

Background to the Study Today, the modern practice in academic library services in the new millennium is being faced with an increase in information generation and the insertion of ICTs in all area of collection services. Kumar (2009) remarked that libraries were shifting vividly by adopting the latest technology in all activities of print to settings where diversity of physical technique was replaced by mechanized organization, which provided occasion for online accessibility. Libraries are now expected to provide users with a range of ICTs necessary for retrieving information quickly from both immediate and remote databases, as well as creating a need for library cooperation and consortium initiatives (Okiy, 2005). Library services, according to Yahaya, Aliyu, and Adamu (2016), require complete understanding and knowledge in areas such as information literacy, information and records organization, information skills, information probing and improvement, research, message skills, client concerns, the ability to work both autonomously and in a group, and constructive work-related attitudes. The acceptance of a wide variety of ICT calls for training that enables users to build up an information scheme, which helps people to meet their information needs professionally.

Libraries and Librarians in Transition The twenty-first century has brought in many changes in the ways and methods in which library services are carried out. The acceptance of ICTs, as well as the operation of shared media for information communication and networking purposes, has drastically erupted transformations in the whole information management processes. In the public libraries, this mixture has significantly fashioned the need for changes in the tools and roles of libraries, requiring new information technology skills in addition to the usual library skills. It can be argued that the most crucial part in effective information services delivery in the twenty-first century is having the right staff with the appropriate IT skills in place. Obviously, the traditional public library system that was centered on providing information

The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century    93 services to clientele during their physical visits to the library is gradually being eroded (Ukachi, 2012). Ariole et al. (2017) noted that developments in society, whether hi-tech or otherwise, have brought significant changes to library and information science (LIS) teaching throughout the world. There is the need to have efficient and dynamic personnel that can translate the objectives of the library into a reality. LIS education is becoming a very competitive market-driven activity in which providers must keep themselves updated in the current technological developments and teaching methods, and ensure that their services are tailored to the rapidly changing demands of users. The twenty-first century information librarians must have skills in selection, material management, information management, classification of information, research services, automated libraries, and in bringing information materials to the desktop. People with the right skills are vital to the success and competitiveness of modern information environments. The work of librarians has become more competitive with similar professions, such as those in information technology. Librarians must acquire the appropriate skills and know-how to be specialists in a digital society (Okomanyi, 2016). Eze (2013) opined that since the nineteenth century, the processes in the provision of library services had witnessed some tremendous changes resulting from the information explosion and, most importantly, the application of ICTs in information processing and use. This change resulting from ICTs application to information processing practices has paved the way for the emergence of various new forms of providing information services, as well as a diversified means of communicating the same. As the traditional keepers of information, librarians in the twenty-first century need to be conscious of these important changes and, as such, use their technical know-how and brain masterpiece in order to maintain the foremost mission of the academic libraries in supporting teaching, learning, and research. This means that the twenty-first century librarian will have to be equipped with skills that will boost the provision of successful library services to meet the patrons’ changing information wishes. Ugwuogu (2015) enumerated key personal characteristics: the ability to learn continuously and speedily; flexibility; innate cynicism; a tendency to take risks; maintaining good interpersonal skills; skills at enabling and fostering change; and the ability and craving to work (Emezie & Nwaohiri, 2013). In the same vein, Abubakar (2011) stated that with the coming of ICTs, the task and location of libraries has completely changed. The researcher stressed that the rapid growth in the field of information knowledge, and the beginning of networked information services, has encouraged a complete appraisal of the LISs vocation. The worldwide development is now characterized with a basic change from a conventional information setting to an e-setting where importance is placed more on acquiring e-materials, such as e-books, e-journals, and online databases. Human resources management is a vital part of any organization, including the academic library. The victory or collapse of the academic library depends to a great extent on human capacity. The millennium librarian is changing with the changing environment, which is a consequence of ICT. According to Haber

94    Janet Onomeh Ubogu (2011), the library’s most powerful assets are its professional staff. Librarians have the power to change lives and build communities. For this task to be accomplished, they have to leave their desks, leave their buildings, and show the community what a dominant tool they are.

The Role of Librarians in the Twenty-first Century The twenty-first century librarian is expected to be well acquainted with the application of information technologies and also possesses the relevant skills necessary for their optimal utilization in the information handling process. The current developments in this era are frankly upsetting the understanding and capability requirements of information professionals. These transformations are happening at such a fast pace that each day new skills and methods are needed to handle the information and unfold the latest vision. Technological advancements have forced the library and information professionals to enhance their knowledge and acquire new competencies, skills, and develop themselves, in alignment with the new setting to avoid becoming outdated and outmoded. Thus, it has become vital to have basic and conventional skills in addition to the acquisition of ICT skills, which must be continuously updated (Adeyemi, Bribena, Appah, & Akinlade, 2017). Contemporary academic library services in the twenty-first century place more attention on the areas of electronic, fundamental, or libraries with no borders, all of which have changed academic libraries and led to transition and transformation in the academic library environment. The changes and the conversions are accompanied by sophistication in the changing pattern in the information needs of users, which is growing rapidly. Singh and Kaur (2009) observed that there is a paradigm of changes from stand-alone libraries to library and information networks; from printed publications to digital documents; and from ownership to access. The change, according to them, is the upshot of the impact of ICTs, and the Internet, which is impacting all types of libraries. The twenty-first century librarian is an information warehouse, one with the frantic zeal to impact positively on the environment. This librarian is at home with the present technological infrastructure. According to Emezie and Nwaohiri (2013), if librarians are to continue to make important contributions as information distributors, they will have to understand and use the ICT infrastructure and budding technologies in delivering services to their clientele. To remain viable in the competitive information environment, the academic librarian is charged to re-invent his mind, institution, and services. In doing this, libraries have to change how they are known in their communities. Librarians must help one another and other workers change their roles in the organization (Obasi, 2012). Morale has to be high most of the time irrespective of discouraging problems that may be facing them in information provision and dissemination. Ugwuogu (2015) noted that the twenty-first century had obviously revealed that information technologies were shifting and increasing at an incredible speed. The impact of IT has influenced every aspect of library services in academic libraries and provides fresh opportunities and challenges for librarians to partake in the information-based community. The information uprising and the knowledge

The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century    95 that is accessible on the web have created new challenges for these conventional professional beliefs. The emerging challenges of acquiring and providing access to digital information materials require that librarians change their role from conventional librarian to information scientist by learning and applying innovative skills to understand the developing technologies, and to administer and provide valuable, online information services to distance education.

Training in New Skills The major area that needs to be addressed is training of staff to obtain new skills necessary to utilize computers and electronic gadgets – both hardware and software in accessing, retrieving, and distributing information and in carrying out other routine library work. Ajidahun (2007) observed that library schools in Nigerian do not adequately train librarians in technical and digital skills. That is why numerous librarians in Nigeria today are not computer literate. Therefore, libraries should provide training avenues and opportunities for their librarians in the area of PC and digital skills attainment. Ukachi (2012) was of the view that the current information technology-based environment was challenging new work requirements, new roles, sufficient capability, and diverse kinds of skills from the professionals, which would assist them to increase new services in response to new developments. It is also laudable to note that existing library staff should be provided with ongoing training to ensure their sustainability in the competitive worldwide market, as skills and competencies previously acquired cannot guarantee life-long survival in this frequently shifting digital environment. The need to be successful in twenty-first century digital information environments requires that academic librarians, just as their colleagues in public and specialty libraries, acquire twenty-first century information steering skills. Considering the upsurge of new library roles emerging suddenly as a result of the acceptance of IT services in information management processes, a librarian in the twenty-first century is expected to possess the essential skills pertinent for effectual services provision. To attain this, Singh and Pinki (2009) argued that library professionals must develop and regularly update their knowledge and skills in utilizing these services and that skill development and training can be directed in two levels. These are basic level and advanced level. In the basic level, emphasis is given in developing needed professional skills required for library professionals to render services to clients by using diverse Information technology tools. In the advanced level, areas, such as designing and building computer networks classification, increasing web pages and databases, as well as developing application programing for training, troubleshooting of IT correlated tools, etc., are included.

Information Service Delivery With the accumulation of different information on the Internet, patrons may be at a loss in differentiating between what is needed and what is not, thereby making

96    Janet Onomeh Ubogu the process of searching for information too long and strenuous. Storer (2014), while strengthening the functions of librarians in supporting clients’ choice the information, which best satisfies their exact need, said that since congestion (of information) can be an inhibiting issue in the search of information, control of the run, not just of the nature of the content, is the librarian’s duty. As an instructor in an electronic setting, the librarian can educate clientele on Internet use, tools, search engines, as well as on the uses of online databases, catalogues, e-journals, web-based instructions, and online tutorials. The librarian should be an innovator, a website designer, and administrator. He or she can plan the library’s web pages, assess information resources to be connected to the location, and create an awareness of library services on the web. As electronic information negotiator for print and e-media, the librarian will be able to recognize, retrieve, repackage, and provide the right of entry to electronic information sources. Ukachi (2012) said that the disclosure of patrons to different kinds of information from diverse sources and in different formats in this twenty-first century has altered their requests as well as their information seeking behavior. Thus, the conventional roles of the libraries are being customized to align with the twentyfirst century information services demand. Ononogbo (2012) observed that it was time to expose ourselves, our professionalism, and the skills we have to offer from the above definitions of the new task of the twenty-first century librarian, and that he/she no longer sits behinds the reference desk answering meager reference questions, but rather is a vigorous vendor who sells the library’s materials and services to his/her clients or a collection of people at every opportunity. As noted by Obasi (2012), with the emergence of electronic libraries, the library profession is shifting, thus, librarians and their employees must organize themselves for revolution from an era of scientific management to systems and structural management. In this electronic age, library and information practitioners should be sufficiently placed to efficiently explore and exploit the new technologies to the advantages of linking the patrons to the adequate sources of information. In the center of technological changes, new skills are very important to be able to meet the demands of electronic patrons, which are electronicoriented (Ariole et al., 2017).

Strategies to Attract Users to the Library The twenty-first century librarian can use the following strategies in library services to attract users to the library. Library Advocacy: In the today’s world, clients no longer search for information in the library rather libraries go out to provide information services to patrons. To attain this, the librarian has to be alert to opportunities to connect and relate to his or her diverse patrons. Librarians use their interpersonal skills and strategies to connect with administrators, faculty, and users. During meetings, the librarian can inform faculty about existing publications and conditions for ease of access. By this, he/she acts as a sturdy supporter for the library, which is a significant pillar of higher institutions (Basahuwa, 2017).

The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century    97 Use of Social Media: The libraries are in the process of linking the populace with information. Web 2.0 technologies have brought innovative function to librarians. Web 2.0 tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and online groups (also identified as social media), have made it probable for community members to interact with one another through the Internet. Social media provides an extra occasion to contact your society, target exact audiences and give them the ability to cooperate with the library. By using social media, libraries can connect with their patrons on vital issues that will enable them to offer inputs, particularly as it affects library services. This can advance the library’s image (Ubogu, 2019). Mobile Phones: Movable devices, such as cell phones, have enhanced communications and improved the way information is being shaped, delivered, and accessed. The new millennium librarian can provide effective library services through mobile telephones, such as the global system for mobile communication. The use of short message services can be engaged to answer reference queries and alert patrons to new arrivals and upcoming events in the university timetable, for example, public holidays, university matriculation, lecture free week, etc. This could be flashed through a capacity called broadcast II, where one text mail is sent to all the library associates programed in the address book on a mobile phone at once (Iwhiwhu, Ruteyan, & Eghwubare, 2010). Information Packaging: Packaging of information in diverse forms has become the standard in the electronic age. This has formed new opportunities for librarians to provide value extra services in academic settings. Clienteles of the twentyfirst century library are comfortable with digital sources of information, which allow many uses of a material by various patrons at the same time (Basahuwa, 2017). Reference services: Reference services refer to the help given to a client in searching for information in a library. In the Nigerian situation, many patrons avoid using the catalogue system just because they do not know how to use it. Some are unaware of the significance of a catalogue in the recovery procedure. Their inability to find the desirable information could cause irritation and indifference to library use. Reference services are the center of librarianship and should not be relegated. Haber (2011) observed that reference services no longer center on one-on-one services delivered face-to-face in the library. A good reference service depends on the capability and ability of the reference librarian. The twenty-first century librarian employs his or her in-depth information and search plan to meet clients’ information requests. He or she does not just point to a chain of shelves; rather he/she gets involved in the search procedure. He/she is not content until the patron has been satisfied. By doing so, the librarian improves knowledge as well as the image of the library (Abubakar, 2011). Partnership: Librarians in the twenty-first century can associate with academic units to educate their users on information literacy skills so that they can be effective users of information. Kumar (2009) stated that increasing information literacy skills should be the major objective of the library’s instructional programs. Information literacy is the set of skills desired to find, recover, investigate, and utilize information. Information literacy equips users with the serious skills

98    Janet Onomeh Ubogu essential to become autonomous lifetime learners. It encompasses the technical skills required to use the contemporary library. Libraries notify as well as authorize patrons to become ingenious. When patrons obtain the correct information, they are empowered to become valuable people. In co-operation with pertinent units, the academic library can construct an activity center for clients to obtain additional skills. Such skills might include sewing, baking, hairdressing, arts & crafts, poultry or fish farming, etc. This has the benefit of adding value to the library (Okomanyi, 2016).

Potential Challenges for Twenty-first Century Librarians Twenty-first century librarians are faced with numerous problems, which include lack of qualified personnel. A number of librarians in Nigeria are not capable to take on the demanding task of the twenty-first century information service delivery. They are not interested in the technology and see the application of computers to library job as an anomaly. This being the situation, they are unwilling to grab new technology (Ononogbo, 2012). Inadequate Funding: Looking at the position of Nigerian academic libraries in general in the area of information communication technology. Achebe (2005) revealed that most academic libraries are not able to provide some of the basic requirements of information communication technology for monetary reasons. She advocates that lots of libraries rely on gifts and supporter agencies to obtain few computers and hook up to the Internet. Achebe identified some factors that impede ICT applications in Nigerian academic libraries as insufficient pertinent ICT infrastructure mostly telecommunications services and electricity supply; disobliging approach of staff in the use of ICT; scarcity of technological personnel; problems of file exchange due to regular transformation in skill and lack of ICT rule among others. Achebe (2005) stressed that the management that has the solitary accountability of establishing and maintaining academic libraries do not see libraries and their dealings as the main concern in ensuring individual and society development and expansion. Lack of ICT and Other Infrastructural Amenities: Ebiwolate (2010) observed that due to lack of ICT and other infrastructural amenities like regular power supply, Internet facilities and even ample number of computers to sustain mechanization. The majority of the libraries have installed Internet but none of them is functional presently. This could be due to lack of money to maintain and preserve these amenities. Ebiwolate (2010) lamented on lack of ICT as one of the main challenges facing Nigerian academic libraries. This is principally caused by insufficient financial support. Lack of Technology Literacy: Some librarians lack the necessary technological literacy required for a twenty-first century information service delivery. Technical literacy can be seen as the capability to correctly utilize suitable skill to converse, resolve problems, right to use. Others are how to administer, incorporate, appraise, plan, and make information to advance knowledge in all issue and obtain enduring information and skills in the twenty-first century (Ononogbo, 2012).

The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century    99 Lack of Basic Skills: Lack of basic skills in the application of information technology has developed into a big clog in library services. Eze (2013) adds that librarians with no ICT skill cannot provide valuable library services, therefore, lack of skills among librarians comprise a main issue to service delivery in the twenty-first century. Inadequate Internet Connectivity: In an electronic library, the Internet plays a chief role in electronic information but fair access to the Internet in Nigerian university libraries is yet to be realized. The accessible Internet connections for most community are slow. Ebiwolate (2010) states that there are many problems that led to the scarce Internet growth in Africa, one of this is the initial capital expended to mount Internet services. This is because nearly all the African countries are experiencing enormous debts and foreign exchange necessary to purchase the services. Ebiwolate (2010), added, that there is no competent telecommunication and power supply support to serve as springboard for the expansion of Internet services in Africa. Where they are accessible, the luxurious nature of the services is another vast issue.

Solutions and Recommendations The following solutions are recommended for the twenty-first century librarians. Librarians in all types of libraries should acquire basic IT skills that are needed in librarianship as a profession in the twenty-first century. There should be adequate provision of Internet services and regular power supply (24/7) to encourage librarians in discharging their duties. Enough funds should be given to library heads for the acquisition and maintenance of ICT gargets in libraries. Since libraries are growing organizations, librarians should be ready to acclimate to changes as they affect librarianship. Above all, training of librarians in the twenty-first century is paramount. The success of any library is anchored on the quality of staff.

Future Research Directions Future studies could include research into the relevance of a library in the twentyfirst century, as well as hybrid librarians in the twenty-first century library

Conclusion The introduction of information technology in libraries has changed the role of librarians in the twenty-first century. Information technology has visually affected the provision of information, the way it is packaged, and the ways that it is being distributed to the users. As this has posed a big challenge to twenty-first century librarians, they need to become aware of new technologies, accepting ICTs wholeheartedly, and seek to become trained and literate in new ICT. Old skills must be improved upon and become twenty-first century-compliant. This will enable librarians to remain the core information providers and good distributors of information.

100    Janet Onomeh Ubogu

References Abubakar, B. M. (2011). Academic libraries in Nigeria in the 21st century. Retrieved from http://digital commons.unl.edu/libphilprac/446 Achebe, N. E. (2005). The status of ICT in Nigerian public libraries. Coal City Library, 2(1&2), 15–25. Adeyemi, J. A., Bribena, E. I., Appah, H. D., & Akinlade, O. O. (2017). Trends and issues in library and information science curriculum in Nigeria. Academia Journal of Educational Research, 5(10), 306–313. Ajidahun, C. O. (2007). The training, development and education of library manpower in information technology in university libraries in Nigeria. World Libraries, 17(1). Retrieved from https://worldlibraries.dom.edu/index.php/worldlib/article/ view/44/66 Ariole, I. A., Oyemike, V. B., & Okorafor, K. (2017). Expectation of library schools in the preparation of future library environment: Perspectives of African countries. Information and Knowledge Management, 7(12), 70–77. Basahuwa, C. B. (2017). Innovation in academic libraries in the 21st century: A Nigerian perspective. International Journal of Applied Technologies in Library and Information Management, 3(1), 18–30. Ebiwolate, P. B. (2010). Nigerian library service to rural areas: Libraries in Niger-Delta states. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/365 Emezie, N. A., & Nwaohiri, N. M. (2013). 21st century librarians’ effective information services delivery. Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 4(1), 30–43. Eze, J. U. (2013). Re-equipping the Nigerian public library system and services for the 21st century. International Journal of Library and Information Science, 5(10), 300–305. Haber, S. (2011). The changing role of libraries in the digital age. Retrieved from https:// www.huffpost.com/entry/the-changing-role-of-libr_b_803722 Iwhiwhu, B. E, Ruteyan, J. O., & Eghwubare, A. (2010). Mobile phones for library services: Prospects for Delta State University library. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons. unl.edu/libphilprac/346 Kumar, M. (2009). Academic libraries in electronic environment: Paradigm shift. Paper presented at the International Conference on Academic Libraries (ICAL), University of Delhi, India, p. 105. Obasi, N. F. K. (2012). An appraisal of emerging role of librarians in the digital era. In Proceedings of the maiden conference of Nigerian Library Association (Abia State Chapter, pp. 76-90). Umudike: National Root Crops Research Institutes. Okiy, R. B. (2005). Funding Nigerian libraries in the 21st century: Will funding from alternative sources suffice? The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, 18(2), 71–77. Okomanyi, R. O. (2016). The prospect of academic libraries in the 21st century: Challenges for information and communication technology in distance education. International Journal of Academia, 1(1), 128–138. Ononogbo, R. U. (2012). The Nigerian librarians in the information age: The demands, competencies and dilemmas. In Proceedings of the maiden conference of Nigerian Library Association, (Abia State Chapter, pp. 12–24). Umudike: National Root Crops Research Institutes. Singh, J., & Kaur, T. (2009). Future of academic libraries in India: Challenges and opportunities. Paper presented at the International Conference on Academic Libraries (ICAL), University of Delhi, India. Singh, S. P., & Pinki, H. (2009, October). New skills for LIS professionals in technologyintensive environment. In International Conference of Academic Library organized by University of Delhi, Delhi (India) (pp. 5–8).

The Role of Librarian in the Twenty-first Century    101 Storer, R. (2014). Top 10 challenges for academic libraries in the 21st century. Retrieved from http://www.sirsidynix.com/blog/2014/09/25/top-10-challenges-foracademiclibraries-in-the-21st-century Ubogu, J. O. (2019). Impact of information technology in Nigerian university libraries. Retrieved from Open Access Library Journal, 6, e5340. https://doi.org/10.4236/ oalib.1105340 . Ugwuogu, U. O. (2015). Expectation and challenges of information repackaging in Nigerian academic libraries. International Journal Learning and Development, 5(2), 56–64. Ukachi, N. (2012). Personnel skills requirement for enhanced public library services in the 21st century. In Proceedings of the maiden conference of Nigerian Library Association (Abia State Chapter, pp. 25–37). Umudike: National Root Crops Research Institutes. Yahaya, I. A., Aliyu, A. A., & Adamu, A. A. (2016). Managing academic library services in Nigeria in the 21st century. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311455476_Managing_Academic_Library_Services_in_Nigeria_in_the_21st_ Century

Additional Reading Adams, B. (2008). Marketing concept for libraries and information services. London: Library Association. Alemna, A. A. (2001). User education in university academic libraries in Ghana. Education Journal, 33(1), 40–47. Broady-Preston, J., & Steel, L. (2008). Employees, customers and internal marketing strategies in LIS. Library Management, 23, 384–393. Burkhadt, A. (2010). Social medial a guide for college and university libraries. College and Research Libraries News, 71(1), 10–24. Chu, S., Kai-Wah, & Du, H. S. (2013). Social networking tools for academic libraries, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 45(1), 64–75. Ifijeh, G. I. (2011). Nigerian university libraries: Current situation, needed improvement and how marketing might help. Library Student Journal, 20–28. Retrieved from https://www.librarystudentjournal.org/index-php/lsj/article/view/229/307/. Koontz, C. M., & Rookwood, P. E. (2001). Developing performance measure within a marketing frame of reference. New Library World, 102(1163&1164), 146–153. Kumar, A. (2014). Marketing of information products and services in Kuruksheta university library in the discipline of social science: A Study IOSR. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2, 72–85.

Key Terms and Definitions Role: The function assumed or part played by a person or thing in a particular situation. Library Services: An activity undertaken by information service providers to facilitate access to information resources. Strategy: A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a good solution to a problem. Transformation: A complete change in the appearance or character of something or someone, especially to improve that thing or person.

102    Janet Onomeh Ubogu Library Patrons: Various library users or patrons putting to use the diverse information resources found in library collections. Librarian: A professionally trained person responsible for the care of a library and its contents. Information Technology (IT): A term encompassing all aspects of the management and processing of information by computer, including the hardware and software required to access it.

Section III

Research Support Services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

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Chapter 9

Academic Library Research Support Services in the Maker Culture Era Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial

Introduction Higher education institutions are undergoing radical changes in their environment. Such deep transformations influence the way they perform their functions. As researchers observe, new teaching methodologies combine formal and informal education, expanded education, the use of new technologies, teaching through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The importance of accountability has increased, especially in public institutions, while private institutions and even corporate universities have proliferated. A clear example of this more competitive and transparent environment is the emergence of university rankings. It is precisely in these rankings that the central role of research is most clearly perceived. The prestige of universities depends on the quality and impact of their research results. A new role associated with their contribution to the achievement of excellence arises strongly for academic libraries. Thus, various services seeking to offer support in some of the diverse facets of the research process are appearing. A panoply of services emerges. They can be classified according to different criteria, such as their typology (information, training, support, consulting); area of knowledge (Basic Sciences, Life and Health Sciences, Engineering and Technologies, Social Sciences and Humanities); and research career (doctoral students, junior researchers, professors). Given this natural diversity, a certain culture of customization arises, the personalization of services adapting them to each moment, to each need. This trend is not an isolated fact and converges in time with the so-called maker culture that has arisen in the last decade, giving continuity to the “do it yourself ” (DIY) of the last century. In this context, the library has a new panorama of research support services management that opens new horizons to reinforce its impact and value in the research community. The recent study Supporting Academic Research: Understanding the challenges (Alterline, 2019) shows that the

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 105–129 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201018

106    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial researcher gives the library a minimal space in terms of research support. From the user’s perspective, the university library can play a facilitating role, but they prefer to carry out the tasks themselves throughout most stages. The objective of this chapter is to reflect on the impact of the maker’s culture on the research support services of academic libraries. The central hypothesis is that while services are organized in a certain way, researchers are moving toward self-management of information. Our first assumption, based on the literature review, is that the situation is the same in the global context. This chapter focuses on the following: ⦁⦁ The academic library has created research support services that do not have the

expected demand.

⦁⦁ The image of the library and librarians interferes with this role. ⦁⦁ New habits in informational behavior are transferred to the academic and

scientific context.

⦁⦁ User-researchers have shifted the role of the library to other services or

agents.

⦁⦁ The library must review its mediating role to accept the impact of maker

culture on the researchers’ information management process.

Research as a Key Factor in Universities Universities are complex, heterogeneous, and mutable entities. Their realities vary to serve diverse societies with their own needs and cultures. Equally, their functions are not monolithic. They attend to the context that sustains them and evolves parallel to the needs of their environment. Since the foundation of the first universities in the twelfth century, education, as the transmission of knowledge, is their epicenter. In the nineteenth century, drastic changes in their environment and in science led universities to deepen a second function, research. From that moment on, the necessity of transferring the results to the economy and contributing to socio-economic development became evident. A fourth mission highlights a university also focused on its society (Fig. 9.1). These missions, despite their significant differences, are interconnected and interdependent. The university has definitively ceased to be a mere transmitter that repeats settled contents and adopts an active position in the creation of new knowledge. The research function becomes a channel of renewal for teaching and of support for the knowledge transmission to society. The equilibrium between these functions depends on many factors. There are differences between the Anglo-Saxon model and the European model (Geiger, 2004). In the former, the emergence of research universities is more common, while in the latter, the “comprehensive universities” are dominant. The continental European model is in a period of transition; higher education, due to its size and economic importance, has become an object of political interest both in terms of budget and results. Consequently, a semi-competitive logic appears between institutions, which compete for students and research funding (Bleiklie & Kogan, 2007).

Academic Library Research Support Services    107

Fig. 9.1.  Evolution of the University’s Mission. Source: Adapted from Fernández, Fernández-López, Rey-Ares, and Bobillo (2019). One of the essential elements of the new situation is the need to gain the trust of society through accountability and transparency. The implementation of the European Higher Education Area implies a gradual dissolution of universities’ geographical monopoly and national market. In the new inter-university competition situation, the university itself can be considered as a “brand” obtaining reputation and attracting (or not) talent and funding. The notion of university prestige is gaining ground, and prestige is a slippery concept… Universities seek to hire the best possible faculty, given the salaries they can afford, and they admit the most qualified students given the students that apply. In carrying out these tasks, universities are scrupulously concerned with upholding their reputation. (Geiger, 2004, pp. 15–16) The diversity and complexity of the science system and science policy entails a variety of assessment models. The evaluation of university performance is carried out by the institutions themselves, by independent bodies or by governments, and different tools are used. The research results of its teacher–researchers are the basis of this evaluation. Research results are so relevant that they even relegate fundamental elements such as the quality of teaching. This situation is transferred to the institutional level and is evident in the ranking indicators. Romero and Pastor (2012, p. 106) define rankings as “lists or classification tables that compare and order the results of the universities according to s­everal of indicators mostly considered as ‘quality’ criteria that determine their final position.” It is in recent years when they have reached a significant influence, although their existence can be followed from the beginning of the twentieth century (Hazelkorn, Loukkola, & Zhang, 2014). A non-exhaustive list of these worldwide rankings is:

108    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial ⦁⦁ Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) developed by the Shang-

⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁

hai Jiao Tong University and now maintained by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Times Higher Education World University Rankings is an annual publication by Times Higher Education (THE) magazine. QS World University Rankings is an annual publication by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). Webometrics Ranking of World Universities published by the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Scimago Institutions Rankings developed by the Spanish Scimago Lab. CWTS Leiden Ranking is compiled by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University.

The rankings have a significant impact on diverse areas of university management. The Berlin Principles summarize their benefits: Rankings and league tables of higher education institutions (HEIs) and programs are a global phenomenon. They serve many purposes: they respond to demands from consumers for easily interpretable information on the standing of higher education institutions; they stimulate competition among them; they provide some of the rationale for allocation of funds; and they help differentiate among different types of institutions and different programs and disciplines. In addition, when correctly understood and interpreted, they contribute to the definition of “quality” of higher education institutions within a particular country, complementing the rigorous work conducted in the context of quality assessment and review performed by public and independent accrediting agencies. This is why rankings of HEIs have become part of the framework of national accountability and quality assurance processes, and why more nations are likely to see the development of rankings in the future. (International Ranking Expert Group, 2006) Many university administrators rely on these systems as indicators of quality, improvement, and benchmarking, also when applying for funding or to justify the cost-benefit to their funders (Aguillo, Bar-Ilan, Levene, & Ortega, 2010). Their influence has not ceased to grow in such a way that Hazelkorn (2018, p. 2) defines them as “policy instrument driving competition at institutional, national and global levels.” But what do the rankings evaluate? Their methodology is diverse and depends on the field from which they come from, their function, approach, and objectives. Overall, they aim to measure and make comparable outcomes achieved by universities in fulfilling their missions, in an absolute or relative way. Most of the indicators focus on research on a particular group of activities linked to publication in high-impact journals and on the presence of award-winning researchers.

Academic Library Research Support Services    109 Their expansion has multiple implications and even affects science policy. It is unquestionable in this context that research must be considered as a critical factor, which not only affects the adequate development of other functions of the university, such as teaching and knowledge transfer. Research becomes an essential element for the viability of the institution, as it finds itself in an increasingly competitive environment. As a consequence, “university libraries are faced with the challenge of managing these external changes to remain responsive and vital within their organizations” (Richardson, Nolan-Brown, Loria, & Bradbury, 2012, p. 260).

Research Support Services as a Response from the Academic Library Research support services in higher education are all those intended to serve knowledge creation processes. They are increasingly diverse to meet the demands of the multidimensional nature of research. González-Solar (2016) categorizes a wide range of services into the following categories (Fig. 9.2):

Fig. 9.2.  Research Support Services of Academic Libraries. Source: Own elaboration based on González-Solar (2016).

110    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial ⦁⦁ Instrumental services: scientific-technical infrastructures that bring together

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

the university’s facilities, providing a centralized or area-based service to the different research groups (i.e., laboratories). Research management services: clearly administrative, including functions such as personnel management, economic affairs, or project management. They are usually responsible for the Current Research Information System (CRIS). Research results transfer offices: they channel university–industry relations, especially in terms of the transfer of research results. Its functions include identifying demands, advising researchers on aspects such as drafting and drawing up contracts, commercializing results, processing patents, or setting up companies. Services related to the internationalization of research: focused on providing support in the processing of calls for international projects through training, advice, preparation of proposals, or acting as a liaison with the awarding bodies and commissions. Other services: created or not ad hoc to support research; they include various structures such as publications services, culture, and scientific dissemination units, ethics committees, animal experimentation services, translation services, event organization services, the university library, and other information services.

This framework is mutable and depends on the diverse socio-cultural contexts of higher education institutions. It shows the coexistence of services designed and intended to support research with others whose objective is broader, such as the library and other information services. The creation of collaboration strategies among these services, avoiding duplication and providing users with a suitable itinerary to navigate between them, is an element of great importance: Previously siloed campus units – many that never before collaborated – must increasingly work together to address complex institutional challenges and to support enterprise-wide services. Operating in this enterprise ecosystem is challenging, in great part because most stakeholders know little about the operations of other units, making it difficult to effectively engage, identify points of common interest, and collaborate to support research services. (Bryant, 2019) Libraries have always supported the multifaceted research mission, balancing it with the specific needs of their institution. There are several implications for libraries, but mainly they show a need to adapt to the existence of a competitive environment. Librarians perceive this emergence of research support services. Raw data from the recent Springer Nature survey of librarians (Penny, 2019) demonstrate this. When asked about significant issues that are currently facing their library (Fig. 9.3), 26% of them name two closely related to research: “understanding research trends & librarian’s role,” and “conveying the value of librarians to researchers”).

Academic Library Research Support Services    111

Fig. 9.3.  Major Issues Currently Facing Your Library. Source: Own elaboration based on Penny (2019).

Academic libraries have always supported the research. What changes the paradigm from which it is offered? Academic libraries have always focused on the search for information, development of collections, and elements of information management. Still, today their spectrum is broader, and libraries seek to be part of the entire process of production and dissemination of new knowledge. While in the 1990s, the dominant note was the reactive library to specific issues that were asked; today, there is a more proactive attitude (Haddow & Mamtora, 2017). Research support services can be defined as “all those activities carried out within academic libraries with the ultimate aim of supporting research and scientific production activities, to improve their results and impact” (González-Solar, 2016, p. 61). Each academic library establishes its services and priorities according to the particularities of its university. Literature shows a growing interest in these services, although perspectives may vary. In fact, there is no homogeneous idea of what their concept is or what specific activities should be included in their catalogue. The particularities of scientific communication for each discipline but, fundamentally, the diversity of university libraries (structure, level of autonomy, link with the parent institution and its objectives, size, capacity to attract resources, as well as its mission and vision) condition the activities they develop. A model based on areas of action can be established, as proposed by González-Solar (2016): ⦁⦁ Support services for the creation and construction of knowledge: including

renewed traditional services, such as reference services, and new services, such as research data management. ⦁⦁ Identity management support services: consultancy on the actions of researchers to establish their digital identity and strengthen their reputation through their presence in networks and specialized systems. ⦁⦁ Support services for publication and evaluation: including but not limited to strengthening researchers’ decision-making in terms of visibility, impact, and assessment of their research results.

112    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial What services are being offered? Although it is not a complete image, as it does not include essential services such as bibliometrics or data management (Fernández-Marcial, Costa, & González-Solar, 2016). The Springer Nature survey (Penny, 2019) shows that university libraries are participating in the entire lifecycle of research, from its inception (improving discovery tools) to its publication and promotion, with a continuous element of training (Fig. 9.4). This is not a mere list of services but a real change of attitude, of relation to the activities that take place in the environment of the library. It suggests evolution from a passive and/or reactive model to a much more proactive one, with clear user orientation and innovative character. A process that Tang and Zhang (2019, p. 23) described as “libraries’ transformation from providers of traditional consultation services to those of intelligence analysis services and even think tank services.” In this scenario, new librarian profiles emerge. Subject librarians have training and experience in the area of knowledge; they help academics in the process of searching for information, including the elaboration of subject guides. Data librarians are specialists in data management and their relationship with researchers is deeper than in the case of subject librarians. Liaison librarians play an essential meditative role between libraries and research groups; this is the chain of transmission that provides information to subject librarians, for example, on new research strategies. The liaison librarian is an effective librarian who is immersed in a research group, he is part of. The intensity of this collaboration increases in the case of the embedded librarians. All of these profiles are based on a new framework of relationships, and all of them engage in research activity to a greater or lesser degree. But, are the researchers prepared for this?

Fig. 9.4.  Services Provided by Academic Libraries. Source: Own elaboration based on Penny (2019).

Researchers’ Information Behavior Users are the critical element in the planning, organization, and delivery of library services. In this sense, information habits must be studied. However, the academic community is not a mere block in terms of information behavior, very different,

Academic Library Research Support Services    113 for example, from that of students. University researchers, including academics and other categories, are the target audience for research support services in academic libraries. They have their own information needs, information search process, information resources and information use. All aspects involved in information behavior should be studied for a better understanding of them in order to deliver an efficient service. Understanding researchers’ behavior is a complex task since the context in which they carry out their activities is mutating. Researchers are influenced by various forces arising from the multiplicity of environments in which they operate, mainly: their research environment, their institution, and the research funders and evaluators (MacColl & Jubb, 2011) (Fig. 9.5). Research support services can and should cover all the information needs throughout the research lifecycle on a continuous basis over time. This implies the creation, management, and diffusion of different types of information in an intensive way. It is essential to have in-depth knowledge about the habits, preferences, and needs of researchers in their informational behavior. As pointed out by Haddow and Mamtora (2017, p. 14) “sound knowledge of the research environment enables academic libraries to develop and deliver the most relevant services.” Over the last few years, there has been a proliferation of studies analyzing the behavior of researchers according to different criteria such as the level of their academic career, the area of research, age or years of research experience in specific countries or institutions. One of the most complete studies is carried out by Ithaka, a strategic consulting firm specializing in academic subjects. Specifically, the Ithaka S+R surveys, which, due to their continuity, allow track critical trends over time and observe newly emerging trends. The US “Faculty Survey”

Fig. 9.5.  The Researcher in Context. Source: Adapted from MacColl and Jubb (2011).

114    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial series provides a follow-up since 2006 of the key elements for US academics,1 and the “UK Survey of Academics” series is limited to the years 2012 and 20152 but is equally relevant for observing the whole. The methodology of these surveys has been replicated in specific cases and regions. All this implies great ease of comparison and analysis that allows us to know more and better the patterns of conduct and the researchers. Relevant information can be collected through these surveys concerning to the materials used for the research, the strategies adopted to begin the research, and the modes of dissemination of the research. But do these studies allow a clear perception of the opinion of researchers about the library? And about the role of the library in their research process? In Bridging the Librarian-Faculty Gap in the Academic Library Survey (2015), the spotlight is on the critical academic library’s role. In its results, 89% of the teachers surveyed described the library as an “essential” element in their research, reaching 94% in the case of Humanities faculty. The Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2018 (Blankstein & Wolff-Eisenberg, 2019) offers some other interesting perspectives. By establishing an evolution over time on the relevance of librarians, the library, and its budget, they point: Since 2012, there has been little to no change in perceptions regarding librarians and the library’s budget (…) Only approximately 22% of respondents believe that the librarians’ role has diminished due to easier access of academic content electronically, and just 17% of faculty agree that because of this increased access, money should be redirected from the library to other university or college needs. (p. 56) In this study, faculties were enquired about the relevance of college or academic libraries. Some of these answers are expressed in the following statements: The library serves as a starting point or “gateway” for locating information for my research The library pays for the resources I need, from academic journals to books to electronic databases

1

US Faculty Survey 2009 Key Insights for Libraries, Publishers, and Societies, doi: 10.18665/sr.22364; US Faculty Survey 2012, doi: 10.18665/sr.22502; Ithaka S+R US Library Survey 2013, doi: 10.18665/sr.22787; Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2015, doi: 10.18665/sr.277685; US Library Survey 2016, doi: 10.18665/sr.303066; Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2018, doi: 10.18665/sr.311199. 2 Ithaka S+R | Jisc | RLUK UK Survey of Academics 2012, doi: 10.18665/sr.22526 UK Survey of Academics 2015 Ithaka S+R | Jisc | RLUK, doi: 10.18665/sr.282736.

Academic Library Research Support Services    115 The library serves as a repository of resources – in other words – it archives, preserves, and keeps track of resources The library supports and facilitates my teaching activities The library provides active support that helps to increase the productivity of my research The library helps undergraduates develop research, critical analysis, and information literacy skills The library supports graduate students in conducting research, managing data, and publishing scholarship (p. 59). The analysis of these statements highlights the library’s role in mediating between the collection and users. However, it is also evident that users can identify the impact on their research activity. The library has positioned itself as a partner of the scholar in activities such as training students in the acquisition of information skills. It is also linked to its traditional functions, now renewed, namely the acquisition, curation, preservation, and dissemination of quality information. Finally, the position as an active agent in the research process is highlighted, promoting its productivity. This situation is ostensibly favorable to research support services; as long as users can distinguish the result of the service, success is guaranteed. It is a crucial fact that researchers feel overwhelmingly (80%) supported by their libraries. This support, together with that provided by other structures in their institutions, is not sufficient to prevent them from feeling stressed and time-poor as they have to face multiple stages in the life cycle of their research alone (Alterline, 2019). According to the results of this survey, the library participates mainly in the phases related to open access (managing article processing charges, deposit to an institutional repository, ensuring compliance with open access policies). Meanwhile, researchers feel particularly lonely in the publication phases (submitting your research for publication, finding relevant journals for publication). However, the elements that generate the most pressure among researchers are those related to the search and management of grants and funding. Surveys offer a preview, global, and segmented in interest groups, of research users. However, the trend in these services is progressing toward customization and this knowledge must be complemented with more personal formulas. “Academic libraries can support research by developing and aggregating disciplinebased tools, providing customized services, and emphasizing user-centered services” (Kroll & Forsman, 2010, p. 18). These services can only be approached in the right way from a holistic perspective. This requires the collaboration of functional teams and liaison librarians, thus identifying needs and appropriate disposition formulas (Brown, Alvey, Danilova, Morgan, & Thomas, 2018). Along the same lines, Corrall (2014) points out that there is a current among librarians

116    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial who consider it necessary to reposition liaison librarians as research partners as “embedded experts recognized as academic associates.” Researchers recognize the library as a provider of high-cost resources and generally consider its funding to be a priority, but this does not translate into adequate funding for the services libraries would like to provide. Librarians, meanwhile, believe that library policy should be guided mainly by the needs arising from teaching and, secondarily, from research (Brown & Swan, 2007). It is also observed that librarians foresee that the development of these services must be accompanied by a specialized training to prepare professionals for broader research support roles. These data are consistent with those obtained in Great Britain by the Research Support Libraries Group: Final Report (2002); a study that, in addition, provides comparative data, 83% of researchers see the university in which they work as essential for their research. It also points to the increasing importance of electronic documents; the need for better online tools to identify and locate these resources; and the centrality of interlibrary loan. All these conclusions, obtained more than 10 years ago, pointed to a tendency that is now a reality: the gradual disinterest of teachers and researchers in the physical library and its resources in favor of the electronic library. Researchers are generally focused on the research itself, and any collateral aspect that limits their time is a drawback; in particular, any bureaucratic incidence or issues related to the library, such as institutional mandates for self-archiving in repositories. Besides, their working culture is formed from the beginning of the research activity; they are typically self-sufficient, and develop networks of collaborators. However, they are inclined to value research support services positively. They expect these services to be points of consultation, to be there when they need them and not to interfere with the development of their activities or with the creative work of the research process (Research Information Network, 2010). Therefore, comfort in carrying out their activities and in the search for information is fundamental for researchers. However, they see the library as “hard to use” or as “the last resort” against search engine resources, such as Google, or colleagues. These offer a greater degree of “convenience.” “Just in time” services or embedded librarians could be the solution to this scenario (ACRL Research Planning & Review Committee, 2012). Pinto Molina, Fernández-Marcial, and Gómez-Camarero (2010), in a study carried out on professors and researchers in the area of Science and Technology at Spanish universities, reveal other patterns of interest in their relationship with the library: ⦁⦁ Researchers particularly appreciate access to and dissemination of electronic

and paper-based information. They are less interested in librarians’ skills as trainers, accessibility of training courses and quality assessment tools. ⦁⦁ In terms of library use, the interest in access to electronic information stands out, avoiding visits to the library. ⦁⦁ There is a certain reluctance for librarians to adopt a more active position as mediators of information while valuing them in more traditional services.

Academic Library Research Support Services    117 All this implies a traditional conception of the library, centered on the collection rather than the service. Also, it shows a particular preference among academics for the autonomous use of information sources. This fact is of interest insofar as it connects with the independent attitude that, as explained below, characterizes the maker user. Corrall, Kennan, and Afzal (2013) find that all these surveys cause librarians to receive contradictory messages about the value of their services, especially in supporting research. MacColl and Jubb (2011) note that research support services are not being sufficiently valued by the researchers who receive them. In fact, they notice that there is a certain resistance in receiving services that researchers consider proper to their discipline, rather than to their institution, and that they feel fed up with the administrative work around their performance, including archiving in repositories. In fact, they state that “researchers (…) are not interested in which administrative unit provides each service” (MacColl & Jubb, 2011, p. 7).

User-Researchers in the Era of Maker Culture This chapter begins with an overview of the main changes that are occurring in the environment of universities and that influence the functioning of academic libraries. It is common to highlight the role of increasing competitiveness between universities, globalization, lack of funding, the growing importance of research, the emergence of new teaching models such as MOOCs, and, mainly, the consequences of rapid technological advances and digitalization. A new disruptive element appears in this epigraph, not yet adequately weighed from the perspective of academic libraries but which shows signs of becoming one of the most important in the coming years, the “maker movement.” Emerged in recent years as an heir to last century’s do it yourself (DIY). The term “maker movement” was coined by Dale Dougherty, who in 2005 launched the quarterly magazine, “Make Magazine” to collect DIY projects. The “maker culture” is nowadays one of the technological bases of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), understanding it as a hypothetical fourth mega stage of the technical-economic evolution of humanity, counting from the First Industrial Revolution. It would have started recently and its development would be projected toward the second decade of the twenty-first century. The “maker movement” or “maker culture” can be broadly defined as to the growing number of people who are engaged in the creative production of artifacts in their daily lives and who find physical and digital forums to share their processes and products with others. (Halverson & Sheridan, 2014, p. 496) Key elements on which this movement or maker culture revolves have been highlighted: “the relationship between informal and formal learning; teaching, assessment, and evaluation; diversity, accessibility, and inclusion; and new technologies and innovation” (American Society for Engineering Education, 2016, p. 1). In its relationship with the services offered by academic libraries, the maker

118    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial movement has promoted the development of multiple outcomes among which, due to their tangibility and impact on the physical configuration of libraries, makerspaces stand out. Even in academic libraries, the maker culture is primarily connected to the makerspace, although the concept is broader. The maker culture is not restricted to the physical world but quite the opposite. The central fact is the configuration of “open-minded, action-oriented, creative maker mindset” (Martin, 2015, p. 4). This entails users who are increasingly involved in all facets of knowledge creation, open to new technological possibilities but also to collaboration. The maker movement has to do directly with people, with markers who have transforming characteristics: designing and prototyping, using or not using digital tools and promoting collaboration and the exchange of ideas. Together these factors have an effect on academic libraries, their space, redesign, conception and services. In 2015, the most common equipment and activities in academic libraries were those indicated in Fig. 9.6. The equipment (3D printing, motion capture, virtual reality, digital production…) is important, but it is not the core. Any place where people can get together to create and participate can be a makerspace as long as it stimulates the maker’s creativity. It is possible to go further, emphasizing the existing synergies between this movement and the libraries themselves. Providing technical expertise and knowledge is critically important in an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and encourages experimentation and learning. Locating makerspaces in libraries can enhance the advantages of each: like the library, makerspaces engage faculty and students from across departments and disciplines, and even from outside the campus. (Smith, 2018) Reflecting on the concept of makerspaces leads us to a paradigm shift in the image that users have of academic libraries. Patrons usually observe libraries

Fig. 9.6.  Most Common Technologies and Activities in Academic Library Makerspace. Source: Adapted from Burke (2015).

Academic Library Research Support Services    119 as places of information consumption, often through passive materials such as books or multimedia. Through the maker culture, the library becomes a place of creation, changing the perspective to a more active model capable of reflecting their needs and concerns and with the expert support of librarians to accompany them in this process of change and creation (Ginsberg, 2012). An example of interest to visualize this movement is LILLIAD Learning Center Innovation of the University of Lille born in 2016. LILLIAD integrates in the same space a complex of events (Xperium) a place to promote collaborative research, spaces for pedagogy, and an enlarged library. Its services include a specific catalogue for researchers: copyright, open access, deposit and dissemination of Higher Degree Research (HDR) documents, management, conservation, and dissemination of research data and support for the dissemination and opening of research results; along with others such as the loan of working materials (from staplers to laptops, via headphones and whiteboards). In conclusion, libraries have been able to react to the emergence of this maker movement through spaces. But, as has been indicated, what characterizes the maker is its mind-set, more autonomous, more innovative. It goes beyond spaces, and we begin to talk about people, specifically about relationships between people, in mediation and in the relationship between user maker and librarian. An effect of the emergence of maker movement is the mutation in mediation processes. The maker user emerges as a new culture that affects management and undoubtedly reaches research support services. Marker users, who self-manage their digital identity, the information, and the data they generate and use, want to have control over their relationship with the library. The library must attend to this market factor and respond through “do it yourself ” services, reconfiguring the reference, and influencing the formation of information skills for research.

The Relationship Between Librarian and Maker Researcher As early as the eighties, Grover and Hale (1988) saw that the challenge for academic librarians was to become key members of research networks and to be recognized as members of invisible colleges. This challenge is as topical today as it was then, and it is more acute due to the complexities of maker users. Relations between librarians and users, in general, and researchers, in particular, are of strategic importance. Academics, along with university administrators, can influence funding and resources. These alliances are beneficial for the library, the institution itself and, fundamentally, for researchers, as shown in The Value of Libraries for Research & Researchers: A RIN and RLUK Report (2001) (Fig. 9.7). The strong position of the academic library helps to create the necessary conditions for better proximity to the users, allowing an efficient design of the library services. The foundations of this dynamic come from the library’s marketing and quality management. If the library can offer services according to researchers’ expectations, usage, and satisfaction grow. The impact of all this takes place directly on the results of the research but also on the library itself, in terms of increased user satisfaction.

120    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial

Fig. 9.7.  Map of the Benefits of a Better Connection with Researchers. Source: Adapted from The Value of Libraries for Research & Researchers: A RIN and RLUK Report (2001). When talking about the attitudes of the library and its relations with users, reference is often made to the professionals who work there. Therefore, it is essential to know these relationships when considering the design of services. Literature on describing and analyzing the relationships between librarians and teachers has been present for decades. Most of these studies are produced by librarians, which shows the high interest they have in their relations with academics (Phelps & Campbell, 2012). The library is primarily committed to the idea of service, hence the importance of the connection with its users. As Kotter (1999, p. 301) points out, “good relations between librarians and classroom faculty are a necessity, not a luxury.” Improving these relations, which we must consider two-way, has implications at various levels, such as better mutual knowledge, greater cooperation, and more substantial involvement in each other’s tasks. If good relationships facilitate the provision of better service, better service also facilitates mutual relationships and results in a better understanding of users’ needs and interests (Frank, Raschke, Wood, & Yang, 2001). Numerous studies on these relationships have been carried out since the 1960s. There is no consensus on how to describe them and even the lack of a critical approach to the subject is sometimes evident. Exaggerated definitions are used, such as eternal enemies, or much more positive interpretations

Academic Library Research Support Services    121 without a clear agreement. It is noteworthy that the approach of Christiansen, Stombler, and Thaxton (2004) describing an asymmetric disconnect between librarians and teachers. They state that there is limited contact between the two collectives despite the potential for interaction, collaboration, and shared interests. They define the relationship as asymmetric insofar as: 1.  It is perceived as different by each group: Librarians are aware of faculty and the work that they do, and are continually striving to increase contact with them. Moreover, the mission of libraries is generally to serve patrons at the home institution (and other institutions via interlibrary practices), and thus librarians are keenly aware of their relations not only to faculty but also, first and foremost to students. By contrast, faculty do not have a solid understanding of librarians’ work and are not seeking similar contact (although their work as teachers and researchers may require librarians’ assistance and expertise). This is not to say that faculty are completely unaware of librarians’ work practices, and we certainly do not mean to imply that faculty disrespect librarians. Faculty believe that the function of the library and librarian within educational institutions is the organization and facilitation of access to resources and collections. The faculty we spoke with expressed a healthy respect for librarians as experts toward that end. However, according to our observations, they do not know about librarians’ specific duties and projects. (p. 118) 2.  Its consequences are evaluated in different ways: Librarians perceive the disconnection between librarians and faculty as problematic in terms of how librarians are treated directly by some faculty (e.g., assumptions about librarian lack of expertise in particular fields, protectiveness of class space/time, or condescending interaction) and indirectly (through students who bring assignments to librarians that are out of date with current library practices). In the view of librarians, this disconnection interferes with their ability to meet their work goals, the highest of which is serving students. Faculty also acknowledge this disconnection between the two groups, but they simply do not consider it problematic. In striking contrast to the perspective of librarians, faculty perceive no serious problems in relations between the two groups, nor do they identify any negative consequences arising from this disconnection. (p. 118) This idea of disconnection that, in many cases, we can characterize as a lack of communication also appears in the survey Bridging the Librarian-Faculty Gap in the Academic Library (2015) where different priorities and valuation of

122    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial library services are observed. We also detected it in the Springer Nature survey (Penny, 2019), where, faced with the key question “How well engaged is your library with the research faculty,” Librarians are optimistic and 39.8% indicated that they engage very much, 50.4% moderately, 4,8% not at all and 5.0% not applicable. However, it has been observed that researchers’ views on their libraries are limited. They tend to focus this image on collection building processes (Lang, ­Wilson, Wilson, & Kirkpatrick, 2018). The possible reasons of this disconnection are diverse, over time various possible causes have been proposed, including but not limited to the fact that the library has focused more on itself than on its users; the level of specialization required for certain services is costly and involves training that is sometimes not offered; there is a stereotypical image of librarians; academics believe that library services are oriented to their students; the failure to agree on the mission of the library; and the lack of trust. To address this disconnection, the need to analyze and link the different organizational subcultures of librarians and faculty has been highlighted. For example, joint involvement is proposed in activities such as participation in committees, the organization of meetings and collaborative activities. It is detected that the origin of these differences lies in the individual and competitive nature of the research work, which does not facilitate the attempts of librarians to participate in it (Anthony, 2010). This assertion is corroborated in the results of the Alterline (2019) survey when it is observed that researchers maintain independent behavior despite the existence of services that can collaborate in their activities. This behavior qualifies the research user as a maker and it can be stated that, as maker researchers, they pose a special challenge for academic libraries with very distinct features of autonomy. The maker researcher is a suitable target for current library services, for example, those where there is a close relationship between librarians and researchers; especially the notion of consulting librarian who maintains collaboration with the researcher based on: mutual objectives, mutual respect, advance planning, and substantive contributions by both parties (Donham & Green, 2004). With regard to this and other cooperative models, the question arises of how to ensure that the relationships described do not conceal a position of subordination of the library to teachers. Frank et al. (2001) address these difficulties with their consultant model replacing cooperation with collaboration: When librarians approach their work with scholars as a partnership there are major implications. Rather than an atmosphere of “cooperation,” where either party has its own goals and both cooperate for the purpose of achieving those goals, there arises an atmosphere of “collaboration.” Each person brings his or her own goals to the partnership, but together they define shared goals and work to achieve those shared goals. (p. 92) Therefore, potentialities for improvement are observed in relation to research users both in general and specifically to those with maker profiles. Academic libraries have the potential to overcome this situation and get closer to their users.

Academic Library Research Support Services    123 Several formulas can be proposed, seeking a more proactive, dynamic and flexible role for librarians, leading these relationships. For example, the model of liaison librarians, which is common in many countries but not in others, is crucial and should be reinforced. Promotion is a critical factor in addressing communication problems. Despite the broad range of research support services, academics are unaware of them. Several studies detect communication problems with these services, especially through the websites that are currently the main windows of libraries in the digital world (Cain, Cooper, Demott, & Montgomery, 2019; Fernández-Marcial et al., 2016). Therefore, libraries can and should improve their promotion strategy by enhancing channels and messages. They should take advantage of the brand image that the library already has, extend it, improve it and enhance it. Actions such as the search for “champions” can also be proposed, offering honors, receptions, and distinguishing outstanding teachers (Kotter, 1999). A fundamental and complementary path to any other option is the improvement of services and the creation of new ones better adapted to the real needs of users, moving toward a more personalized model and creating added value. In addition to the relationship between librarian and researcher, another fundamental element arises, skills. The new services that have been proposed as part of the research support raise new knowledge and skills needs for librarians who provide them, to the point of defining new library profiles such as data librarian. For this reason, the importance of training librarians and partnerships with staff from other units and universities in search of specialization is highlighted. These two elements make it possible to begin a process of escalation in the service by assuming more and more facets in support of research and gaining the trust of stakeholders (Lang et al., 2018). These skills are fluid and must adapt to changes in research, services, and research users themselves. This is evidenced by the review process of the Core Competencies for the 21st Century CARL Librarians proposed by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (2010). These core competencies are foundational knowledge, interpersonal skills, leadership and management, collection development, information literacy, research & contributions to the profession, and information technology skills. It is interesting to highlight the great presence of soft skills in this list, which reflects the importance of relationship-related skills in the new library profiles.

New Perspectives in the Relationship of Research Support Academic libraries have been confronted for years with a changing environment that comes both from their parent institutions and from external factors such as technology. This has compelled them to adopt a fluid position and to change to adapt to the changes in the Universities. New ways of learning and research make libraries strive to adjust and perform different functions in order to stay in line with their institution’s mission and needs. Now they must adapt to a new reality, increasingly autonomous users imbued with maker culture. Cox (2018) highlights, among the elements that can collaborate in this change, the partnerships between

124    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial campuses and universities, recognizing that together it is possible to achieve more and better. He emphasizes the ability of libraries to embrace openness, something that is in their DNA. Another fundamental point is the clear focus on users, beyond the collections, with an increasing commitment and engagement with the university staff and community. Alliances and partnerships are a critical factor in improving user services. Relationships extend both inside and outside the university, with the relationship between the library and the research office being critical. Their growth has been observed in the case of Australian academic libraries since the beginning of the implementation of these services (Haddow & Mamtora, 2017). Richardson et al. (2012, p. 260) show that in this paradigm of collaboration, libraries should “emphasize proactive outreach and engagement by taking an active role as conveners among the different stakeholders.” A further key element that will define the future of these services is the very evolution of scientific communication and science itself in the years to come. It is difficult to predict how science and research will evolve in the coming years, although there is no doubt that the fourth revolution will have a high impact on it. Jones, Kalantery, and Glover (2019) offer some clues about what is already happening and what could happen very soon: Artificial intelligence and robotics have made significant progress since the Second World War. The exponentially increasing computational capacity of computers has, over the last decade, enabled the use of machine learning and artificial neural networks which have dramatically increased the potential of artificially intelligent systems. Across many fields and industries, research is adopting a range of tools and techniques enabled by artificial intelligence, including: natural language processing, computer vision, automated monitoring, automated experiment selection and the prediction of physical systems. There is an open question as to whether this automation of research will free up and empower researchers to be more creative and productive, or whether it will instead replace them entirely. This may vary from field to field. It is also uncertain how long the current rate of progress in artificial intelligence can keep up due to hardware limitations. Further, the costs involved may be prohibitive for all but the richest countries and companies to deploy these technologies in research. (p. 4) All these aspects are fundamental in the design of future research support services, in all structures of higher education institutions and in libraries in particular. However, the element around which everything focuses is and will be the researcher user. Researchers are increasingly exposed to changes in the

Academic Library Research Support Services    125 environment in which they work. These changes are speeding up, contexts that were relatively stable 10 or 20 years ago are fluid and variable today. Perhaps the most significant example is the environment of scientific communication with the emergence of open access and the use of technology in multiple and varied forms. This also has a direct impact on other aspects such as scientific reputation or funding requirements. Researchers face an increasingly demanding, more globalized, more competitive and less secure and stable context. Researchers live partly in that “bubble” that is academia but they also receive the impulses of a world in constant mutation that is reflected in the maker movement. In the culture of doing yourself, of being independent in your actions, creating, inventing, and looking for viable alternatives to complex problems. In a world where the solution to any question seems to be found in a YouTube tutorial or a TED talk. Within this new framework and in the face of this new type of user, further doubts arise. It may be that researchers, despite the efforts of libraries to offer value-added services, continue to appreciate the role of the library as an infrastructure with aspects such as the management of collections as the maximum exponent. How can libraries showcase and promote their new features and break past dynamics? Brown et al. (2018) exemplify it in the case of The University of Queensland Library that has adapted its motto to favors this shift of perspective, by changing its traditional “enrich world-class scholarship” for the new “your partner in scholarship”, reflecting the Library’s proactive role and emphasis on collaboration. To support these new users, libraries may need to move from offering their traditional reference and consultation services to provide analysis and intelligence services, not so far from those already offered by parliamentary research services (e.g., the recognized EPRS of the European Parliament) or think tanks.

Conclusion Maker culture can have a positive impact on a new concept of space dynamization. This can attract new users or ex-users. However, this capacity of “do it yourself ” can have a marked negative effect on the conception of the service; the user will choose to perform functions that can be assumed by academic libraries or derive these tasks to third companies. This situation introduces a contradiction in academic library management. While research services are designed to assist in research by taking on some activities, the preferred option for researchers is the “do it yourself ” approach. Communication, more and better, seems to be one of the keys to this process. Library promotion is a key factor. In this sense, libraries must learn to communicate efficiently about these services with their users. But communication must be assumed in a broad sense, as a stronger connection between librarians and researchers. If research support services mean that librarians increase their role in research activity, then the communication channels must be improved to create or to adapt the library research services that researchers actually demand. This position can allow a greater and enhanced use of the potential of academic libraries

126    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial and can highlight the important role of libraries in the success of institutional research. Academic libraries must learn to better convey this commitment in supporting research, primarily to researchers, but also to university administrators and other stakeholders. They can and should do so directly to the outside world, through websites that are clearer and more robust in their definition of objectives and services but not only. Generating stronger connections between librarians and researchers, breaking this “asymmetric disconnect” and fostering the creation of trust and camaraderie between the two groups is the key to enabling creative users to connect to their libraries and to research support services that are specially designed, established and targeted to them.

Acknowledgments We are grateful to Francisco López for his support in language review.

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Academic Library Research Support Services    127 Bryant, R. (2019, August 21). Institutional Stakeholders in Research Support: Introducing a New OCLC Research Project [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://hangingtogether. org/?p=7456. Accessed on January 26, 2020. Cain, J., Cooper, L., Demott, S., & Montgomery, A. (2019). Where is QDA hiding? An analysis of the discoverability of qualitative research support on academic library websites. IASSIST Quarterly, 43(2), 1–9. doi:10.29173/iq957 Canadian Association of Research Libraries. (2010). Core competencies for 21st century CARL librarians. Retrieved from http://www.carl-abrc.ca/doc/core_comp_profilee.pdf Christiansen, L., Stombler, M., & Thaxton, L. (2004). A report on librarian-faculty relations from a sociological perspective. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30(2), 116–121. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2004.01.003 Corrall, S. (2014). Designing libraries for research collaboration in the network world: An exploratory study. LIBER Quarterly, 24(1), 17–48. doi:10.18352/lq.9525 Corrall, S., Kennan, M. A., & Afzal, W. (2013). Bibliometrics and research data management services: Emerging trends in library support for research. Library Trends, 61(3), 636–674. doi:10.1353/lib.2013.0005 Cox, J. (2018). Positioning the academic library within the institution: A literature review. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 24(3–4), 217–241. doi:10.1080/13614533. 2018.1466342 Donham, J., & Green, C. W. (2004). Perspectives on… develop a culture of collaboration: Librarian as consultant. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30(4), 314–321. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2004.04.005 Fernández, L., Fernández-López, S., Rey-Ares, L., & Bobillo, M. (2019). Innovation in the first mission of universities. Journal of Innovation Management, 6(4), 32–48. doi:10.24840/2183-0606_006.004_0004 Fernández-Marcial, V., Costa, L. M., & González-Solar, L. (2016). Top universities, top libraries: do research services in academic libraries contribute to university output? In Library Leadership in a Sea of Change, 37th IATUL Conference, Halifax (Canada). Retrieved from https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/2016/spaces/2 Frank, D. G., Raschke, G. K., Wood, J., & Yang, J. Z. (2001). Information consulting: The key to success in academic libraries. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27(2), 90–96. doi:10.1016/S0099-1333(00)00180-4 Geiger, R. L. (2004). Knowledge and money: Research universities and the paradox of the marketplace. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Ginsberg, S. (2012). 3D printing and creative literacy: Why maker culture benefits libraries. In K. Fontichiaro (Ed.), Everything you wanted to know about information literacy but were afraid to Google (pp. 89–98). Michigan: University of Michigan Library. Retrieved from https://www.si.umich.edu/sites/default/files/Fontichiaro%20info%20 lit%20book%202012.pdf González-Solar, L. (2016). La biblioteca universitaria orientada a la investigación: propuesta de un modelo de servicio centrado en el usuario desde la perspectiva del marketing. Doctoral dissertation, Universidade da Coruña, España. Retrieved from http://hdl. handle.net/2183/17112 Grover, R., & Hale, M. L. (1988). The role of the librarian in faculty research. College & Research Libraries, 49(1), 9–15. doi:10.5860/crl_49_01_9 Haddow, G., & Mamtora, J. (2017). Research support in Australian academic libraries: Services, resources, and relationships. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 23(2–3), 89–109. doi:10.1080/13614533.2017.1318765 Halverson, E. R., & Sheridan, K. (2014). The maker movement in education. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 495–504. doi:10.17763/haer.84.4.34j1g68140382063 Hazelkorn, E. (2018). Reshaping the world order of higher education: The role and impact of rankings on national and global systems. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 2(1), 4–31. doi:10.1080/23322969.2018.1424562

128    Llarina González-Solar and Viviana Fernández-Marcial Hazelkorn, E., Loukkola, T., & Zhang, T. (2014). Rankings in institutional strategies and processes: Impact or illusion. Retrieved from https://eua.eu/resources/ publications/369:rankings-in-institutional-strategies-and-processes-impact-orillusion.html International Ranking Expert Group. (2006). Berlin principles on ranking of higher education institutions. Retrieved from http://ireg-observatory.org/en/index.php/berlinprinciples Jones, E., Kalantery, N., & Glover, B. (2019). Research 4.0 Interim Report. Retrieved from https://demos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Jisc-OCT-2019-digital-final.pdf Kotter, W. R. (1999). Bridging the great divide: Improving relations between librarians and classroom faculty. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 25(4), 294–303. doi:10.1016/s0099-1333(99)80030-5 Kroll, S., & Forsman, R. (2010). A slice of research life: Information support for research in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/content/ dam/research/publications/library/2010/2010-15.pdf Lang, L., Wilson, T., Wilson, K., & Kirkpatrick, A. (2018). Research support at the crossroads: Capability, capacity, and collaboration. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 24(3–4), 326–336. doi:10.1080/13614533.2018.1460727 MacColl, J., & Jubb, M. (2011). Supporting research environments, administration and libraries. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/ library/2011/2011-10.pdf Martin, L. (2015). The promise of the maker movement for education. Journal of PreCollege Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 5(1), 4. doi:10.7771/21579288.1099 Penny, D. (2019, March 19). Springer Nature Librarians 2018 survey (Version 1). Figshare. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.7862444.v1 Phelps, S. F., & Campbell, N. (2012). Commitment and trust in librarian-faculty relationships: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(1), 13–19. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2011.11.003 Pinto Molina, M., Fernández-Marcial, V., & Gómez-Camarero, C. (2010). The impact of information behavior in academic library service quality: A case study of the Science and Technology Area in Spain. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(1), 70–78. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2009.11.008 Research Information Network. (2010). Research Support Services in UK Universities: A Research Information Network report. Retrieved from https://www.soas.ac.uk/ careers/earlycareerresearchers/file69090.pdf Research Support Libraries Group: Final Report. (2002). New Review of Academic Librarianship, 8(1), 3–86. doi:10.1080/13614530209516827 Richardson, J., Nolan-Brown, T., Loria, P., & Bradbury, S. (2012). Library research support in Queensland: A Survey. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 43(4), 258–277. doi:10.1080/00048623.2012.10722287 Romero, J., & Pastor, J. M. (2012). Las Universidades españolas bajo la influencia de los rankings. Regional and Sectoral Economics Studies, 12(3), 105–126. Retrieved from http://www.usc.es/economet/eers.htm Smith, K. (2018, December 12). Innovative Learning in Research Library Makerspaces [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.clir.org/2018/12/innovative-learning-inresearch-library-makerspaces Tang, Y., & Zhang, C. (2019). Development and practice of research support services in peking university library. International Journal of Library and Information Services, 8(2), 22–39. doi:10.4018/ijlis.2019070102

Academic Library Research Support Services    129 The Value of Libraries for Research and Researchers: A RIN and RLUK Report. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.rin.ac.uk/system/files/attachments/value_of_libraries_ for_screen_1.pdf

Key Terms and Definitions Research communication process: A set of stages of scientific activity that begins with theoretical and experimental work to obtain results, its communication in scientific publications and ends with outreach or public engagement activities. Researcher Information behavior: Attitude and skills of researchers in the processes of searching, evaluating and using information, including motivation, context, and environment. University ranking: Lists of universities that present a classification based on certain criteria that are specific to each ranking. Some outputs of the institutions are used to obtain a score. The rankings can be national or international and are developed by different types of agents. Leading universities: Universities in the top positions of rankings developed by various entities. Research support services: Services designed to improve research results by providing information, training, advice or other forms of collaboration to researchers at various stages of the scientific life cycle, ranging from theoretical development and management of scientific projects to recruitment activities. Academic library research support services: Set of research support services developed and provided from the library, which epicenter is the information in its various forms. Academic librarian stereotypes: Image or idea assumed by the university community in relation to the professional value and competence of librarians. Academic librarian-researcher relationship: Communication and engagement established between librarians and researchers within the framework of the university. Profiles such as the liaison librarian or the embedded librarian are developed in more advanced stages of this relationship. Researcher maker culture: Researchers’ attitude of autonomy and self-management in the processes of searching for, retrieving, using, evaluating, and communicating information.

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Chapter 10

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries in the Digital Environment in Zimbabwe Thembelihle Hwalima and Nqobulwazi Khanye

Introduction This chapter documents the research support services in academic libraries in the digital environment in Zimbabwe. Given the prediction made by Klobas (1999) that in the electronic service context, academic librarians would become more prominent as educators, information managers, information management consultants, custodians of information, information providers and change agents. Academic librarians in the twenty-first century have found themselves as proactive individuals in faculty liaison services and playing a significant role of being a part of the research process. On the other hand, researchers have found themselves with a plethora of electronic resources as they conduct their e-research, and this has steered them to seek help from the experts of information searching and retrieval, the librarians. Librarians have moved from the concept of custodians to being engaged in different sectors of the economy as content developers, knowledge managers, and cybrarians as noted by Chikonzo, Bothma, Kusekwa, and Mushowani (2014). This chapter will, therefore, try to bring to light what research support is, the relationship between the academic librarians in research support and the researcher, the role played by the academic librarian, challenges experienced by academic librarians in rendering research support in Zimbabwe. In addition, suggest a possible framework that they can use to render research support in academic institutions in Zimbabwe considering the changing nature of research and libraries in the twenty-first century.

Research Methodology The researchers used qualitative research method for this work. Content analysis of literature on research support was done and scanning through other

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 131–146 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201019

132    Thembelihle Hwalima and Nqobulwazi Khanye university websites to perceive how they are rendering research support services. The researchers’ exploration of literature was necessitated by observation as practising librarians of the continuing change in service delivery and focus on research support services. This led them to draw interest to explore and find out how institutions within Zimbabwe are providing and doing the work of research support services.

Conceptualising Research Support The era of information explosion characterised by changing pedagogy and rapid growth of commensurate technologies in the twenty-first century has led to academic librarians around the world, being under pressure to provide relevant information services to satisfy their varied client’s needs. This has seen academic librarians, adopting to changes and redefining their roles and responsibilities to align with world trends in the profession, to remain relevant and provide the expected library services of the twenty-first century through research support services. Onyacha (2018) asserts that research administrators, grant offices, researchers, students, and university managers, among others, are increasingly turning to academic librarians for information to meet their myriad research-related information and metrics needs, thereby making the academic librarians assume the role of research support librarians. Afzal, Corrall, and Kennan (2012) associate the emerging trend of research support services to developments of open scholarly communication, increasing digitisation of resources, institutional repositories, data generated and required by e-research, research evaluation exercises and requirements of funding agencies for the ongoing curation of research data. Thus, research support librarians have also emerged as skilled personnel with abilities to establish research partnerships and lobby for funding opportunities for their researchers. Brandenburg, Cordell, Joque, MacEachern, and Song (2017) allude to the fact that these partnerships include grants, systematic review publications (a specific type of comprehensive literature review), and other projects that benefit from librarians’ specialised skillsets. The need to support the above mentioned numerous professionals have led to the need for research support services, which are here to stay now and in the near future to come. The quest for improvement in research performance and success is significantly essential to all Universities (Sanjeeva, 2018). Therefore, it is paramount to define research support in the context of university libraries. Pasipamire (2015) notes that research support has different definitions from various authors depending on the form of support referred to, but they all point to the fact that research support is help given to researchers during the research process. Hoffman (2016), as cited by Borrego (2018), defines research support as anything that a library does, which supports the activity of scholarship and research at its parent institution. Parker (2012) defines research support as a set of services and facilities which assist in increasing research productivity and scholarship. Raju and Schoombee (2013) assert that research support is the proactive engagement or partnering of the librarian with the researcher throughout the research process. The Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies (2010) defines research support as the assistance

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries    133 provided by subject specialists to diverse faculties in the academic community to enhance their research skills. This has been the case with academic librarians in Zimbabwe, where they have also been adopting these changes and redefining their roles and responsibilities to align with world trends in the profession of providing research support services. As of the perspective of this chapter, the researchers operationalised research support as the partnership between the researcher and the research librarian throughout the research process. Delaney and Bates (2015) support our working definition of research support by mentioning that academic libraries should rethink their roles to embrace a more participatory and collaborative approach with librarians becoming partners in the research process and abandoning their primary custodianship roles. For example at the University of Queensland where the library is deemed a critical enabler of the University’s research mission, actively partnering with researchers throughout the research lifecycle (Brown, Alvey, Danilova, Morgan, & Thomas, 2018).

The Relationship Between the Researcher and Academic Librarian Within the new higher education paradigm, where education mooted to be done, collaboratively libraries are purported to be at the core in service provision. The work of academic librarians has evolved from being merely custodians of books to active participants in user-centred services, as mentioned by Borgman (2010). Research collaboration with faculty resulting in the co-authorship of scholarly output is one possible way to demonstrate the alignment of the library with the institutional mission (Borrego, Ardanuy, & Urbano, 2018). This has seen academic libraries supporting researchers and increasingly participating in the research process by providing a widening range of research support services. While users are seeking a variety of social and collaborative spaces, the new generation of library users is flexible and demands the same from libraries and librarians. With librarians being flexible, this has seen better relationships between the researcher and the librarians being created within the Zimbabwean context. Libraries have always been quick to adopt relevant technologies to ensure efficient and active support of the education process. The proactive response of the library to the demands of changing higher education pedagogy has stimulated new thinking concerning innovative learning spaces (Raju & Schoombee, 2013). This is prevalent in Zimbabwe where academic librarians have been found redefining their services and institutional library structures to have what they have differently termed as faculty librarians/subject librarians/liaison librarians and research librarians. This alignment has been driven by the necessity to embrace current research support services in the profession world over. The orientation has helped to build relationships between the librarian and researcher for collaborative efforts in best exploiting the relevant services that are being used to provide information to the user as researchers continuously need to be recognised as both users and creators of an expanding range of digital information.

134    Thembelihle Hwalima and Nqobulwazi Khanye Furthermore, the dynamics of the academic library in the second decade of the twenty-first century are illustrated by the continuous adoption of new philosophies to ensure relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. The need for relevance has not only affected the library but also the researcher as they are the ones in need of the services, and this has led to the creation of a librarian and researcher relationship in order to best explore the services that come with the change. This is evident in institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe, whereby the authorship of many articles and researches has been birthed through the relationship that exists between the service provider (Librarian) and the service user (The Researcher). Paying attention to the information-seeking patterns of researchers and satisfying their information needs is crucial for a university library to contribute to the provision of research-related services. University libraries can support research by developing and aggregating discipline-based tools, providing customised services, and emphasising user-centred services (Chen, Huang, Lan, Dong, & Cheng, 2017).

Roles of Academic Librarians in Research Support In addition to being the key players in terms of teaching and learning support for many years (Sidorko & Yand, 2009), university libraries have developed the function of research support which has seen them assuming new roles which Chanetsa (2016) points out to be defined as new roles/redefining of duties and not as added responsibilities. The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science, and Technology Development has reinforced the roles mentioned earlier by recreating the Education 3.0 to the Education 5.0 mandate, which integrates innovation and industrialisation from the first three, which are Teaching, Learning and Research. The Education 5.0 mandate has further redefined the roles of a librarian as they are needed in achieving the two new mandates of innovation and industrialisation as this can only be achieved through collaborative efforts between the researchers and the librarians. Monroe-Gulick, O’Brien, and White (2013) assert that the academic librarians are a partner in research rather than a supporter of research and this is prevalent in Zimbabwean higher education institutions where librarians are playing the role of partners in research but informally as there is no standard framework, guideline or policy for conduction research support services (Pasipamire & Hoskins, 2019). Research support services tasks can vary from giving support to the development of new ideas and research proposals to the scouting for funding opportunities, from the proper research activity to the dissemination and publishing of research findings. Literature on the role of academic libraries in research reveals three, often interconnected, themes, that is, the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of researchers, descriptions of library roles and services in the support of and lists of competencies of so-called research librarians produced by professional library associations as noted by (Chanetsa & Ngulube, 2016; Hart & Kleinveldt, 2011). The purpose of a research support librarian is to develop, implement and sustain a research support strategy across all library user groups to ensure that

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries    135 the needs of researchers are met, and the library fully supports the institution’s research strategy. Research support librarians, therefore, have to acquire new skills as knowledge service providers within universities. Chanetsa and Ngulube (2016) allude to the need for re-skilling of librarians to supplement their changing roles and responsibilities in the twenty-first century library. This will enable them to become collaborative partners that catalyse evolution, especially with the onset of digital technologies, which have created a rich and diverse research ecosystem. For quality research support services, librarians need to understand the research life cycle to be able to intercept and support the researchers’ work by identifying new services to support the research life cycle (Auckland, 2012). Other studies on research support, Pasipamire (2015), Raju and Schoombee (2013), Ocholla, Mutsvunguma, and Hadebe (2016) have used the research life cycle to explain the role played by the librarian in research support which entails the following stages: prepare, gather, create, preserve, share and measure. For this work, the researchers chose the research life cycle approach from the University of Warwick (2015) as it brought both the researchers and librarians’ role in research support. Below is a diagrammatical representation of the research life cycle approach (Fig. 10.1) showing the roles played by the researcher and the research support librarian in the research life cycle. In addition, the diagram shows the different activities at different stages of the research life cycle, which the research support librarian can collaborate with the researcher in. Each library has to determine its approach to supporting research based on its respective strategic priorities and those of the parent organisation. For some libraries defining the scope of the problem and moving from a theoretical discussion to developing and implementing, a practical response has not been an easy task since it impacts all aspects of the library organisation and the staff (Brown, Wolski, & Richardson, 2015). This is the case within the Zimbabwean academic libraries where research support services have not been clearly defined nor documented as a matter of policy either through the consortium (Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium) nor the Association, (Zimbabwe Library Association). Therefore, the changing roles by these academic librarians can be attributed to the transformative nature of universities and the continued emergence of ICTs, which has realised the birth for the need for research support services even more.

Academic Librarians’ Competencies for Research Support Services It is imperative to articulate that for academic librarians to render research support, there are requisite capabilities, which they need to acquire to have competencies that are in line with the roles mentioned earlier in the chapter. The capabilities may include structured thinking, knowledge of information management theory, ability to communicate, understanding of knowledge dissemination and awareness of trends as asserted by Brown et al. (2015). The chapter authors found it paramount to adopt the Canadian Association of

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Research development • Funding • Project requirements and outcomes • Rights and scoping • Research (outcomes and) outputs planning

Research Conception In-project support

• Research-enabling environment • Skills enhancement • Information provision/ information management

• Ongoing activity support • Review

Researcher Research(er) administration

Research Management

• Personal exposure and records • Impact • Research assessments and reviews

• Content • Accessibility and reuse • Compliance • Rights Management • Dissemination preparation

Dissemination/ impact • Surfacing and discovery • Primary publication • Secondary exposures

Fig. 10.1.  Research Life Cycle Approach. Adapted from the University of Warwick (2015). Research Libraries’ competencies as they observed that currently in Zimbabwe, there are not any prescribed capabilities and competencies for research support. Table 10.1 below shows the roles of the librarian that were picked from Fig. 10.1, which academic librarians may assume when conducting research support. The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) provides a useful analysis of the competencies of academic librarians that it believes might well apply in all technologically advanced countries. It argues that, while the essential role of an academic librarian has not changed, namely to bring together information seekers and information sources, dramatic changes in the environment

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries    137 Table 10.1.  Roles of the Librarian in Research Support. Role of the Librarian

Research Support Activities

Research Developer

• Source for funding opportunities for the research community • Identifying platforms (e.g. Reference Manager and Databases)

Research Supporter

• Faculty Liaison (Librarian and Research Relationship) • Reference Services • Literature Search • Collection Development (Books, monographs, journals, newspaper, etc.)

Research Manager

• Intellectual property rights and copyright • Predatory Journals versus Reputable Journals

Research Disseminator

• Institutional Repository (Visibility of research on both the green and gold open access platforms) • Research Data Management

Research Impact Analyst

• Bibliometric (measure and analysis of citations for journal articles published or relating to publications) • Research Impact (Demonstrable contribution that research mark to the economy, society, environment and culture beyond the contribution to academic research)

Researcher Administrator

• Institutional research trends • Reporting

Research Initiator

• Information literacy skills • Idea Generation

oblige libraries to re-assess their role (Canadian Association of Research Libraries, 2010). The association identifies seven sets of competencies for the twentyfirst century librarians which are Foundational Knowledge, Interpersonal skills, Leadership and Management, Collections Development, Information Literacy, Research & Contributions to the Profession and Information Technology Skills, all of which relate more or less directly to research support in an intense and constantly evolving academic research environment (Canadian Association of Research Libraries, 2010).

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Challenges Faced by Zimbabwean Academic Librarians in Rendering Research Support Scarcity of Human Resources: In Zimbabwe, university libraries traditionally include the position of reference librarian, who, in turn, can be doubled up as a subject librarian or faculty librarian. The individual will be further expected to take up the tasks of a research support services librarian with the developments that are happening within the library fraternity. This has caused the human resources devoted to the tasks expected for research support services to be scarce. Therefore, the scarcity of human resources in libraries has been a big challenge in the provision of research support services in Zimbabwe (Pasipamire & Hoskins, 2019). Lack of Funding: Considering the current state of the economy, librarians and libraries face the possibility of reductions in funding that could have a damaging effect on library programmes, salaries, services and resources. In Zimbabwe, due to economic instability, University libraries are exposed to the challenge of lacking adequate funds, which has led to a shortage of staff to take up the research support services. This has been so because of lack of government support in terms of salaries as there has been continued staff freeze in Zimbabwe, thus impeding the increase of library staff in-line with growing demands that come with research on librarians. Libraries have a crucial role to play in research information services; this role needs to be directed by libraries based on researchers needs rather than directed by research administrators who have limited understanding of services libraries can deliver and the expertise of librarians hence not finding a need to curb the library staff shortage at an institutional level. Undefined Roles and Responsibilities: The unavailability of clearly defined roles/standards for research support librarians has caused them not to be cognizant of the new skills required for research support services. Consequently, this has impeded the rendering of research support services in university libraries as there is no set standard for the service provision but has been lumped as a part of information literacy skills training and faculty liaison. Research support librarians need/have to acquire new skills to function effectively in the newly redefined duties. In terms of collaborating with research, they can also draw on those existing core capabilities they already have by virtue of having been trained as a librarian. Afzal et al. (2012) further exposes the uncertainty of the required skills for research support service when one of his respondents in his study states that research support is broader and more comprehensive than a reference librarians’ responsibilities: it is a service which crosses library functional sections and divisions and requires a new service paradigm. Therefore, university libraries must redefine the roles and responsibilities of librarians to provide research support services to their users best and effectively. Lack of Research Support Policy: Policy plays a pivotal role in any organisation in ensuring that any activity set is a success. Policies are standing plans formulated to direct the future course in a university and further clarify and crystallise the institutions’ real values and intentions. Policy institutionalises cultural competence of universities as it facilitates delegation of authority, uniformity of action and coordination of effort for the common goals. Therefore, there is a need

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries    139 for policy to guide research support services within university libraries as its lack, has created an informal implementation from the different university libraries around the country. Its unavailability has further made the stereotyping of librarians as non-academics. The mind-set of users receiving library services has also been aligned to the stereotype that librarians are just people who sit and stamp books; therefore, they do not play any significant role within the research process. Unfortunately, current trends in librarianship and the continued development of ICTs have seen the advent of the collaborative, active and faculty centred librarian who has to be a part of the research process though they continue to face a big challenge of being termed, “non-academics.” Recruitment, Education and Retention of Librarians: Recruitment and retention of skilled personnel in academic libraries are paramount for the growth or development of research support services. Over the past two periods of 2007– 2009 and 2016 to date, libraries in Zimbabwe have been faced with the drastic exit of professionals due to the economic meltdown. The need to find and retain quality staff for academic libraries is a fundamental concern for the future development of the services they render. Even with the increase in brain drain, fewer native librarians are entering the profession as a whole due to the financial crisis faced by the country. Most universities in Zimbabwe are funded by the government, which is feeling the brunt of the economic meltdown. Furthermore, wholly native LIS individuals are crossing over to other professions (IT) and academic libraries with less skilled individuals. Ensuring recruitment of new librarians and re-educating existing librarians with skills on research support will go a long in helping maintain services in tandem with current trends in the profession. Support of Specialised Fields: Academic fields like Medicine, Engineering, Biotechnology, Linguistics, to name a few, require support from Librarians that have background qualifications in their field of expertise, to be able to support their users or partners adequately. Not to undermine the current crop of librarians in Zimbabwe, a subject-specific librarian must have at least a qualification or training in the specialised area they support if research support services within the institutions that provided these subject fields are to be a success.

Framework for Rendering Research Support Services in Higher Education Institutions in Zimbabwe Academic libraries are increasingly called upon to demonstrate their value to their home institutions. To bring harmony and help align Zimbabwe academic libraries with international standards in the provision and partnering for research support services. This chapter proposes a framework (Fig. 10.2) that can be used by academic libraries to adequately plan and implement research support services in Zimbabwean higher education institutions.

Research Support Policy The adoption of policies is very much essential for higher education institutions, especially within the Zimbabwean context. This is so because Zimbabwe

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Research Staff Development Research Education and Development

Research parternership

Research support services

Research Funding

Research ethics and integrity

Research Systems

Research Output and Impact Research Support Policy

Fig. 10.2.  Framework for Research Support Services in Institutions of Higher Learning. currently does not have a national policy for open access/open data/research data management, of which these are vital for the development and growth of academic libraries in line with current trends in the profession. Having a research support policy will not only benefit academic libraries but can be cascaded even to research institutes across the country. A research support policy stands as a guiding document for the researcher and librarian and can be used to define parameters for operation. Furthermore, a research support manual should be developed to allow continuity and the operationalisation of the service. In reference to Mutavayi and Hwalima (2019), policies need to be in place that will enable research growth for future development in order to achieve Zimbabwe’s vision of being a middle-class economy by 2030 through innovation and industrialisation, and this can be done by having a national policy for research support.

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries    141 Research Staff Development Training and development have a positive influence on library services and, as such, should be given priority (Ojowhoh, 2016). Staff development has always been deemed an ongoing process within libraries since there is a lot of on the job training due to changes that are rapidly evolving within the field. However, for research support services, not on the job training is sufficient, but there is a need for specialised training to be able to support fully and partner researchers throughout the research process. Research support librarians need to have qualifications in the fields they support to enable them to be conversant with the terminology used or specialist tools and applications (GIS, Medicine and Biotechnology).

Research Systems Research support services are not only limited to the researcher–librarian literature search relationship but also entails the librarian advising on the platforms and systems the researcher can use to publish, collaborate and organise their work. Examples of such platforms as Mendeley Reference Manager, Institutional repository, Research-gate and many others may be found on the institutional library website. Research Support Librarians need to be well informed and well versed and maybe a part of a community of practice, so they can exchange ideas and share advice and experience with regards to research systems used by other institutions world over.

Research Output and Impact Universities globally are ranked mainly in terms of their research output. In Zimbabwe, research output is increasingly evaluated and monitored at different levels and for different purposes by different stakeholders (Research Council of Zimbabwe, ZIMCHE, Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Science and Technology Development). The increasing importance of publications and citations as measures of research productivity is generating mounting interest not only to the researcher but also to academic librarians who have found themselves as experts in the management of individual and institutional research output and identification of research impact factors. Research impact is the demonstrable contribution that research makes to the economy, society, environment and culture beyond the contribution to academic research (Australian Research Council, 2017). The research impact factor involves the calculation of customary citation metrics drawn from Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Altmetrics reporting and assessment of open access publishing options publishing options and resolving issues with author ambiguity and setting up an ORCID account are the responsibilities of the research support services librarian. Therefore, research support services librarians in Zimbabwe now have to play an integral role in ensuring the research output is improved, and research impact is achieved through the dissemination of the research on appropriate platforms and identifying journals with high impact factor.

142    Thembelihle Hwalima and Nqobulwazi Khanye Research Partnership and Funding Academic libraries have long been discussing the need to remain relevant and demonstrate value to their institutions (Monroe-Gulick et al., 2013). This has found them with the critical role of identifying potential collaborators and industry partners through research support services. Research partnerships and funding are essential for the sustenance of institutional research in environments like Zimbabwe, where there is no clearly defined national research support fund. Therefore, research support librarians need to partner researchers in establishing research partnerships globally and source for funding opportunities to sustain institutional research.

Research Ethics and Integrity For every discipline in higher education institutions, ethics and integrity are core values that need to be adhered to for every day to day endeavour. In academic libraries, research ethics and research integrity form the cornerstone of the services they render to their patrons. Research support librarians in their liaison work are entrusted with the need to teach their researchers on the importance of research ethics and maintaining research integrity always. Therefore, it is essential for research support services librarians to ensure that research ethics and research integrity are not only a matter of compliance but they ideals that inspire reflection on how to carry out research and communicate insights to audiences with diverging views as pointed out by Carling (2019).

Research Education and Development Higher education institutions have found themselves with a profound obligation to nurture a culture of educating their learners and ensure they become citizens who contribute to national development through innovation and industrialisation. This they have worked towards its achievement through services rendered by academic libraries where the library has a particularly vital role in educating information literacy to researchers who require competency in searching for knowledge on academic platforms by themselves when they are doing their research. Research support librarians have found themselves with the responsibility to teach information literacy, which is a life-long learning skill, meant to nurture researchers with the ability to be a participative citizen thriving for social inclusion through the creation of new knowledge and personal empowerment for learning for life. The skills imparted by the research support librarians have proved to be a necessity in research development in Zimbabwe.

Further Research Directions The authors recommend further research direction with regards to having national policies for research, open access, open data which will leave the nation aligned to global trends. There is also need to research on how academic librarians globally

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries    143 and even in the region, Southern Africa are handling issues of Research Support and how they are aligning themselves with current global trends in the profession including the up-coming Fourth revolution so Zimbabwe is not left behind.

Conclusion The authors conclude that there is a need for Zimbabwe to develop a national research support services policy as this will assist higher education institutions in achieving the Education 5.0 mandate and vision 2030. The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science, and Technology Development (MHTESTD), Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE), Zimbabwe Research Council, Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium (ZULC) and Zimbabwe Library Association (ZIMLA) need to adopt the proposed research support services framework outlined within this chapter with adjustments that will suit the current prevailing economic environment within Zimbabwe. There is a need for intense training for all Zimbabwean research support librarians, which will allow them to be aligned to their specific faculty needs and even consider having qualifications in line with faculties they service. These trainings also need to be cascaded to researchers within faculty so they can have a full appreciation of the librarianresearcher relationship.

References Afzal, W., Corrall, S., & Kennan, M. A. (2012). Evolving roles: Research support services in the academic libraries of Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.K. ALISE’12, extending our reach: Expanding horizons, extending opportunity, 17–20 January 2012, Dallas, TX. (Unpublished). Retrieved from http://d-scholarship.pitt. edu/25187/. Accessed on December 4, 2019. Auckland, M. (2012). Re-skilling for research: an investigation into the role and skills of subject and liaison librarians required to effectively support the evolving information needs of researchers. Research libraries UK. Retrieved from http://www.rluk. ac.uk/files/RLUK%20Reskilling.pdf. Accessed on November 30, 2019. Australian Research Council. (2017). Engagement and impact consultation paper. Retrieved from http://www.arc.gov.au/sites/default/files/filedepot/Public/ARC/ consultation_papers/ARC_Engagement_and_Impact_Consultation_Paper.pdf. Accessed on November 30, 2019. Borgman, C. (2010). The conundrum of sharing research data. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(6), 1059–1078. Borrego, Á. (2018). Research support services in Spanish academic libraries: An analysis of their strategic plans and of an opinion survey administered to their directors. Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.3390/publications6040048. Accessed on November 30, 2019. Borrego, A., Ardanuy, J., & Urbano, C. (2018). Librarians as research partners: Their contribution to the scholarly endeavour beyond library and information science. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2018.07.012 Brandenburg, M. D., Cordell, S. A., Joque, J., MacEachern, M. P., & Song, J. (2017). Interdisciplinary collaboration: Librarian involvement in grant projects. Journal of College & Research Libraries, 78(3), 272.

144    Thembelihle Hwalima and Nqobulwazi Khanye Brown, S., Alvey, E., Danilova, E., Morgan, H., & Thomas, A. (2018). Evolution of Research Support Services at an Academic Library: Specialist Knowledge Linked by Core Infrastructure. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 1–12. http://doi.org/ 10.1080/13614533.2018.1473259 Brown, R. A., Wolski, M., & Richardson, J. (2015). Developing new skills for research support librarians. The Australian Library Journal, 64(3), 224–234. http://doi.org/ 10.1080/00049670.2015.1041215 Canadian Association of Research Libraries. (2010). Core competencies for 21st Century CARL librarians. Retrieved from https://www.carl-abrc.ca/doc/core_comp_profilee.pdf. Accessed on November 30, 2019. Carling, J. (2019). Research ethics and research integrity, MIGNEX Handbook Chapter 4 (v1). Oslo: Peace Research Institute Oslo. Retrieved from www.mignex.org/d013 Chanetsa, B., & Ngulube, P. (2016). The changing roles, responsibilities and skills of subject and learning support librarians in the Southern African Customs Union region. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 48(2), 151–176. https://doi. org/10.1177/0961000614551451 Chen, J., Huang, Q., Lan, X., Dong, J., & Cheng, C. (2017). Scholarly learning commons. In R. Lian, Q. Zhu, & Y. Ye (Eds.), Academic library development and administration in China (pp. 90–107). IGI Global. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.zw/books? id=yxoRDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA128&dq=Academic+library+development+and+ administration+in+China&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjljcXFzIbrAhWOgVw KHc2dAMgQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg#v=onepage&q=Academic%20library%20 development%20and%20administration%20in%20China&f=false Accessed on November 20, 2019. Chikonzo, A. C., Bothma, T. J., Kusekwa, L., & Mushowani, A. (2014). An assessment of the changing needs of information professionals in Zimbabwe. African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science, 24(1), 107–118. Delaney, G., & Bates, J. (2015). Envisioning the academic library: A reflection on roles, relevancy and relationships. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 21(1), 30–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2014.911194 Hart, G., & Kleinveldt, L. (2011). The role of an academic library in research: Researchers’ perspectives at a South African University of Technology, 77(1), 37–50. Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies. (2010). Postgraduate online research training. University of London Computer Centre. Retrieved from http://port.modernlanguages. sas.ac.uk/researcher. Accessed on November 30, 2019. Klobas, J. E. (1999). Networked information resources: Electronics opportunities for users and libraries. OCLC Systems, 15(2), 10–11. Monroe-Gulick, A., O’Brien, M., & White, G. (2013). Librarians as Partners: Moving from research supporters to research partners. Retrieved from https://kuscholarworks. ku.edu/handle/1808/11070. Accessed on November 12, 2019. Mutavayi, S., & Hwalima, T. (2019). Feasibility of a national policy on research data management: A case of Zimbabwe, COREVIP/AAU, conference-of-rectors-vicechancellors-and- presidents-of- african-universities-corevip-2019 (pp. 1–13). Ghana: AAU. Ocholla, L., Mutsvunguma, G., & Hadebe, Z. (2016). The impact of new information services on teaching, learning and research at the University of Zululand Library. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 82(2), 11–19. https://doi. org/10.7553/82-2-1620 Ojowhoh, R. (2016). Staff development and library services in academic libraries in Bayelsa and Delta States. Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 7(1), 129–137. Onyancha, O. (2018). Navigating the rising metrics tide in the 21st century: Which way for academic librarians in support of researchers in sub-Saharan Africa? South African

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries    145 Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 84(2). https://doi.org/10.7553/84-21762 Parker, R. (2012). What the library did next: Strengthening our visibility in research support, empowering e-futures. In VALA 2012 16th biennial conference, 6–9 February, Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved from http://www.vala.org.au/vala2012-proceedings. Accessed on November 18, 2019. Pasipamire, N. (2015). Research support by subject librarians in selected state university libraries in Zimbabwe: Accommodating new trends. Retrieved from http://ir.nust. ac.zw/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/622/Research%20support%20by%20 subject%20librarians%20in%20selected%20state%20university%20libraries%20 in%20Zimba bwe.%2 0Accommodating%20new%20trends.pdf ?sequence=1. Accessed on November 30, 2019. Pasipamire, N., & Hoskins, R. (2019). Conceptualisation and practice of research support: A proposed model for effective research support in Zimbabwean University Libraries. South African Journal of Library and Information Science, 85(01), 12–23. https://doi.org/10.7553/85-1-1819 Raju, R., Adam, A., Johnson, G., & Miller, C. (2015). The quest for deeper meaning of research support. Cape Town: University of Cape Town Libraries. http://dx.doi. org/10.15641/0-7992-2526-6 Raju, R., & Schoombee, L. (2013). Research support through the lens of transformation in academic libraries with reference to the case of Stellenbosch University Libraries. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 79(2), 27–38. https://doi. org/10.7553/79-2-155. Accessed on November 30, 2019. Sanjeeva, M. (2018). Research support services in the changing information landscape (March). University of Kent. Services to Support Your Research. Retrieved from https://www.kent.ac.uk/osc/documents/Services to support your research booklet (pdf). Accessed on November 28, 2019. Sidorko, P. E., & Yand, T. T. (2009). Knowledge exchange and community engagement: An Academic library perspective. Library Management, 32(6), 385–397. University of Warwick. (2015). Research support in academic libraries. Retrieved from www.warwick.ac.uk. Accessed on November 30, 2019.

Additional Reading Lists Hollister, C. V., & Coe, J. (2003). Current trends vs. traditional models. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 10(2), 49–63. Holmberg, K. (2016). Altmetrics for information professionals: Past, present and future. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Klobas, J. E. (1999). Networked information resources: Electronics opportunities for users and libraries. OCLC Systems, 15(2), 10–11. Ocholla, D. N., Ocholla, L., & Onyancha, O. B. (2013). Insight into research publication output of academic librarians in Southern African public universities from 2002 to 2011. African Journal of Libraries, Archives & Information Science, 23(1), 5–22. Roemer, R. C., & Borchardt, R. (2015a). Meaningful metrics: A 21st-century librarian’s guide to bibliometric, Altmetrics, and research impact. Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries. Roemer, R. C., & Borchardt, R. (2015b). Altmetrics and the role of librarians. Library Technology Report, 51(5), 31–37.

146    Thembelihle Hwalima and Nqobulwazi Khanye

Key Terms and Definition Higher Education Institutions: These are institutions of higher learning most often termed Universities and are meant to equip learners with advanced education and establish a link between the theory they learn and what is happening within the industry. Research Support: Research support is the partnership that exists between the researcher and the research support librarian throughout the research process. Academic Libraries: These are libraries located in higher education institutions (Universities) whose main purpose is to support learners during the course of their studies and keep abreast with trends in their respective professions with advances in IT and software for research. Research Output: This is work or intellectual property of a researcher that is the final end product of their research work. Research Impact: This is the calculation of the weight or competitiveness of a research work within a particular journal it has been published with. Research Ethics: These are the guiding principles which are standard and have to be aligned to. Research Integrity: This is the value or worth of a research work. Research Life Cycle: This is the process or continuum that a research follows from its inception to its final completion, publication so as to be viewed by other researchers.

Section IV

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services

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Chapter 11

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals Josiline Phiri Chigwada

Introduction Seaborne (1997) points out that quality assurance is mainly carried out to prevent failure and is rooted on the emphasis of doing it right the first time. This shows that it is a proactive process which is different from quality control. WilsonStrydom (2010) states that quality control is regarded as the process of checking the product after the works are done. The process is done to see if the standards were met and products that do not meet those standards are discarded. Quality assurance, however, deals with problem anticipation which might hinder reaching specific standards and how to avoid them. Two limitations of quality control as compared to quality assurance were pointed out by Wilson-Strydom (2010). It has been stated that quality control does not have a strategy of avoiding errors leading to wasted efforts and materials as well as re-work costs. Quality control is also mainly the responsibility of a few supervisors instead of all those who are doing the work. In libraries and information centres, quality assurance involves all the processes, procedures, and guidelines that ensure that all the activities are done as planned. In some institutions, assessment of library products and services has been neglected but this is one of the important aspects of quality assurance that should be taken note of. It is against this background that a study on quality assurance in library and information services in Zimbabwe to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was done. The following were the research objectives for the study:

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 149–164 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi: 10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201020

150    Josiline Phiri Chigwada 1. Examine quality assurance issues in library and information services. 2. Discuss the impact of quality assurance in library and information services in achieving the SDGs. 3. Document the standards that should be adhered to by library and information science (LIS) professionals in Zimbabwe.

Problem Statement Most libraries are interested in quality control of library and information products and services. However, there is a move towards quality assurance and there is a major difference between quality control and quality assurance as stated in the introduction. A lot of effort is wasted especially when the final product does not meet the required standards and is discarded. If it is cataloguing, for example, someone would have done the whole process and another staff member would then be responsible for checking whether the process has been done properly. If it is not correct, the whole process would be repeated. Therefore, there is need to work towards quality assurance in the provision of library and information services.

Theoretical Framework The Robinson’s 1994 framework for quality assurance was adopted for this study. The basic elements of the framework are quality policy and plan, identification of critical function, specification of standards, involvement of users, documentation, training and staff development, monitoring and cost. On quality policy and plan, the framework presumes that all libraries and information centres should develop a policy on quality. All level of staff should have opportunity to shape its development and goals agreed upon, and the policy needs to be translated into a practical plan. There is need to identify critical functions targeting goals and analyse the procedures for the implementation of the critical functions. The standards should be specified, communicated and stored in written form for easy reference. Users should be involved through the concept of ‘leave no one behind’ and as a result, any quality assurance approach must ensure that all the stakeholders are involved in setting appropriate standards and formulating procedures. There is need for documentation whereby all the procedures for achieving standards must be clearly documented and should be reliable, user-friendly, accessible, and up-to-date and reviewed when necessary. Training and staff development is another component of the framework where adequate provision should be made for the training and development of staff towards standards achievement. It was also required that proper mechanism should be put in place to assess training needs of staff on a regular basis and resources allocated to meet them. Systematic and routine monitoring is also important for critical function and to ascertain the extent to which standards are being met and procedures followed. Cost is a requirement in the Robinson’s quality assurance framework that there should be a strategy for monitoring the cost of implementing and maintaining quality assurance activities. This covers both human and financial cost and a review process for costs and benefits.

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services    151

What is Quality Assurance in Libraries? Quality assurance, as defined by Borahan and Ziarat (2002) is all planned and systemic actions deemed as necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will fulfil specified requirements for quality. Agunbiade (2006) considers quality assurance as a way of measuring, improving and maintaining the quality of any human activity that has value. Adebayo (2009) states that assuring quality in libraries mean that there must be a striking balance between when should be or what ought to be and what is on the ground in the libraries. It is important that a standard be used as a yardstick for development and that minimum standard prescribed for libraries should be closely followed. Organisations involved in quality assurance try to take responsible actions in their production processes and professional practices. Therefore, quality assurance is concerned with control of quality, the people who control quality, and continuous change and innovation. Ekhaguere (2006) pointed out that quality assurance is in the long run a costcutting mechanism although good quality is expensive, the cost of poor quality outcome is even higher; human beings generally act rationally; they would normally prefer good quality to poor quality; good quality products show competence on the part of the producer and enhances its prestige, nationally and internationally; and poor quality education give rise to poor economic conditions. Moreover, the cost of retraining poor quality graduates is enormous. Quality assurance process involves setting up standards and ensuring that the standards established are adhered to and reviewed periodically. This process entails identification of crucial elements that require evaluation; establishment of the procedure for assessing quality parameters; quality standards; regular quality assessment; and periodic review of set standards. Agunbiade (2006) views quality assurance in the library as all plans and procedures geared towards ensuring that the right types of library materials, books, journals, equipment furniture, etc. that are relevant to the types of programmes being run in each of the given institutions are procured and are available to the users of the given institution libraries. For example, academic libraries provide information sources and services that support the programmes of their institutions. The collection of these academic libraries should mirror what is being offered in such institutions. Odusanya and Osinulu (2004) state that academic libraries are expressly charged with the responsibility of meeting the information needs of scholars in institutions of higher learning and students in the pursuit of their academic endeavours. Implementing quality insurance requires a meeting point between the standards for academic libraries and what is available. Njoku (2006) asserts that a focussed university or school management will ensure that the library is a learning centre and the academic hub of the institution stocked with current books and journals for learning and research. This shows that quality assurance issues in an academic library or any type of library is not the business of the librarians alone but is a team effort starting from the support that is rendered by management to ensure that the library is well stocked with current and relevant materials.

152    Josiline Phiri Chigwada Implementation of quality assurance in library and information services ensures efficient and effective services. This level of performance can be attained through clearly defined aims and objectives, functions, and services to be provided to both the parent organisation and the clientele; established functional units with clearly spelt out responsibilities backed with adequate delegated authority; employment and training of personnel charged with the responsibility of running the libraries; established minimum level of performance, and institution to ensure compliance with the agreed minimum standards; recognition and record of excellent performance; continuous appraisal and reappraisal of functions and services; judicious spending of available funds and accountability; engendering the confidence of faculty personnel in their collection building and management; and sustenance of the parent organisation and clients’ confidence through proactive functions and services. This was stressed in the Robinson framework which pointed out the importance of a quality policy and plan to drive the quality assurance agenda.

Evaluating the Quality of Library and Information Services A set of acceptable standards serve as guides in evaluating the quality of library and information services. The factors considered in evaluation are collections, human resources, library buildings, equipment and facilities, funding and automation.

Collection Library collections are the bedrock of library and information services since patrons come to the library with information needs which must be answered. Collections represent the strength of services and if quality assurance is implemented, the collections should be large, comprehensive, current, and of good quality. It should support the curricula of the parent institutions and meet the needs of their clientele. The collections should conform to the standards set out by regulating bodies locally and internationally. According to ALA (2006), the collection is judged according to usability, comprehensiveness, diversity and size. Electronic resources should be a diverse part of the library collection, and meet the curricular needs of their institutions. Mechanisms to ensure steady subscriptions and regular updates must be instituted as a quality assurance measure. The collection should be accessible by all the students including those who would be off campus or those with special needs such as blindness. The collection should also be available for use regardless of time and physical location and it should meet the needs of diverse users who include the born before technology, the millennium generation, generation X, Y and Z. This shows that the collection should be available in various formats such as print, electronic and audio-visual.

Staffing Staffing is key in quality assurance and the relevance of personnel to the achievement of goals and objectives in any type of the library cannot be over emphasised.

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services    153 Staff is the activators of functions and services and is responsible for the day to day running of libraries and information centres. Amusa and Odunewu (2006) describe how library staff uses their expertise in evaluating and anticipating users’ needs through selection and acquisition of relevant information sources; delivering information to the users through document delivery services, current awareness services; provision of reading faculties; and collaboration with faculties to develop new services. Vyas and Singh (2003) describe library staff as the ultimate knowledge workers who recognise what they have to offer and then ensure that management recognises it. They must be strategic partners who work together with administrators, teachers and lectures to ensure that learners are able to fully understand their subject areas. Quality services need quality staff who should possess the following skills according to Birdsall (2001): strong technical and technological pace that include knowledge of the appropriate selection and application of technology to solve information problems, database design, and the principle of organisation of information; understanding of the characteristics of information transfer, including users’ information seeking behaviour, and information generation activities within the various disciplines; skills in identifying and analysing the information needs of various constituencies served and how the information need would be met through the complex information agencies; understanding of the generation, production and distribution of information and of the changing paradigm as shift occur from print-based information production to other modes of production and distribution, communication theory and its application to information repackaging . All staff should possess knowledge and skills to access information resources, adequate subject background and excellent communication skills. This means that staff should have opportunities for continuing education to meet the changing needs of clients due to the advances in information and communication technology (ICT). Continuous professional development should be offered to library staff in all types of libraries to enhance their skills and knowledge in service delivery.

Library Facilities Library buildings provide reading space, collections, equipment, offices and workrooms. Library buildings are significant to the success of the library organisation and the location, space, expandability, illumination and aesthetic qualities are important factors in quality assurance. A library building must be centrally located to provide easy access to all types of users including the users who are physically challenged. Rumps should be available at entrances to ensure that those on wheelchair can easily enter the building and elevators should be functional if the library has more than one floor. The space should be adequate for collections, seating and offices. The design must consider aesthetics, and should be flexible in order to accommodate an extension of the building in the near or distant future. The way the furniture is arranged should be flexible to allow for changes that are taking place in the library and information services such as the advent of maker space, learning commons, discussion areas, and areas for

154    Josiline Phiri Chigwada quite study. This means that furniture should be moveable and not fixed. The building must be well-lit and ventilated. According to ALA (2006), the building should be safe and environmentally controlled, and the design and construction should conform to the safety standards and authority’s requirements. Rajaram (2003) pointed out that adequacy or inadequacy of infrastructural facilities in the library is directly related to user’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction and libraries should have enough seating facilities, shelving, display cabinets, adequate online public access catalogue units and bibliographic processing tools. The equipment should be functional and efficiently maintained as well as conform to national and international standards.

Funding Funding is very crucial in assuring quality since money should be availed on a regular basis for functions, services and overheads. Surdarshan (1993) and Amusa and Odunewu (2006) state that libraries should be provided with stable and adequate funding to ensure that quality assurance is achieved. Fabunmi (2004) points out that there is need to maximise the use of funds through a well-planned system of library cooperation since funding has been an issue in libraries due to the imbalance between the costs of services to be provided and the resources available to provide the services. This has led to the formation of various consortiums to share the acquisition of library materials and in most cases this had been successful on the acquisition of e-resources. However, there is need to assure quality also when such cooperative avenues are employed since some big institutions might ride upon smaller institutions in terms of payments. Some institutions allocate a certain percentage of the annual budget to the library. This is more prevalent in academic libraries although the money might not be enough. This shows that a consistent budget should be availed to the library to ensure that quality services and products are enjoyed by the users. Libraries have to update their collection and upgrade systems such as the library management system. This calls for some funds to be made available to meet such.

Automation The use of ICTs has greatly affected the way library and information services are handled. These include information acquisition, storage, handling and dissemination and all the routine activities involved in collection development, readers services, serials management and technical services. IT tools and applications brought a number of benefits to libraries including provision of fast, effective and efficient services; possibility of new services and functions; ease of generation of vital statistical records; cost reduction; possibility of networking and greater cooperation among libraries; and improved services through access to resources of other libraries. Aina (2003) urged librarians to effectively plan for library automation to ensure that the required equipment, staff and user training is done. Reddy (2003) adds that careful planning is important in automating library services, and several components need to be taken into consideration before a library

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services    155 gets into automated activities. Quality assurance means that automation project objectives must be clearly stated and properly planned to guarantee success and sustainability. Factors such as electronic resource acquisition, equipment and infrastructure, funding and staffing are crucial factors in measuring standards in automated libraries. The funds should be available to upgrade the library management systems and other automated services to ensure that there is no interruption of services due to hardware and software obsolescence. Trainings should be done for both library staff and users for them to be able to use the automated services.

Impact of Quality Assurance in LIS in Meeting The SDGs Existence of appropriate standards and guidelines for libraries could make great contributions to managers and librarians to, firstly, get an insight into the status quo of their library and, secondly, take steps to improve their library’s present conditions (Saberi & Pazooki, 2015). There is no access to information without functional and efficient libraries (IFLA, 2019). Therefore libraries are regarded as indispensable partners for development and they have a bigger role to play in achieving the SDGs. On the benefit side, a comprehensive monitoring of standards and procedures would increase communication between the unit and its clients as well as prompt regular reviews of practice and reassessment of standards. On the cost side, implementation of a quality assurance system would require a significant reorganisation of the staff’s roles and responsibilities in order to incorporate monitoring tasks. Application and maintenance of quality assurance in academic libraries will improve the quality of teaching, learning and research in tertiary institutions and in turn raise the standard of education in these institutions. Quality assurance ensures that standards are built into the functions and services of libraries. Application of the principles of quality assurance will ensure best practices in libraries leading to effective information delivery systems. Information technology ensures that clients’ information needs are adequately provided for and the availability of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in libraries would ensure that standards would be used in assuring quality. In sum, sustainability of quality assurance will provide parameters for measuring the performance of libraries.

Standards in LIS Services The governing boards in LIS services are institutional, national and international. These include the International Standards Organisation (ISO), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium (ZULC), Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) as well as SOPs within various institutions.

International Standards Organisation (ISO) In the field of library and information services, the ISO/TC 46 Technical Committee, which is known as Information and Documentation, is responsible for

156    Josiline Phiri Chigwada codification of international standards in this regard (Poll, 2009). Work scope of this Committee includes: Standardisation of practices relating to libraries, documentation and information centres, publishing, archives, records management, museum documentation, indexing and abstracting services and information science. ISO 2146:2010 helps to measure performance of digital libraries and establishes the rules for collection management systems and digital repositories, discovery services such as catalogues and indexes, delivery services such as persistent identifier management, access management and inter-lending services, and reference services such as reference management systems and virtual reference services. Library and information centres should adhere to these standards to ensure that the products and services that are provided are of high quality.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) The IFLA is a leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. One of the objectives assumed by IFLA as an independent, international, nongovernmental and non-profit organisation is promotion of high-level standards for presentation of library and information services. Over the past 50 years, IFLA has codified a wide range of standards at all fields of library and information services. IFLA standards are internationally reviewed, published and regularly updated documents. Each IFLA standard reflects current consensus on rules, principles, guidelines, best practice or models for a particular activity or service. IFLA standards in their diversity of styles and subject matter provide optimum benefit for the international library community. Standards are established by IFLA professional units who work in collaboration and by consensus. Standards’ activities are now an integral part of IFLA’s strategic direction and one of IFLA’s current goals is to focus on ‘developing, maintaining and adhering to the highest standards that support high quality practices’ (IFLAa, 2019). There is a dedicated webpage on the IFLA website which documents the various standards and guidelines that should be used by library and information centres. The current guidelines are accessible at https://www.ifla.org/ node/8750.

Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium (ZULC) The ZULC has minimum standards that are expected to be followed in setting up and running an academic library. That document would be available to any librarian who would be working in an academic library and is also used to assess the quality of information products and services that are offered by an academic library including library buildings. The document deals with staffing and continuous professional development, management/administration/planning, information services, information literacy (IL), collection development, and cataloguing and classification. It was formulated to guide the establishment and development of an academic library in Zimbabwe and to assist ZIMCHE in the accreditation

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services    157 process of universities since libraries play a critical role. In developing the standards, the American Library Association Standards for Academic and Research Libraries 2003 were used as a benchmark. Staffing and continuous professional development: The document states that ‘libraries shall employ adequate numbers of suitably qualified personnel to ensure excellence in service delivery in an environment of continuous change’ (ZULC, 2010, p. 1). The minimum qualifications for recruiting library staff are stated in the document and these are: ⦁⦁ The minimum qualification of a Library Director is a graduate degree in LIS

plus a minimum of eight years’ experience in an academic or research library at the level of Sub-Librarian and above. ⦁⦁ Entry level qualification for library support staff is at least a National Certificate in LIS. ⦁⦁ Entry level for professional staff is a first degree in LIS or a degree in any other area plus a postgraduate qualification in LIS.

It is pointed out that the library staff should be sufficient to meet the diverse teaching and research needs of the University’s staff and students through an indicative ratio of one professional librarian for every 400 students and a half support staff for every professional librarian. In line with continuous professional development, it was stated that there shall be skills identification commensurate with developments in the field of LIS. The document added that library staff shall attend appropriate continuous professional development forums to address skills gaps identified. This can be accomplished through staff audits, staff development policies, and attendance at workshops, seminars, conferences and various trainings. This feeds well into the impact of industry 4.0 where new skills are required to move along with the changes brought about by the advent of information communication technologies. Management/Administration/Planning: It has been pointed out that ‘libraries shall have well documented plans and policies and participate in university wide decision making. These will contribute to effective leadership, management and administration of the libraries’ (ZULC, 2010, p. 2). A strategic plan is regarded as a mandatory document in the library to drive the realisation of the vision, mission, goals and objectives which would be derived from the institution’s strategic objectives. A library should have a three to five year strategic plan and library personnel shall participate in critical decision making committees such as Senate, Academic boards, Budget, Planning Committee, and Salaries and Conditions of Service. The following were also noted in the document: ⦁⦁ In terms of library budget allocation, at least 10% of the institutional opera-

tions budget should be allocated to the library and there should be a library budget document as well as provision for new programmes in the budget. ⦁⦁ There should be a library ICT Policy to ensure that there is adequate ICT infrastructure to support library services.

158    Josiline Phiri Chigwada ⦁⦁ A university organogram should be available to indicate the reporting structure

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

⦁⦁ ⦁⦁

where the Library Director should report to the Vice Chancellor or Pro Vice Chancellor of the institution. There should be a Library Committee to guide the library in its operations and the members should be known. These include faculty representatives and some senior library members. There should be continuous monitoring and evaluation of library services through periodic reports to the library committee, library surveys, and annual reports. Adequate signage which is visible should be placed in appropriate places in all library facilities and resources. Job descriptions stating the responsibilities of all library staff should be defined in writing.

This shows that quality assurance is key and can be achieved when there are laid down policies and procedures that determine internal library governance and operations. The availability of procedures manuals and policies is emphasised in the ZULC standards. The library should have well-planned secure and adequate physical space for its staff and patrons by providing sufficient seats and varied seating. There should be enough space to house the collection and the working area for library staff should be adequate and set out in a way that promotes efficient operations. The issue of security is also emphasised and this can be in the form of a CCTV and a library security system such as M3. The library should communicate with its clientele to highlight its value in the university and in institutional effectiveness through newsletters, promotional events, web pages and prospectus. The library should articulate how it contributes to student learning, collects evidence, documents successes, shares results and makes improvement through seminars and workshops. Collection Development: The library collection should support the mission of the university, staff, students and researchers, and the collection must be varied, authoritative, classical and recent. The information resources must be available in various formats such as print, electronic, visuals, video, audio and audio-visuals. There should be a collection development policy which covers the following: ⦁⦁ The purchasing process to print and e-books while balancing between content

ownership and content access.

⦁⦁ Explore various modes of subscriptions. ⦁⦁ Solicit for relevant donations locally and internationally. The donations must

be assessed and evaluated.

⦁⦁ Participate and engage in exchange programmes with local and international

libraries.

⦁⦁ Engage in inter-library lending to bridge the information gaps in the

collection.

⦁⦁ Explore and utilise open access models to develop the collection. ⦁⦁ Harness and archive institutional memory of scientific and scholarly knowledge.

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services    159 ⦁⦁ Periodically weed its collection for it to remain relevant to the curriculum and

research needs of the institution.

⦁⦁ Put in place stock-control and security measures. Stock take exercise should be

done at least once every two years.

⦁⦁ Put in place proper systems for caring, conserving and preserving the library

collection.

⦁⦁ Adoption of appropriate technologies to support its collection development

efforts.

These guidelines show that libraries should develop and maintain a collection that meets the needs of its users. The use of technologies that were brought about by the industry 4.0 era should also be used properly in collection development and maintenance. Cataloguing and Classification: It has been pointed out that the library collection should be organised to allow easy retrieval of information resources. There are minimum standards that should be followed for organising and accessing library materials. The library should use a standard cataloguing manual such as the Anglo American Cataloguing Rules second edition (AACR2) to catalogue library materials. Each type of library material such as electronic resources, cartographic materials, rare books, interactive multimedia, newspapers, non-book materials, internet resources and multimedia collections should have some agreed guidelines that are used when cataloguing them. Standards subject headings such as Library of Congress Subject Headings or Sears List of Subject Headings should be used when classifying library materials. The library should also use the latest standard classification scheme such as the Library of Congress or Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme to classify library materials. Information Services: A number of methods are used to provide information services to the library patrons to ensure that the information resources are accessible. New technologies that are constantly emerging are used to provide these services. The following are the quality assurance measures: ⦁⦁ Opening hours should be at least 12 hours per day when the university is in

session.

⦁⦁ There should be an information use policy to guide the ethical use of

information.

⦁⦁ The library should have a website which is maintained and updated to show-

case library products and services.

⦁⦁ There should be a library management system and the information resources

should be organised for effective discovery, access and circulation.

⦁⦁ There should be an inter-library lending policy to facilitate access to materials

not owned by the library.

⦁⦁ Library seats should be 20% to 25% of full-time students. ⦁⦁ The library should provide photocopying and printing facilities. ⦁⦁ Library materials should be safeguarded against theft, vandalism, and fire

using security guards, CCTV cameras, 3M electronic security systems and the availability of fire extinguishers and disaster management policy.

160    Josiline Phiri Chigwada Adhering to these minimum standards would ensure that the library would be offering a good service to its community. Library patrons would be able to access the resources provided for them to answer their information needs. Information literacy/E-learning: The industry 4.0 era is characterised by information explosion, information overload and rapid technological advancements. Therefore, libraries are supposed to assist patrons to get the information in the electronic environment. The librarians had been responsible for training patrons on best practices of accessing, using and evaluating information resources. Librarians should develop an IL curriculum, design the module and deliver the content to the learners. There is need to lobby for senior management buy in and institutional adoption of the IL module. As a result, IL should be formally recognised as a core component of the university curriculum. It is the responsibility of the library to produce information literate faculty and students who are critical thinkers and independent learners who are able to use information and information communication technologies legally and ethically. The IL module should be accessible to all the students using acceptable pedagogical standards that govern the delivery of instruction in institutions of higher learning. Librarians should therefore develop their skills to build their capacity of offering IL lectures. They should also adopt the use of e-learning platforms and social media tools for communication as well as upholding and championing the highest standards of academic integrity through IL workshops, anti-plagiarism initiatives and intellectual property rights campaigns.

Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) The ZIMCHE is responsible for assessing services in institutions of higher learning and standard six stipulates what is expected of an academic library. The library is regarded as the most important learning resource in a university and as a result there should be quality assurance to ensure that efficient and effective services are rendered to the library patrons. The six aspects that are considered are space, texts and search facilities, safety, staff, accessibility and security. The space and furniture should be enough to accommodate the maximum number of students who are likely to visit the library at any one time. The reading area should accommodate 3% full-time student with each reader station not less than 1.90 square metres. The stake area, periodicals and reference area should be at least 10.75 square metres in extent per 1,000 volumes. The library staff and services area should constitute between 18% and 25% of the combined stack and reader floor area. The texts and electronic search facilities should be sufficient to cover to needs of existing programmes and the number of library patrons. There should be at least 30 volumes per full-time student for the first 5,000 full-time students. The library should be well ventilated and have fire hoses and extinguishers. The library should have adequate natural lighting and ventilation. Library staff should be capable to assist users and to review and reinforce library resources. The library should be open for long periods and normally accessible to all users including those who have special needs. The library should have a usable security system to ensure the safety of acquired resources. When

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services    161 institutions are being accredited, a form constituting these elements is used to grade the library and information services of an institution. This means that libraries should adhere to these quality assurance issues to be successful during the accreditation process.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) In different libraries, there are institutional documents that are crafted to provide guidance in the day to day running of the library. These include procedures manuals, rules and regulations, service charters among others which point out the SOPs of how the activities are carried out. These include activities such as cataloguing and classification, circulation, reference, acquisitions, among others. These also assist when there are new staff members during the induction process. All these standards should be followed to ensure that the products and services in libraries are up to standard.

Solutions and Recommendations It has been noted that an organisation with a quality assurance system: ⦁⦁ Will have a policy on quality with which all staff are familiar and will have

translated this policy into a practical plan.

⦁⦁ Specifies and defines reasonable, achievable, and measurable standards for key

activities and procedures and communicates them to everyone concerned.

⦁⦁ Identifies and analyses the key functions and procedures required to achieve

the standards it has set and has established the clients of the service as the starting point in designing at least some of these functions and procedures. ⦁⦁ Documents its procedures for delivery of service. The documentation will be clear and explicit in its description of procedures, it will represent practice, and the information will be presented in a readable and user-friendly format. ⦁⦁ Set up systematic monitoring mechanisms to check whether standards are being met and procedures followed. The data collected via the monitoring mechanisms are disseminated to everyone concerned and are used to improve performance, to review practice, or to reassess current standards. ⦁⦁ Involves the staff and the clients in setting and monitoring standards for service delivery. Staff are also involved as ‘internal clients’ in setting and monitoring standards for their work environment

It is recommended that there should be a quality assurance framework to guide libraries and library schools in Zimbabwe which should be followed and adhered to. There should be measures to ensure that libraries comply with the QA standards and guidelines. The Zimbabwe Library Association can also work towards the accreditation of library schools and LIS professionals. This means that there is need to develop criteria and procedures that are used for the accreditation of LIS schools and professionals as a way of assuring quality in terms of the LIS

162    Josiline Phiri Chigwada education in the country and those who work in libraries. It would improve the quality of LIS graduates and the library staff who would be employed in these libraries. The association can also be actively involved in ensuring that institutions with libraries are adhering to the quality assurance standards in Zimbabwe to safeguard the LIS profession and improve library and information products and services. Therefore, librarians should build their capacity to ensure that they are able to deliver quality products and services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Future Research Directions Since the subject of quality assurance is fairly new in library and information services, there is need to research on how libraries are assuring quality of their services and products. An actual study of various types of libraries can be done to look at how they are adhering to the quality assurance procedures and guidelines that govern the establishment and management of library products and services.

Conclusion The study shows there is a move from quality control to quality assurance and library and information centres should ensure that their services and products are quality assured in order to meet the needs of library users in an efficient and effective manner. In order to achieve the SDGs, quality assurance issues should be seriously taken into consideration in libraries. All types of libraries should be concerned with quality assurance and should have plans crafted by all levels of staff within the library to ensure that everyone is represented. In order for library and information centres in Zimbabwe to implement the quality assurance procedures and processes, they should be able to adhere to the standards that are already available as crafted and enacted by various organisations such as the ZULC standards, ZIMCHE Standards, IFLA standards and guidelines. These guidelines include collection building, funding, library facilities and building, library automation and staffing. Libraries should also have their own standards operating procedures that they use in measuring their effectiveness in service provision. The national library association should also be actively involved in the accreditation of library schools and library professionals to ensure that quality graduates are channelled into the system.

References Adebayo, E. L. (2009). Quality assurance and the implication for the management of university libraries in Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 273. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/273

Quality Assurance of Library and Information Services    163 Agunbiade, S. O. (2006). Quality assurance and the role of education trust fund (ETF) Intervention in Nigerian University Library System. A paper presented at the National Workshop on Quality Assurance in the Management of the Nigerian University Library System, NUC, Abuja, 2–6 May (p. 4). Aina, L. O. (2003). Library and information science text for Africa. Ibadan: Sam Adex. ALA. (2006). Guidelines for university library services to undergraduate students. Chicago, IL: ALA. Amusa, O. I., & Odunewu, A. (2006). Personnel and infrastructural resources assessment in a Nigerian Academic Library. Ibadan: Sam Adex. Birdsall, D. G. (2001). Recruiting academic librarians: How to find and hire the best candidates. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 17, 276–283. Borahan, N. G., & Ziarat, R. (2002). Developing quality criteria for application in the higher education section in Turkey. Total Quality Management, 13(7), 913–926. Ekhaguere, G. O. S. (2006). Strengthening the internal quality assurance mechanisms in Nigerian universities. A paper presented at the Workshop on Capacity Building for Knowledge-driven Growth for Nigerian Universities, held at OOU, Ago-Iwoye, 24th July. Fabunmi, B. A. (2004). Planning the university library for effective customer services in Nigeria. In E. C. Madu (Ed.), Technology for information management and service (pp. 121–145). Ibadan: Evi-Coleman. IFLA. (2019a). Supporting sustainable development globally: Libraries at the UN Regional Forums. Retrieved from www.ifla.org IFLAa. (2019). IFLA standards: In support of quality library and information services worldwide. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/standards Njoku, P. (2006). Quality assurance and the management of the Nigerian university system. A paper presented at the National Workshop on Quality Assurance in the Management of the Nigerian University Library System, NUC Abuja on 2nd–5th May. Odusanya, O. K., & Osinulu, L. F. (2004). The impact of ETF funding on Nigerian academic libraries: A case study approach. African Journal of Library and Information Science, 14(2), 185–192. Poll, R. (2009). Developments in ISO standards. IFLA Newsletter, July. Rajaram, S. (2003). Factors affecting human relations in libraries. Library Herald, 41(1), 7–9. Reddy, E. R. (2003). Components of library automation. In D. Isaac et al. (Eds.), Academic libraries: Role in the national development (pp. 217–222). Chennai: TR Publication. Saberi, M., & Pazooki, F. (2015). A comparison of the conditions of Iran Public Libraries with the IFLA Standards. Paper presented at IFLA WLIC 2015 – Cape Town, South Africa in Session 166 – Standards Committee. Seaborne, K. (1997). Quality assurance in the provision of library services in British Columbia. In A. Tait (Ed.), Quality assurance in higher education: Selected case studies. Vancouver: The Commonwealth of Learning. Surdarshan, R. S. (1993). University library India: Their role in academic Research. In D. Isaac et al. (Eds.), Academic libraries: Role in the national development (pp. 35–46). Chennai: TR Publication. Vyas, S. D., & Singh, D. K. (2003). Knowledge management: Challenges for library and information professionalism the 21st century. Library Herald, 41(1), 20–21. Wilson-Strydom, M. (2010). Program evaluation and its role in quality assurance: Handbook B1. Prest module. Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning. ZULC. (2010). Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium Academic Library Standards. Unpublished, ZULC.

164    Josiline Phiri Chigwada

Key Terms and Definitions Accreditation: Is the act of granting credit or recognition, especially to an educational institution that maintains suitable standards. Assessment: Refers to the wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition or educational needs of students. Documentation: Materials that provide official information or evidence or that serve as a record. Evaluation: Is an appraisal of something to determine its worth or fitness. Guidelines: Statements by which to determine a course of action. Implementation: The process of putting a decision or plan into effect. Library and information professionals: Librarians, archivists, and other information professionals who collect, record, organise, store, preserve, retrieve and disseminate printed or digital information. Library materials: Print and non-print materials collected, processed and stored by libraries. They comprise books, periodicals, pamphlets, reports, microforms, maps, manuscripts, motion pictures and all other forms of audio-visual records. Library services: Include circulation service, reference service, online reservation of books, recommendation of library material, current awareness service, interlibrary loan service, photocopying/printing service, orientation and information sessions, selective dissemination of information, audio-visual service and multimedia section. Monitoring: Observe and check the progress or quality of something over a period of time. Procedures manual: Contains the policies, guidelines and processes for the whole organisation. It exists to help employees do their jobs in an approved and consistent manner. Quality assurance: The maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or product, especially by means of attention to every stage of the process of delivery or production. Quality control: A system of maintaining standards in manufactured products by testing a sample of the output against the specification. Standards: An agreed way of doing something. It could be about making a product, managing a process, delivering a service or supplying materials. Staff development: Refers to the process whereby employees of an organisation enhance their knowledge and skills in directions that are advantageous to their role in the organisation. Sustainable development goals: Also known as the global goals, were adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

Chapter 12

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products: The Case of Midlands State University Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa

Introduction This chapter focussed on quality assurance and marketing of library services and products. Firstly, the chapter highlighted the quality issues and marketing of library services and products with specific reference to the Midlands State University (MSU) in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Secondly, the chapter investigated what other universities have done regarding the issue under investigation, in order to establish a benchmark for comparative analysis. The author conveniently chose the MSU for the study because he is an employee there. The main objectives of this chapter were: ⦁⦁ To identify the quality assurance and marketing mechanisms in place at the

MSU Library.

⦁⦁ To find out how quality assurance and marketing have improved the service

provision of academic libraries.

⦁⦁ To find out whether the quality of services and facilities rendered by libraries

meet the needs of the library users.

⦁⦁ To investigate the impact of challenges and opportunities that the Fourth

Industrial Revolution had on library and information services.

The quality assurance and marketing of library services has become the backbone of the twenty-first century library services and this service contributes enormously to the vision and mission of any library that contemplates meeting the requirements of the millennial user. The requirements of a millennial user include, but are not limited to the latest distinguished library services that any library mandatorily is expected to offer. Quality assurance principles are hinged on the premise that latest information and communication technologies (ICTs) Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 165–188 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201021

166    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa are embedded into all library service provisions and that the end-user is equipped with the most profound and requisite skills commensurate with the challenges posed by the emergence of these ICTs. It is the mandate of quality assurance to ensure that these ICTs are used from the collection development stage right up to the marketing processes of all the library services and products. Apart from using ICTs to ensure quality, the infrastructure, hardware, and human capital also play a pivotal role. The infrastructure, that is, the state of the library buildings, sitting capacity, ventilation, and lighting are fundamentally of equal importance. Sophisticated hardware makes it possible for the development of different information systems that are used to enhance service provision and marketing of the library services and products. The availability of qualified human capital is of utmost importance since this is a critical resource in ensuring that quality assurance achieves its mandate. Quality assurance has swiftly become the beacon of many organisations’ mission in order to achieve customer satisfaction through well-augmented service provision. On the one hand, some organisations have formulated policies specifically to proffer guidelines as to how quality issues are handled across the organisation, and on the other hand, some have taken a step further to institute a stand-alone department responsible for ensuring total quality management in all spectra of the organisation’s service provision. Adegbesan (2008) as quoted by Ogunlana and Amusa (2008) views quality assurance as all those attitudes, objectives, actions, and procedures that through their existence and use, and together with quality control activities, ensure that appropriate standards are being maintained and enhanced in and by each programme. According to Griffin (1995) as quoted by Sali and Abubakar (2012), quality assurance offers control at each stage of the process such that it becomes very difficult to reject. If fault exist, they are identified and corrected prior to any further value being added. Universities the world over have not been spared by the new dispensation ushered in by the advent of quality assurance. The modus operandi of universities extremely changed to accommodate quality assurance and marketing. This is evidently highlighted in some of the investigations conducted by the researcher. The research covered local universities in Zimbabwe, as well as desktop research on regional and international universities. Academic libraries have been forced to migrate from their traditional operational procedures due to the emergence of quality assurance. This concept has inevitably made libraries the world-over change the way they operate because quality issues have a bearing on the services and products that are offered by a library. Without quality products, an organisation is bound to lose its clientele because clients have the right to choose the best from what is available on the market. The moment a client feels that he or she is not getting value for money with regards to services rendered, he or she can decide to go and pay for the same services somewhere even at a higher cost. In South Africa, universities are changing their operations in order to take on board quality assurance. The Department of Education (1997) as quoted by Dube (2011) notes that according to the National Higher Education Transformation Agenda, universities in South Africa have been charged with the responsibility of transforming into

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    167 institutions that produce graduates that will contribute meaningfully to the new social, economic, and political order. The National Higher Education Transformation Agenda has charged the universities in South Africa with responsibilities because of the dynamism in the information seeking behaviours of researchers. The user’s information requirements tend to change as the environment experiences any slightest technological advancement. Apart from users taking a selfdirected learning approach to equip themselves with skills to acquire information using the most current research trends, the library plays a pivotal role in helping the user to be able to identify, evaluate, store, and disseminate information effectively and efficiently through international best practices. Majid, Anwar, and Eisenschitz (2001) as quoted by Dube (2011) explain that since quality is an intangible phenomenon, it cannot be measured directly but through an indicator that is a proxy, criteria, or guide for direct measurement of quality which can be used to make judgments about quality. Therefore, quality indicators are variables that can be used to determine how well a library meets user requirements and expectations as well as operational and performance targets. According to Dube (2011), the following are quality indicators for libraries: collection (depth, breadth, responsiveness, relevance, and accessibility), infrastructure and facilities (safety, appropriateness, adequacy, and usability), skills mix and staff, and service delivery. Nkanu and Okon (2010) as quoted by Egberongbe, Sen, and Willett (2015) note that Nigerian university libraries have gone through changes in the last decade through the introduction of ICT. These changes have been accompanied by the development of a new system of governance within the university system. Egberongbe et al. (2015) note that these changes have necessitated the assumption of new roles such as development of new skills in response to increasing user expectations, and active collaboration between library and faculty members, to ensure effective information literacy programmes. Okebukola (2006) as quoted by Egberongbe et al. (2015) notes that a reduction in funding for universities has resulted in increased demands for quality services by library users, and university libraries have consequently expressed the need for quality assurance mechanisms for effective provision of their services. In this regard, Okebukola’s postulation clearly establishes the correlation between funding and the quality of goods and services provided by any organisation. The reduction of funding for universities shows that the quality of services and products offered are compromised because of lack of adequate resources. The expression by the Nigerian universities to formulate quality assurance mechanisms is a sign that the universities would have identified their deficiency in their quest to satisfy the users’ information needs. Osinulu and Amusa (2010) note that quality products and services delivery are essential in the competitive capitalistic economy and that manufacturers and service providers are deeply involved in producing quality products and services in order to control their share of the market. Agunbiade (2006) as quoted by Osinulu and Amusa (2010) views quality assurance in the library as all plans and procedures geared towards ensuring that the right types of library materials, books, journals, equipment, furniture, and etcetera that are relevant to the types of programmes being run in each of the

168    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa given institutions are procured and are available to the users of the given institution libraries. Osinulu and Amusa (2010) concur with Dube (2011) that there is a set of acceptable standards that serve as guidelines in evaluating the quality of services in academic libraries. The factors considered in evaluation are: collections, human resources, library buildings, equipment and facilities, funding, and automation (Osinulu & Amusa, 2010). These factors help libraries to measure their performance with regards to service provision versus the set guidelines or against any prescribed international best practices. Sali and Abubakar (2012) corroborate with Egberongbe et al. (2015) when they note that it has been observed that the issue of low quality of Nigerian university graduates is becoming a serious source of concern to all stakeholders in the university education. Sali and Abubakar (2012) note that the first measure taken by the federal government to regain and ensure quality in Nigerian Universities was the promulgation of decree no. 16 of 1985 empowering the National Universities Commission to lay down Minimum Academic Standards (MAS) for all universities in Nigeria and also to accredit their degrees and other academic awards. In the case of the library system, the MAS provides minimum floor space for lectures, library holdings, and currency of collection as well as minimum staff – student ratios for effective teaching and learning in any given discipline. Monash University (2005) as quoted by Adebayo (2009) notes that the library, in assuming quality, should be committed to best practices in service provision and resource management, while ensuring financial and administrative accountability. Whilst it is of utmost importance that libraries institute quality assurance mechanisms in order to satisfy the user’s requirements, the library has to be accountable to the university’s administration with regards to how human and material resources would have been utilised. Even though there is no direct monetary gain when a university library provides a service to the students, the administration expects return on investments, that is, the resources allocated to the library should commensurate with the competitiveness the library establishes for itself on the academic arena. Ogunlana and Amusa (2008) dwelt on the quality assurance of a specific library service namely subject librarianship. The authors posit that the quality of subject librarian services is crucial to academic library survival and as such a subject librarian who desires continued relevance within the academic institution must ensure that his or her activities and services are in tandem with the philosophy and objectives of the curricular of their institutions. As subject librarian, a set of standards must be obtained and these must serve as guidelines in evaluating performance and quality of service. According to Fadokun (2005) in Ogunlana and Amusa (2008), there are three interrelated factors that are common with quality and these are efficiency, competency, and creativity. Ogunlana and Amusa (2008) assert that high-quality staff can transform even the poorest library into an operation offering excellent service. Since libraries are service organisations, and that the quality in the context of a library is often treated as the quality of service, Ogunlana and Amusa (2008) point out that service quality includes three areas which are: resources, organisation, and service delivered by a subject librarian and other supporting staffs.

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    169 Balog, Jelusic, and Matosic (2015) posit that higher education in the Republic of Croatia, as in many European Union countries, has been going through transformative changes ever since the introduction of the Bologna process. As the Bologna process in Europe was introduced with the primary intention to ensure the more comparable, compatible, and coherent system of higher education, one of the extremely important elements of this process has been the focus on quality. The authors further note that in Croatia, the Act on Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education (2010) which regulates, among other issues, quality assurance and development in science and higher education via procedures of initial accreditation, re-accreditation, thematic evaluation and audit, opened up the processes of accreditation/re-accreditation with quality assurance as one of the most important procedures for higher education institutions. Balog et al. (2015) further assert that the Bologna process introduced the new and stricter rules about the library collection coverage of the course reading lists. Croatian Agency for Science and Higher Education prescribed that the academic library should possess 20% of all the titles on the obligatory reading lists, indicating the importance of library services in ensuring the quality of university performance. Manghani (2011) notes that the importance of properly established and managed quality control and quality assurance systems is that they act as a passport to success by assisting the company to achieve high-quality products and services and enhancement of customer satisfaction. The enhancement of customer satisfaction through the establishment of quality control and quality assurance systems will drive an organisation to embark and confidently continue to market its products and services. Leisner (1995) in Islam and Islam (2009) notes that the basis for library marketing is the need to enhance the quality of services and second, to improve the perceived value of these services and thus achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction to ensure survival of the organisation. Libraries have also adopted the same by way of establishing a marketing department that rigorously markets all library products and services. Patange (2013) notes that most of the librarians are of the view that marketing of products and services is not possible in the profession of librarianship. However, Patange (2013) states that authors such as Philip Kotler are of the opinion that marketing is not limited to large corporations seeking profits only but is equally applicable to non-profit organisations as well as colleges, universities, charitable institutions, libraries, information centres, and service organisations. Kotler (n.d.) in Jestin and Parameswari (2005) note that organisations such as museums, universities, libraries, and charities need to market their causes and their products to gain political and social support as well as economic support. The marketing of library products is a critical process that the library inevitably has to embark on to ensure that both internal and external customers are kept abreast of the latest library services and products. An organisation is likely to embark on the marketing of its services and products basically on the premise that the services or products meet the quality expected on any given competitive market. Although Patange (2013) believes that most librarians are of the view that marketing of library products and services is not possible in the profession of librarianship, Dr Ranganathan’s concept of the five laws of Library Science had

170    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa the marketing concept at its core. Jain, Jambhekar, Rao, and Rao (2009) note that a focus on customer needs and the need for libraries to save the time of the reader are clearly emphasised in the laws of Library Science as far back as 1931. The third law relates to finding a reader, probably implying that the library should reach out to the customers. Jain et al. (2009) note that a closer examination indicates that modifications are needed in the interpretation of the laws and also recommended that even though customer focus has long been advocated for in the library profession, it may be refined to suit the current context of the market. The refinement of customer focus should be based on the needs of the millennial user and also the consideration of the challenges and opportunities posed by the emergence of ICTs. Jose and Bhat (2007) note that the basic philosophy underlying the need for Library and Information Services marketing can be summed up as: ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁

To focus on the customer To improve the image of the library To build relationships with the corporate world and Cost recovery.

The summation given by Jose and Bhat (2007) on marketing of library and information services works in line with a proper strategy for successful marketing. Ewers and Austen (2006) in Jose and Bhat (2007) suggest that it is essential that libraries have a proper strategy for successful marketing to meet their objectives. The key elements of such a strategy are: Understand your client (market research) Identify your client market (segment and target) Identify your strengths as a competitive business (position) Know the products your clients want and where they want to use the products (product and place) ⦁⦁ Develop effective and efficient procedures and systems that facilitate outcomes for clients (processes) ⦁⦁ Employ and train staff in both work skills and client relationship marketing (people). ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁

Patil and Pradhan (2014) note that there are seven principles of marketing and these are: ⦁⦁ Product – all materials and services provided by the library are the library

products which the library needs to market to its clientele. Materials kept under lock and key and services not rendered to clients are a dead investment. ⦁⦁ Price – this has mainly got to do with the budget that the library receives from the parent institution. Without any budget allocation to the library, then Ranganathan’s fifth law which states that libraries are growing organisms, becomes an uphill task to achieve. A library cannot rely on donations alone. ⦁⦁ Place – Kumar (2014) notes that place is a marketing element that looks at the location, that is, the library, distribution channel (where a service is delivered),

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    171

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

geographical coverage, telecommunication, travels, and etcetera. In cases of ICTs, the issue of physical space is gradually becoming obsolete and most libraries such as MSU are taking advantage of digital information hence becoming more interested in virtual space. Promotion – this entails advertising the library services and products to both internal and external customers. In Zimbabwe, this is done mainly through displays in the libraries, exhibitions during Agricultural shows, Book Fairs, Book Festivals, Trade Fairs and Research Expos. People – Kumar (2014) notes that the essential ingredient for providing effective information service among users, is a cohort of skilled and motivated staff. Skilled and motivated staff are an integral part of the marketing strategy that any library can put in place. The front office personnel, such as those on service points should be continuously trained on customer care to ensure that they are always equipped with good interpersonal skills. The perception that one gets about a library is mainly based on the interaction that he or she has with those librarians operating at the service points. Physical evidence – Patil and Pradhan (2014) note that physical evidence can support the marketing programmes by providing adequate service to the library users. Physical evidence can make the service tangible. The physical appearance and arrangement of materials should be appealing and user friendly to the clients. Process – Jose and Bhat (2007) note that it is impossible to achieve success in marketing unless various library processes are efficient and in tune with the overall library marketing strategy.

For libraries to successfully market products and services, there is a need for professional etiquette in the personnel responsible for that portfolio. Jestin and Parameswari (2005) note that library personnel require the following professional knowledge and skills for marketing information and library services. They should know the perception of user needs and ability to obtain feedback from users, technical knowledge such as ability to use the Internet, and knowledge of various marketing strategies for promoting information skills. Madhusudhan (2008) notes that marketing is an integral part of library service, because it has to do with basic principles of librarianship, that is, to develop good collection and user-oriented services. Madhusudhan (2008) further posits that Goa University Library (GUL) is using most of the skills of information marketing to satisfy the needs of its clientele. GUL uses methods such as, product development, physical distribution of information, promotion of products and services and price to design a market mix for ensuring a catalytic role in the modern information community (Madhusudhan, 2008). Khalid (2019) notes that the Central Library, University of Malaya has put in place strategies for marketing and promotional approaches. Among the strategies is the introduction of exhibition and display, complaints/suggestion boxes, information literacy skills session for postgraduate students, library information skills course for undergraduate students, electronic bill board, audio-visual services, and online dissemination of information via the Internet technology by creating links for

172    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa current information on the library portal. Gupta (2003) highlights some noteworthy factors for wider acceptance, popularity, and development of marketing concepts in libraries and information centres. Gupta (2003) notes that there is an increasing interest of international and national professional associations and organisations such as US-Based Special Library Association that has been giving a wider coverage on marketing in its programmes and activities. Its management division gives training and publishes bibliographies on marketing from time to time. Similarly, Gupta (2003) states that the role of London based ASLIB has been tremendous, which published the first authentic text on marketing of library and information services. It also organises short-term courses for working librarians and publishes papers in a monthly magazine, Managing Information. Such efforts are also employed by CILIP (formerly LA), to promote marketing of library and information services.

Quality Assurance Universities in Zimbabwe have taken the issue of quality assurance seriously as evidenced by the establishment of either the position of a Quality Assurance Librarian or a fully fledged section whose contractual obligation is to ensure quality assurance in service provision. The following information was gathered from four state universities on how issues of quality assurance and marketing of library resources was handled. At the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), the Deputy Librarian handles all quality assurance issues and the Sub-Librarian is responsible for marketing of library products and services. It is the mandate of the office responsible for quality issues at BUSE to ensure that all products and services including the most basic operations are done in tandem with the quality assurance requirements. This is because the University policy clearly states that all departments must ensure quality assurance, quality products and services attract and retain clients and that it is an international best practice. Although there is a high degree of universality with regards to Quality Assurance processes in universities, there might be some differences depending on the university because some of the quality standards in place may be premised on the best practices that are germane to that particular university. At the BUSE, their philosophy is mainly premised on quality assurance rather than quality control and therefore every stage of service development and provision is subjected to quality assurance standards. For products and services that are failing to meet the expected standard, the BUSE institutes several strategies to avert that challenge by either withdrawing them altogether, rectifying the misnomer and or facilitating training for staff to ensure that quality assurance standards are met. Where clients are directly involved, the library issues notices, circulars, letters of apology or explanations as to why some of the library services and products are failing to meet the required standard. With regards to marketing of library products and services, the BUSE believes it is critical for two main reasons that are: to promote the products and services and also to bolster the visibility of the library. The library has made distinguishable

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    173 strides in ensuring that the quality of their library services and products meet the requirements of the millennial user. This is evidenced by benchmarking their products and services with other libraries locally, regionally and internationally, carrying out surveys to get feedback with regards to user expectations and satisfaction, and getting feedback through email, WhatsApp and other social media platforms regarding their strengths and weaknesses. In as much as librarians expend their effort to ensure that their services and products meet the requirements of the millennial user, a senior member of the library staff for BUSE believes that the concept of industry 4.0 has not been fully understood by many and that there is urgent need to demystify the concept. Just like the BUSE, the Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) has a section specifically responsible for dealing with quality assurance and marketing of library resources but the latter started its operations in the year 2019. The GZU library believes that the quality of their library services and products is not yet matching the requirements of the millennial user because of inadequate sitting space, shortage of human capital and overall strain on any library budgetary exercises. In light of these challenges, the library notes that the challenges and opportunities posed by the industry 4.0 include the alignment of services and that one major opportunity is taking advantage of e-library products and services. The Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) Library quality assurance and marketing of library services and products commenced in the year 2017. According to the CUT Library, library services and products which are expected to be of good quality are: metadata, reference and circulation services, e-resources, and marketing services. This is so because a compromise on any one of the aforementioned services may lead into anarchy. The BUSE, GZU, and CUT libraries share the same sentiments on issues to do with the stage at which the library is supposed to monitor the quality of services and products. The CUT Library executes its quality assurance right from the initial stage because discovering a mistake at an advanced stage has some serious consequences which involve loss of time, repetition, and unnecessary financial obligations. Marketing of library services and products at CUT is done because the library is treated as any other unit of the business that requires marketing of its services and products. By marketing, the library ensures that clients are kept abreast of the latest acquisitions in the library and also that users continue having that motivation to use the library. Unlike the GZU Library, the BUSE and CUT Libraries are working towards production of quality services and products in order to meet the requirements of the millennial user. The CUT Library to some extent is moving in the right direction because it is connected to the world through various ICTs. It uses ICTs such as Social Media, Digital Repositories, and Integrated Library Management Systems (ILMS) used by many libraries internationally and it also has Faculty Liaison Librarians. CUT, GZU, and BUSE have a programme on Information Literacy Skills (ILS) which is taught to all students. In a bid to ensure that the library meets the aforementioned requirements and also executes the best practices in light of challenges and opportunities posed by the industry 4.0, the library has embarked on training exercises, digitising most of its services, introduction of remote access, concentrating more on

174    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa Institutional Repository activities, and becoming a member of library associations and consortia. The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Library has the quality assurance and marketing of library services and products although the two are under different sections. The Library IT section is the one responsible for quality issues and this section believes that there are some services in the library which are still lacking such as a Library WhatsApp hotline and that social media platforms such as Facebook are being run on a hobbyist basis, that is, there are no policies or clear responsibilities laid out in job descriptions that give librarians the mandate to spearhead the full utilisation of these social media platforms. The e-resources Librarian is responsible for the overall marketing of all e-resources and the Faculty Librarians are responsible for the marketing of the e-resources to their respective faculties. The other section that is responsible for quality assurance at NUST is the Bibliographic Services Unit which ensures that the reading and lending services, reference services, exhibitions and displays are of good quality. When purchasing books and other library resources, the section ensures that what has been received is exactly what has been ordered and this is done by cross-checking the goods received with what is on the invoice and also with what has actually been ordered. The section takes corrective action in the form of instituting training for staff in the event that library products and services are failing to meet the expected standard. The Bibliographic Services section blames the economic situation in Zimbabwe for the failed attempts by libraries to cater for library services and products that commensurate with the requirements of the millennial user. Both the Library IT and Bibliographic Services Unit concluded that there is need for NUST Library to introduce Research Support Services to bolster the existing services. At MSU, there is a non-faculty department namely the Centre for Quality Assurance, Teaching and Learning and Performance Contracting (QATAL) which aims at developing the university’s capabilities in the area of Quality Assurance in order to maintain, improve, and enhance quality in all areas of institutional operations at different levels. The MSU (2018) Quality Assurance Policy Framework outlines the MSU’s commitment to ensure that ongoing quality improvement is an integral part of the University and that it strives to meet the expectations of its stakeholders, namely students, government, higher education institutions, employers, professional associations, external regulatory bodies, and society at large. Drawing from the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) and other International Quality Assurance Frameworks, the MSU Quality Assurance Policy approaches quality from a myriad of perspectives such as: fitness of purpose, fitness for purpose, value for money, transformation, evidence based, collegiality and benchmarking. According to ZIMCHE (n.d.), there are fifteen standards used to benchmark all Zimbabwean Universities. Standard number six is on infrastructure, ICT, and Library resources. ZIMCHE expects the parent institution to provide library and information resources with appropriate level of recency, depth, and breadth to support its active teaching, learning, research, and administrative needs. According to ZIMCHE (n.d.), the institutional library should:

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    175 ⦁⦁ Employ a Librarian holding a Master’s degree in a relevant field and with at

least five years’ experience in academic library management;

⦁⦁ Have well-documented plans and policies for the institutional library services; ⦁⦁ Provide a collection of varied, authoritative, classical and recent knowledge

⦁⦁ ⦁⦁ ⦁⦁

⦁⦁ ⦁⦁

⦁⦁

and information resources that support the mission of the institution and the needs of staff, students and researchers; Make available the resources in multi-media format, that is, print, electronic, visuals, video, audio, and audio-visuals; Have a Collection Development Policy (CDP); Use a standard cataloguing manual such as the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition (AACR2) and the Library of Congress Classification Scheme (LCCS) or latest Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme (DDC) for classification; Provide information services that promote the accessibility of the available information resources; Provide appropriate instruction and support for the library users to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness in obtaining, evaluating, and using library and information resources; and Collect and archive the intellectual output generated by the institution.

With the ZIMCHE Quality Assurance Standards for Higher Education and the MSU Quality Assurance Policy Framework in place, the MSU Library unanimously became obliged to re-engineer its services and products in a bid to align them in tandem with the requirements of a user as is enshrined in the aforementioned benchmarks. According to the MSU Library Standards Operating Procedures (2019b), the Quality Assurance Unit is responsible for showcasing library quality standards and guidelines as well as administering self-assessment and review processes that provide useful opportunities to improve the quality of products and services developed and delivered by the department. These exercises serve as both internal and external reference points that facilitate steps towards institutional accreditation. The Standards Operating Procedures highlight that the broad library quality assurance objectives are to set up a system of library governance, set up library control systems, revise the library manual of procedures and policies, ensure adherence to the manual of procedures and policies, and review clients’ feedback platforms and carry out user surveys. According to interviews administered by the author, senior library management indicated that quality should be executed at the planning stage to ensure that measures are put in place to provide quality service. Quality control should be a continuous process in order for the library to remain relevant within the spheres of its influence. With regards to the issue of ensuring that there is proper feedback from clients on quality of services and products, the senior library management noted that the library had initiated several strategies. These strategies include the use of suggestion boxes, social media platforms such as Facebook, Library WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube. To harvest authentic data which has a feel of universality in terms of application, the researcher used both the ZIMCHE guidelines and other international

176    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa best practices to benchmark what is currently obtaining at the MSU Library. These guidelines and international best practices include, but are not limited to, the following: Human resource, Collection Development, Infrastructure and Facilities, ILS Training, Organisation of Information, Systems and Digital Media, Research Support Services, and Marketing Services.

Human Resource The MSU Library personnel hold relevant qualifications that range from National Certificates to Master’s degrees. The library is operating within the dictates of the ZIMCHE guidelines since the current crop of librarians have the requisite qualifications and experience. All the sections in the library are supervised by qualified personnel with at least a relevant degree to ensure that proper procedures are followed. The structure of the MSU library sections and key responsibilities of librarians are illustrated in tabular form as follows (Table 12.1): The above illustration shows the job and person specifications that currently are in existence at the MSU Library. According to the MSU Standard Operating Procedures (2019b), duties assigned to individuals should commensurate with the academic and professional qualifications that one has. The duties corresponding to the positions highlighted above do not necessarily depict that all the duties in every position are done by one person. The duties listed are executed in different sections of the library and it depends with the section that one will be assigned to, for one to assume the responsibilities. Dube (2011) notes that although McGregor (2004 cited in Dube, 2011) asserts that sometimes there is predisposition that library staff have in-built service ethics; this cannot be assumed to be present. It must be instilled in staff in various ways including measurement, evaluation, training, and development. He further notes that the attributes that library staff should have include, but are not limited to: courtesy, knowledgeability, promptness, communication, empathy, and reliability. These attributes may not be automatically enhanced through formal education but may be instilled through fresher or refresher courses and other human resource development strategies. At MSU, librarians have opportunities to attend workshops facilitated by the Library, Risk Office, Human Resource Department and MSU Clinic. The library facilitates training on e-resources usage and also author workshops on writing and publishing. These workshops are usually funded by international service providers such as Elsevier, Emerald Insight, and Sabinet. The nature of content of these workshops is germane to the academic staff and most junior library staff is in turn trained on e-resources usage by the Research Services Librarian. The Risk Office invites staff from all the different departments of the University to attend firefighting lectures on a yearly basis. Library personnel are also invited and they are taught how one reacts in the event that fire breaks out in the library buildings. The Human Resource Department facilitates some general training sessions such as customer care and leadership. Staff from the library is also invited to attend these workshops to ensure that they are equipped with good interpersonal communication and etiquette skills. The MSU clinic sporadically facilitates HIV and AIDS workshops to ensure that staff is kept abreast of the

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    177 Table 12.1.  Key Role Players and Responsibilities. Source: MSU Standard Operating Procedures (2019b). Key Role Player

Key Responsibilities

University Librarian

Budgeting, planning library research needs, content review and approval of marketing content, staffing, strategic planning, etc.

Deputy Librarians

Overseeing operations in Acquisitions, Special collections, Institutional Repository, Client Services, Systems and Digital Media Services and Content Management Services sections, ensuring procedures and policies are adhered to and, managing the day to day running of all libraries

Sub-Librarians

Coordinating all research support services, monitoring licencing of e-resources and assess trial runs of e-resources, and supervising junior staff at campus libraries

Senior Assistant Librarians

Quality control of processed materials in Content Management Services and Special Collections, supervising junior staff in Branch Libraries and producing daily usage statistics

Systems Analyst

Maintenance and enhancement of software, database backup, administers systems rights, and general IT support

Library Administrative Assistants

Source quotations, compile comparative schedules, order materials, receive and dispatch materials, library clearance, supervise housekeeping, user education, and daily usage statistical reports

Chief Library Assistants

Circulation in Special Collections, classification, data entry, and user education

Senior Library Assistants I&II

Circulation, data entry, user education, receiving and accessioning materials, and shelf reading

Technical Assistants

Shelving, stamping, bindery preliminary stages, and dispatching processed material

current trends in HIV and AIDS. This helps affected and infected staff to know the strategies to take on board to avert the challenges posed by this scourge. The researcher interviewed both junior and senior library staff to ascertain whether these two cohorts of MSU employees had received any continuous development at MSU in order to gauge their level of competency. Senior staff indicated that they had attended workshops, conferences, and training on library-related content facilitated off campus and some even outside Zimbabwe whereas junior staff indicated that the training and workshops that they received had been conducted

178    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa at MSU. Workshops covering issues such as customer care are of great importance to the image of the University. Staff trained on how to interact with customers tends to portray a good overall image of the institution. The junior staff that received training on customer care alluded the training had helped them in interacting with customers. Training and development are key elements that help to enhance human capital in an organisation and this was corroborated by the senior library staff. The researcher interviewed senior library personnel to establish the strategies that the library takes after the realisation that library services and products are failing to meet the expected standard and 100% of the respondents alluded that there would be need for training of staff and for workshops to be conducted so that library staff improve on their shortfalls and enhance their strengths.

Collection Development According to the MSU Library Policies (2019a), the CDP is set out within the context of the mission and vision of the MSU Library. It sets out principles and guidelines for developing and maintaining the library’s collections in all formats. The major purposes of the CDP are to provide a framework for the funding, acquisition, maintenance, and development of the library’s collections, establish selection criteria across the range of different subjects, to acquire annually those materials required for research and teaching according to identified needs and allocation formulae, and to provide an overview of the principles used in developing and maintaining the library’s diverse collection of information materials. ALA (2006) as quoted by Osinulu and Amusa (2010) judges the quality of an academic library’s collections on usability, comprehensiveness, diversity, and size, stipulating that the library should provide varied, authoritative, and up-to-date resources that support its mission and the needs of undergraduate, post graduate, and faculty staff. The ZIMCHE corroborates with ALA’s assertion as it expects a library to have a CDP which ensures that the institutional library provides a collection of varied, authoritative, classical and recent knowledge and information resources that support the mission of the institution and the needs of staff, students, and researchers. According to the MSU Library Standards Operating Procedures (2019), the Library Acquisitions Section acquires library material recommended by staff and students in support of the teaching, learning, and research needs of the institution. Acquiring materials that are recommended by staff and students helps the library to have a collection of relevant and up-to-date materials. For materials deemed archaic, the library operating in line with the CDP Policy, weeds out the identified materials and subsequently archive or dispose of them depending on the state of the materials. The MSU Library collection has different types and forms of materials which include: books and e-books, CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, Periodicals (journals, e-journals, annual reports, newsletters, etc.), Government Publications, Manuscripts (Dissertations), Law Reports, and other MSU Publications. These materials are rich in critical information required by users in the twenty-first century but the problem is that at the moment users are not

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    179 able to access the e-journal databases subscribed by MSU through the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC). Currently, the Content Management Services Section does not catalogue e-resources that include e-books and e-journals and also the materials on the Institutional Repository with the exception of student dissertations. The library still has a collection of some of the books mainly on education which the University inherited from the then Gweru Teachers College in the year 2000. A random assessment of that collection through checking the circulation frequency can lead one to conclude that the materials were last borrowed by the users years ago and need to be archived and/or disposed of completely. Some of the materials which may not be suitable for university education are acquired through donations. Some of the donors donate relevant materials but the University also receives unsolicited donations from other donors and it is this cohort of materials that leads the MSU into having materials not fit for purpose. The MSU Library has a rich collection of materials in various formats but that does not mean the collection is adequate for the users. According to MSU Client Services Section, in the event that a library does not have the material required by a client, the material is sought from other branch libraries and subsequently an interlibrary loan is done when all MSU Libraries do not have the item in order to satisfy the client’s information need.

Infrastructure and Facilities The institution has taken on board a multi-campus approach and at every campus, there is either one or two libraries to cater for the information needs of the users. MSU currently has the Main Campus, Batanai Campus, Graduate School of Business and Leadership (GSBL), Law and Commerce Campus all situated in the City of Gweru in Zimbabwe. The institution also has campuses outside Gweru namely Zvishavane located in the town of Zvishavane, Kwekwe located in the City of Kwekwe, Harare and School of Social Work Campuses both located in the capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare. The following illustration shows how libraries are distributed across the main campus and all satellite campuses (Table 12.2): Out of the 10 libraries displayed above, 6 of them provide specialised services, that is, they have collections which are specifically targeted for a certain cohort of students. The six libraries are: Medical School Library, Disability Resource Centre Library, Law Library, GSBL Library, School of Social Work Library, and Zvishavane Faculty of Mining Library. The remaining four libraries are multidisciplinary in nature meaning that the collections for the four libraries cover all disciplines hence they provide services and products to all MSU clients regardless of one’s area of specialty. The MSU student population was at 23,928 as at 30 June 2018 (MSU Strategic Plan, 2019) and all these students require library services and facilities. ZIMCHE has guidelines for benchmarking the acceptable size of sitting space per individual in a library and considering the student population at MSU, the current sitting space is way below standard. ZIMCHE Quality Assurance Standards for Higher Education Standard 6 states that the

180    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa Table 12.2.  MSU Libraries Sitting Capacity. Source: MSU Client Services Section (2019). Name of Library Main Library

Sitting Capacity 458

Batanai Library

54

Medical School Library

66

Disability Resource Centre Library

8

Law Library

58

GSBL Library

48

School of Social Work Library

72

Harare Campus Library

84

Zvishavane Arts Library

200

Zvishavane Faculty of Mining Library

20

infrastructure shall meet the minimum standards of the current by-laws and safety of structures and fittings regulations.

ILS Training The MSU Library started teaching ILS in the year 2010. The module is taught to all first-year students across all academic departments and is examinable. A refresher training on ILS which usually streamlines the module and focuses mainly on the use of Turnitin is facilitated for the fourth-year students to help them with their dissertations. The teaching of ILS is done by seven librarians who all have Master’s Degrees in Library and Information Science. ACRL (2010) as quoted in the MSU ILS module (2018) defines information literacy as a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognise when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Oware (2010) and Baro and Keboh (2012) in Makanga and Jorosi (2018) note that ILS have emerged around the World as essential skills for the twenty-first century due to the rapid advancement in ICTs. Makanga and Jorosi (2018) note that students are faced with diverse and abundant information choices in their academic studies because information is available in unfiltered formats, raising questions about authenticity, validity and reliability. Since the MSU Library has varied materials that are in different formats, the clients have to be taught how to realise the need for information, locate the valid and authentic sources of information and information itself, evaluate and use the gathered information effectively and efficiently. Apart from ILS being taught through formalised instructional methods, the library also helps walk-in clients and those who book for a session prior to the training. Librarians assist

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    181 walk-in clients instantly only if the number of the clients is manageable otherwise a booking for a future formal training session is done. Since the ILS has a bias towards ICTs which requires ample knowledge and technical expertise for one to impart the knowledge to others, the prerogative of teaching or training is usually restricted to senior library staff. The module content is reviewed frequently to incorporate any latest trends in the ILS fraternity and this is done to ensure that the curriculum covered matches that of other local, regional, and international universities.

Organisation of Information Organisation of knowledge encompasses two critical elements of library and information sciences namely classification and cataloguing. Harrods (1990) in Adedibu, Akinboro, and Abdussalam (2012) defines cataloguing as the compilation of a list of documents, printed or non-book materials according to a set of rules so as to enable the consultant to know what collections are available and from the class number or other means of identification where they may be found. Margaret Mann in MSU ILS module (2018) states that classification is the act of arranging things according to their likeness and unlikeness. She further notes that it is a sorting or grouping of things. The MSU Library has a section which is responsible for the processing of library materials. Although this section is traditionally called the Technical Services in most university libraries, at MSU the section has been rebranded to Content Management Services. The Section uses the LCCS for classification and Resource Description and Access (RDA) as the cataloguing principles. Apart from the LC schedules, the Section also uses other databases to verify classification numbers and the KOHA system being used for data entry is still using MARC 21. In order for the Section to ensure that there is total quality management of all materials produced, there are measures put in place that all members working in the Section should abide by. When materials are received from the Acquisitions Section, they are verified by both the librarian accompanying the materials from the Acquisitions Section and the librarian in the Content Management Services Section to ascertain that materials on the Acquisitions lists are corresponding with the physical materials received in the Section. All preliminary stages are executed ensuring that stamping, barcoding and the insertion of date due slips is done in tandem with the prescribed standards. The Content Management Services Librarian constantly checks how information is captured in the receiving register and accessions register to ensure uniformity and that the records become easy for future references. The most critical exercise is the quality control of records entered into the KOHA database. This quality control is done to ensure that records captured in the database are entered within the confine of the RDA cataloguing rules and that the call number assigned to the item under description is correct. Checking the quality of the records in the system ensures that the record’s information will be displayed in way that can easily be understood by the clients on OPAC.

182    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa Systems The Systems Section is the backbone of the university library since it is responsible for the ICTs that are used in any library service provision. ZIMCHE Quality Assurance Standards for Higher Education Standard 6 states that the institution shall provide sufficient and appropriate technology to support its academic administrative systems for the purpose of teaching, learning, research, and innovation. Osinulu and Amusa (2010) note that computer and Information Technology (IT) application have remarkable benefits to academic libraries and such benefits include provision of fast, effective, and efficient services, possibility of new services and functions, ease of generation of vital statistical records, cost reduction, possibility of networking and greater cooperation among libraries, and improved services through access to resources of other libraries. According to the MSU Library Standard Operating Procedures (2019b), the Systems Services Section seeks to ensure that the MSU Library is equipped with the latest World-class ICTs with special emphasis on assisting students to effectively use these technologies. The Section also ensures round the clock availability of electronic based library resources to the general clientele of the library disregarding their geographical location. At MSU, the Systems Services Section is manned by a qualified Systems Analyst and that individual is responsible for ensuring that the KOHA database is functioning properly and also that it is upgraded to the latest version as and when the newer version is available. He is also responsible for advising the library management team on the best ICTs to take on board. The MSU Institutional Repository which is a digital library for the institution’s academic research output is also under the Systems Services Section. There are facilities that the Systems Analyst monitors and these are: the social media platforms, for example, Library Facebook page, Library WhatsApp, and Library Twitter handle. To ensure that everything is functioning properly, the Systems Analyst monitors these on a daily basis and with regards to the KOHA database, a re-indexing exercise has been programmed to automatically take place at a designated time of the day. The other responsibility of the Systems Analyst is to provide refresher courses to level four students on the use of Turnitin anti plagiarism software.

Research Support Services Research Support Services are services that entail providing research assistance to the library clients. The MSU Library Standard Operating Procedures (2019b) highlight the general objectives of the Research Support Services and these are: to identify relevant and suitable information resource databases to support research, teaching, and learning needs of the university community, to liaise with faculties and departments to ascertain what their research information needs and what their expectations of the library are so as to satisfy such expectations, and constantly evaluate library resources for their usefulness to the library clients. The Research Support Services Section plays a critical role in assisting clients in carrying out research mainly by helping them to identify reliable academic sources.

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    183 The MSU Library Standard Operating Procedures (2019b) also highlight the specific objectives of this Section and these are to: provide clients with up-todate step-by-step e-resources user guides, assist clients to search and find research information from specific library resources such as books and journals, attend to specific detailed research queries referred from the queries received through the information desk, identify workshops relevant to library staff, conduct training workshops for academic staff and students, and spearhead the University’s information literacy programme. All detailed research queries which come through telephone or email are handled directly by the Research Unit. The Research Services Librarian analyses the nature of the query, advises the client on the different resources needed in addition to searching for related information, downloading and submitting relevant information to the client.

Marketing The MSU Library Standard Operating Procedures (2019b) states that the marketing of services and interaction with various interest groups is key factor in the development of library resources. Visibility of library resources is key awareness creation and eventual use of services and products. The main objectives of marketing library resources are to: implement effective marketing and liaison strategies in order to create awareness of library resources, get customer feedback and implement recommendations for customer satisfaction, and to promote usage of library resources and products. Marketing of library services and products falls under the Quality Assurance and Marketing Services Librarian at the MSU. According to data gathered from senior staff at MSU Library, all library products need to be marketed and the main reason for marketing is to ensure that clients are aware of the services and products available in the library. The Quality Assurance and Marketing Services Librarian oversees the marketing of library resources as well as the Information Desk. Resources are marketed through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and fliers, brochures and newsletters are distributed through various ways. The fliers, brochures, and newsletters are distributed through the Information Desk, exhibitions, seminars, workshops, and conferences. The Quality Assurance and Marketing Services Section uses a WhatsApp platform through the Information Desk to allow for instant feedback from clients. The section in unison with all the library teaching staff markets library resources through ILS lectures. During commemorations of Library activities and events such as Open Access, library personnel market the celebrations by way of exhibiting banners bearing the themes of the event and also wear branded t-shirts to signify the event. In a bid to ensure that the library’s resources are effectively marketed, the MSU Library has recruited Library Ambassadors. These Library Ambassadors are bonafide MSU students who help the Library personnel to market the library to their colleagues. The establishment of an Institutional Repository (IR) is a positive stride towards the marketing of library services and facilities. According to MSU Library Policies (2019a), MSU IR provides free, searchable access to

184    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa the output and makes possible its long-term archiving and preservation. Basing on the fact that one of the MSU IR’s objectives is to increase the visibility and impact of the University’s research output, makes IR a critical tool for marketing of library resources although streamlined to market information produced by MSU staff and students only. Apart from the data gathered from document analysis, the researcher also interviewed library staff to ascertain whether they were aware of the existence of a Quality Assurance and Marketing Services Section in the Library. Out of all the senior staff interviewed, 75% were aware of the existence of the Section and could clearly articulate that its mandate is to ensure that all processes and procedures adhere to set policies and standards. This cohort of respondents concurred that the Section helps in spearheading the drawing of performance contracts for library staff to ensure that there is quality in service provision and also to market services and products so that clients become aware of their existence thus utilising them in support of teaching, learning and research needs. The remaining 25% of the respondents expressed that the mandate of the Quality Assurance component was not clear but highlighted that the Marketing Section’s thrust was to market all library services and products. All the junior staff interviewed indicated that they were aware of the existence of marketing activities of library resources and products but were not privy to the nitty-gritties of how the marketing strategies are formulated.

Recommendations The MSU Library strives to ensure that its library services and products meet the international standards. This is achieved through the recruitment of qualified personnel, building of a hybrid collection that has current and relevant materials and usage of the latest ICTs. The Library also strives to have top-notch infrastructure and facilities, latest instructional methods to deliver ILS training and proper classification and description of items for easy retrieval. The Library has adopted marketing strategies for library services and products. Although all these strategies have been implemented at MSU, there is still room for the enhancement of the services and products and the following are some of the recommendations: ⦁⦁ MSU Library staff has received training in various areas of the library and

information science profession but there is still need for further training especially the junior staff so that they become eloquent in their user education endeavours. Continuous Personal Development will bolster personal, vocational, and organisational empowerment and also a confident individual is most likely to produce standardised services and products. ⦁⦁ The collection of the library is growing rapidly but there is need for the crafting of a donations policy which clearly enables the library to and or not to accept materials that are not fit for university education. ⦁⦁ The student population and the current sitting space for the MSU Libraries are not congruent. With the availability of funding, there is need for the construction of bigger libraries and study centres across all university campuses.

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    185 ⦁⦁ The current infrastructure requires proper ventilation and lighting to ensure a

conducive reading environment.

⦁⦁ With regards to marketing, there is need for the Quality Assurance to con-

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

⦁⦁

stantly review content on the social media platforms especially the Library YouTube channel. The Research Services Librarian needs to explore the Research Data Management concept to ensure that research data from all research activities is harnessed and stored on one open access database. The Institutional Repository is currently being populated with research such as Research Papers, Conference Papers, Books, Book Chapters, Theses and Dissertations authored by resident authors. Students are currently restricted to submitting dissertations but the researcher feels it is also prudent to allow students who are into research other than dissertations to deposit the research into the IR. Marketing of library resources is the main function of the Quality Assurance and Marketing Services Librarian and the researcher recommends that the prerogative be decentralised to all staff especially the junior staff whose buy-in when formulating marketing strategies is of utmost importance in ensuring that positive results are yielded. The ILS module is frequently revised in order to ensure that the curriculum is in line with the most current trends in the information management industry. Whilst this is noble, the library should put in place measures to circumvent any possibility of producing varying capabilities in ILS products.

Future Research Directions The author investigated the quality assurance and marketing of library services and products at the MSU. The chapter’s main objectives were to identify the quality assurance mechanisms in place at the MSU Library and find out how quality assurance has improved service provision in academic libraries. Although the research was thorough in gathering all the relevant information, there is still room for more investigation. More research needs to be done to ascertain that all library personnel are conversant with the concept of quality assurance. There is also need for further research on the concept of industry 4.0. Most respondents indicated that they were not aware of this concept and more information had to be availed to librarians for them to understand. That lack of knowledge made it impossible for most respondents to identify the challenges and opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution poses on library and information services. There is also need for further research to assess the librarians’ knowledge or competencies in using latest ICTs to improve service delivery. The majority of respondents indicated that there were ICTs in place that were being used to enhance service provision but could not specifically identify those ICTs. There is need for university libraries to explore the Research Data Management channel in order to ensure that all scientific research data is harnessed and stored in one accessible location.

186    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa

Conclusion This chapter focussed on the quality assurance and marketing of library services and products. An investigation of libraries locally, regionally, and internationally gave the researcher a perception that universities around the world have adopted quality assurance. A myriad of quality indicators was identified that are used to measure how quality assurance activities are being done in universities. The MSU has quality assurance in place and is benchmarking its services and products with other universities and also international best practices. The recommendations given by the author are universal, that is, the solutions could be applied and implemented in any university. Future research identified can be used as a basis by other researchers and or researches to generate new knowledge.

References Adebayo, E. L. (2009). Quality assurance and the implication for the management of University Libraries in Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice, p. 273. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/273. Adedibu, L. O., Akinboro, E. O., & Abdussalam, T. A. B. (2012). Cataloguing and classification of library resources in the 21st century. In A. Tella & A.O. Issa (Eds.), Library and information science in developing countries: Contemporary issues. Retrieved from https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/cataloguing-classification-library-resources21st/60814 Balog, K. P., Jelusic, T. A., & Matosic, M. (2015). Quality assurance practices in Croatian academic libraries: Two case-studies. In 34th international conference on organizational science development: Internationalization and cooperation. Retrieved from https://bib.irb.hr ›datoteka ›762409.Portoroz_15.pdf Dube, L. (2011). Quality Assurance practices in university libraries in South Africa. SA Journal in Library and Information Science, 77(1), 26–36. Retrieved from http://sajlis. ac.za Egberongbe, H., Sen, B., & Willett, P. (2015). Quality management approaches in academic libraries: a pilot study of a Nigerian University Library. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML), 4, 399–412. Retrieved from http://www.qqml.net/ papers/June_2015_Issue/4215QQML_Journal_2015_Egberongbeetal_399-412.pdf Gupta, D. K. (2003). Marketing of library and information services: Building a new discipline for Library and Information Science Education in Asia. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 2(8), 95–108. Retrieved from https://www. researchgate.net/publication/228582317_Marketing_of_library_and_information services_Building_a_new_discipline_for_library_and_information_science_education_in_Asia Islam, S., & Islam, N. (2009). Marketing of library and information products and services: A theoretical analysis. Business Information Review, 26(2), 123–132. doi: 10.1177/0266382109104414 Jain, A. K. Jambhekar, A., Rao, T. P. R., & Rao, S. S. (2009). Marketing of library services and products: A primer for librarians and information professionals. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. Retrieved from https://www.idrc. ca/en/book/marketing-information-products-and-services-primer-librarians-andinformation-professionals

Quality Assurance and Marketing of Library Services and Products    187 Jestin, J., & Parameswari, B. (2005). Marketing of information products and services for libraries in India. Library Philosophy and Practice, 32. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/32 Jose, A., & Bhat, I. (2007). Marketing of library and information services: A strategic perspective. Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective. Retrieved from https://doi. org/10.1177/097226290701100204 Khalid, M. S. J. M. (2019). Marketing of library and information services in university libraries: A case study of University of Malaya Central Library, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Eurasia Proceedings of Educational & Social Sciences (EPESS), 13, 50–59. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/800816 Kumar, A. (2014). Marketing of Information Products & Services in Kurukshetra University Library in the disciplines of Social Science: A study. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science. 19(2), 72–85. Retrieved from www.iosrjournals.org Madhusudhan, M. (2008). Marketing of library and information services and products in university libraries: A case study of Goa University Library. Library Philosophy and Practice, (175), 1–6. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl. edu/libphilprac/175 Makanga, D. F., & Jorosi, B. N. (2018). Information Literacy Skills among the undergraduate students at the University of Livingstonia, Malawi. International Journal of Library and Information Services, 7(2), 43–56. doi: 10.4018/IJLIS.2018070104 Manghani, K. (2011). Quality assurance: Importance of systems and standard operating procedures. Perspectives in Clinical Research, 2(1), 34–37 Retrieved from https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3088954/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl= zw&client=firefox-b-d Midlands State University (MSU). (2018). Quality assurance policy framework. Gweru: Midlands State University. Midlands State University (MSU). (2019). Vision 2030 complaint strategic plan: 2019–2023. (4th ed.). Gweru: Midlands State University. Midlands State University (MSU) Library Department. (2019a). Library policies. Gweru: Midlands State University Library. Midlands State University (MSU) Library Department. (2019b). Standard operating procedures. Gweru: Midlands State University Library. Ogunlana, K., & Amusa, O. I. (2008). Quality assurance in Subject Librarian services and library management. Presented at International Conference on the Development of Subject Librarianship and Personal Librarianship Conference, 2008. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282326380 Osinulu, L. F., & Amusa, O. I. (2010). Information technology, quality assurance, and academic library management. Library Philosophy and Practice, 324, 1–12. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.inl.edu/libphilprac/324 Patange, J. T. (2013). Marketing of library and information products and services. Global Journal of Human Social Science Linguistics & Education, 13(1), 33–36. Retrieved from https://globaljournals.org/GJHSS_Volume13/4-Marketing-of-Library-andInformation.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=zw&client=firefox-b-d Patil, S. K., & Pradhan, P. (2014). Library promotion practices and marketing of Library services: A role of Library professionals. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 133(2014), 249–254. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S1877042814031012 Sali, M. I. B., & Abubakar, T. (2012). Application of quality assurance for effective library services in academic libraries in Nigeria. The Information Manager, 12(1&2), 38–44. Retrieved from https://www.ajol.info/index.php/tim/article/view/90693 Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE). (n.d.). Quality assurance standards for Higher Education. ZIMCHE.

188    Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa

Definition of Terms Information and Communication Technologies: All technologies that are used in the identification, storage, evaluation, usage, and communication of information. Library: A collection of searchable information materials in print or non-print format that is stored in either a physical or virtual space. Library products and services: The work and physical information materials that the library offers to its clients. Marketing: Promoting library products and services. Procedure: A recommended way of doing things in the library. Policy: A principle of action that the library adopts. Quality Assurance: A process whereby an organisation or institution continuously assess the quality of its products and services to ensure that the customer needs are satisfied. Standard: A prescribed level of quality of products and services.

Section V

Marketing of Library and Information Services

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Chapter 13

Marketing of Library Collections and Services in the Twenty-first Century Environment: The Use of Social Media Technologies Rosemary Maturure and Donald Rakemane

Introduction and Background The most crucial component of the twenty-first century library is the user. Every effort put into the establishment of a twenty-first century library is wasted if the library is not meant for use. Libraries are creating space to accommodate the needs of these new users (Anyira, 2011). In the twenty-first century environment, libraries are opting to use social network as a catalyst for marketing their products and services. Jain (2014) stated that social media has opened new platforms for librarians and information professionals to market library and information services. A social networking is an online service, platform or site that focusses on building and reflecting of social network or social relations among people who share interests and activities (Kumar, 2015). These social media tools amongst others include, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blog, YouTube and Myspace. The adoption and use of social networking for the provision of library services is what makes the twenty-first century libraries unique, relevant and more interesting to their clienteles (Kim & Abbas, 2010). Zohoorian-Fooladi and Abrizah (2012) affirmed that librarians in third developed countries like Africa should take a cue from their contemporaries in these developed countries since it is the basis of twenty-first century library services in libraries. Social media technologies have come-up with various channels of information generation, dissemination and collaboration (Jain, 2015). Okonedo, Azubuike, and Adeyoyin (2013) noted that the use of social media in libraries has increased in the areas of offering marketing services, library awareness, reference services, collaboration, and document delivery, and information literacy, selective dissemination of information (SDI), research services, training services, and user services; thus, the use of

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 191–200 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201022

192    Rosemary Maturure and Donald Rakemane social media technologies in libraries is a powerful tool. Khan and Bhatti (2012) put it thus, social media provides more opportunity to reach your community, target specific audiences, and give them a chance to interact with your library.

Driver for the Study Despite the promise of social networking technologies in marketing library collections and services, there seems to be limited libraries that have adopted social media technologies for marketing library collection and services in most African countries. Social media technologies can be used as a nerve centre by libraries and other information centres for rendering services to their patrons. Limited adoption, usage and application of social media technologies can thus results in limited patronage and response from the library users (Adeyinka & Akinboro, 2014). Rakemane and Jain (2018, p. 43) underscored that since information exists in electronic environment, there is a need for libraries, archives and other information centres to integrate ICTs in provision of their services so as to meet the needs of their users. The adoption of social media technologies or tools has been very high in the library field, and must be appreciated and be used in the promotion and marketing of library services and collections. Social media have brought a lot of technological developments in the different libraries in promotion of their services, resources, events and communication to their clientele. Some of the challenges facing the adoption and use of social media technologies in marketing library collection and services amongst other include: lack of technology literacy; thus, some information management professional such as librarians lack the technological literacy needed for a twenty-first century library service. Another paradox facing the use and application of social media technologies includes: inadequate funding for the libraries, electricity and power cuts, slow networks and lack of knowledge on how to use it. The purpose of this chapter therefore is to dig answers on the challenges and opportunities of using social media technologies in marketing library services and collections in twenty-first century environment and suggest how the use and application of social media technologies can be maximised. The chapter starts with a snapshot overview of the importance of marketing library services and collection, highlights social media tools that can be used for marketing library services and collection. In addition, the chapter examines and presents the challenges facing libraries and other information centres in marketing their collection and services in twentyfirst century environment.

Methodology The methodology that was used for this chapter is a literature review. Various sources of information were used in gathering information for this chapter, this

Marketing of Library Collections and Services    193 includes: books, journal articles and conference paper. Literature review or content analysis is an accepted and widely used in information science research; therefore, the study used content analysis as a data collection tool. The purpose of the chapter was to dig answers on the challenges and opportunities of using social media technologies in marketing library services and collections in twentyfirst century environment.

Concept of Social Media Technologies Social media technology is the key to twenty-first century communication enabling the libraries and other information centres to fulfil their objectives online, and at the same time promoting library resources and services (Barsky, 2006). According to Buettner (2016), social media technologies are computing-mediated technologies that enable individuals or group of people in creating, sharing and exchanging information at real-time within an online community. Dollarhide (2019) added that social media facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts and information through the building of virtual networks and communities and by design, social media is internet-based and it gives users quick electronic communication of content. Social media consists of computer-mediated tools that people make to create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures and videos easily and quickly (Ozkan-Canbolat & Beraha, 2016). Social media is a key component of how students communicate with classmates, families, friends and other external entities, and it is essential for libraries to communicate with students regarding services, collections, events, library logistics and many more (Howard, 2018). Social media have become an increasingly familiar toolset employed in libraries to market services and resources to current and prospective patrons (Collins & Quan-Haase, 2012). Librarians use social media to promote two-way communication, make communication with library users easier, and provide forum for feedback which increases library usage and improve the services rendered to users (Barsky, 2006). Social media have become an increasingly familiar toolset employed in academic libraries to market services and resources to current and prospective users. Social media is an important part of people’s everyday lives, and people regularly access a variety of social media channels from mediums such as a mobile app or computer web browser, according to a survey of more than 600 social media users (Herhold, 2018). In using social media, you diversify your marketing efforts in more than one way and you don’t reach out to just one type of crowd, but connect to a versatile customer base (Smith, 2019). Social networking is very informative, entertaining and it also aware us about various situations or events which are going on in the society or in the world at large (Kumarjit, 2014). Farkas (2007) commented that academic library professionals globally must ensure that they adopt and use social media technologies to improve the quality of their service and also improve their research productivity. Lukas (2019) noted the following characteristics of social media are easily accessible, and it’s also the meeting point of today’s internet savvy audience, opens possibilities of direct access to clients without any third party intervention, advertising through social

194    Rosemary Maturure and Donald Rakemane media is pretty cost friendly as compared to costs incurred by print, TV or other traditional media, and helps in search engine optimisation and increase in rankings of any company websites.

Importance of Social Media in Marketing Libraries Social media helps libraries to get closer to the users and build a collaborative platform for the users who have a great way to attract the attention of new users for marketing of library resources and services (Chakrabarti, 2016). It is crucial for libraries to stay and keep in touch with their users and know how they feel about services rendered to them. Librarians’ use of social media promotes twoway communication: makes communication with library users easier and provides forum for feedback and increases library users/usage (Akporhonor & Olise, 2015). According to Howard (2018), many academic librarians advocate reaching students in their preferred environments in order to extend library services beyond the traditional library walls. This makes access to the library easy, flexible and friendly to the users in the twenty-first century. Accordingly, academic libraries can use social media to interact with patrons and community partners online in a bid to offer an almost-immediate service to their users (Levesque, 2016). Stephens and Collins (2007) maintain that clienteles are involved in planning library services, evaluating those services and suggesting improvements in an open conversation. Social media provides more opportunity to reach the community, targets specific audiences, and gives them a chance to interact with librarian. By using social media technologies, libraries can easily and comfortably promote their services, resources, events and communication in an online environment. By using social media tools, libraries can alert their users about new collections, upcoming events, opening houses and other services. Additionally, social media tools can be used by libraries to publicise new acquired material and service alerts. Different applications of social media are useful for libraries for obtaining their patron’s feedback and to ensure the maximum engagement of their users in the production of their products and services. Social media is a powerful tool for marketing library services among new generation of users and to creating user-centred libraries (Khan & Bhatti, 2012). Social media has the possibility to help much closer relationships between library and information centres and their customers wherever users are based, and how they choose to learn about and access library services and resources. Most of the libraries use social media for marketing library product and services, for sharing library news and events, video conferencing, advertisement and research work (Islam & Habiba, 2015). Authors observations revealed that although few librarians have commenced to use social media such as, Facebook in their library promotion in Sri Lanka, still they need proper orientation on how to make their Library Facebook more dynamic, attractive and engaging; without such training on how to use social media more effectively, the Library Facebook will not serve its purpose and the promising concept of social media will remain ‘white elephant’. Inadequate training opportunities, lack of knowledge, privacy

Marketing of Library Collections and Services    195 and identity theft, slow speed of internet and electricity failure are some of the paradoxes for applying social media tools in libraries in Sri Lanka.

Social Media Tools Used for Marketing Library Collections and Services There are number of social media tools that can be used in marketing of library collections and services, and these include: Facebook, YouTube, twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, Instagram, wikis, etc. Facebook: According to Chu and Du (2013), Facebook is the most popular social media platform for creating library awareness and marketing. It is very popular in young people in schools, colleges and universities, so it is good for libraries to have a Facebook page on their institutional websites. Facebook is a popular and free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues (Rouse, 2009). Facebook is flexible and easy to use that users of all ages can afford to interact with it. It makes it easy for librarians to market library collection and services using Facebook in libraries in the twenty-first century and librarians interact with their users and know their information needs, they link to the applications in the libraries and they interact with their friends, can join groups and have discussions from the comfort of their homes. Twitter: Twitter was launched in 2006 and posts to this social media are limited to 140 characters. It is used to update library staff and clientele on the activities of the library through news and instant messages. Twitter can be used to market a library’s reference/research services (Jain, 2013). Using such tools, libraries can publicise newly acquired material and create service alerts (Khan & Bhatti, 2012). Twitter has a higher demand than Facebook. YouTube: YouTube was founded in 2005 and it allows people to watch and share videos, connect with each other, conferences and workshops can be marketed by using YouTube uploads. According to Khan and Bhatti (2012), YouTube can be used to share videos conferences, workshops and library events, libraries can promote services, collection, events and resources by using social media. Available content includes teaching video clips, TV clips, music videos, and other all education institutions seminars presentation, education related all types of video example; science, social science, such as video and library related how to search books. All types of videos are available in YouTube (Kenchakkanavar, 2015). YouTube is educationally oriented as it allows downloading of video and sharing, allows library users to watch videos, share educational resources, documents and photos. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a professional network that was launched in 2003. This site is a great way to get post and finding jobs, sharing experience and answer questions, users can connect with the people that can help findings of professional information. Teaching faculty, professional friends, and professional experts, others, we can get them in LinkedIn network (Kenchakkanavar, 2015). Library staff can help its clientele to be connected with specialists in their area of study and

196    Rosemary Maturure and Donald Rakemane offer specialised services to users in libraries. LinkedIn is also used in posting vacancies, helps people to get jobs and share their different experiences. Blogs: A Blog is a very interactive tool, which receive immediate feedback from users who comment on its posts and explore shared ideas (Kenchakkanavar, 2015). Librarians can also develop subject-specific Blogs and play a leading role in advocating the use of blogs for scholarly communication and commenting on research findings (Ezeani & Igwesi, 2012). Blogs can be used in libraries in the promotion of outreach services in the library and disseminate information clienteles in different areas. It is a good interactive tool that can be used in posting of messages by librarians, share information on topics and issues raised by the users in their studies. Users are free to give their ideas to the content and they can write articles on issues of their interest and get feedback and comment from users. Blogs can be used for broadcasting library news and marketing of resources to different clientele. Jain (2013) added that blogs can be used to market library services among distance learners. Pinterest: Moreau (2019) defined Pinterest as ‘a social media network that allows users to share images associated with project, goods, and services, and to visually discover new interests by browsing images others were posted’. Pinterest can also be used by libraries as a powerful tool in marketing library collection and services. Gallardo (2013) noted that there are various ways of using Pinterest in libraries such as pinning book covers; showcasing historic archives, learningrelated infographics, creating reading lists, sharing new acquisitions, craft projects, etc., promoting library activities (add fliers, etc.), collecting ideas, materials, library displays, etc., highlighting library staff and, showing off things in the local community/library pictures. Instagram: Instagram is a free social networking service built around sharing photos and videos. Instagram allows one to follow users that they are interested in.

Challenges of Applying and Using Social Media Tool in Libraries Notably, the advent of other sources of information like the internet, World Wide Web and even social media that has led to a new challenge for librarians to meet the rapidly changing information needs and expectations of the twenty-first century users. Librarians now have a challenge of making themselves more relevant in this digital age. Iwhiwhu, Ruteyan, and Eghwubare (2010) note that the challenge of most librarians is to attract users to the library and to retain them. The challenges facing many African Libraries in adopting social media tools amongst other include lack of skills in using social media technologies, power cuts, poor ICT Infrastructure, lows internet connection, lack of support and negative perception about ICT application in libraries and information centres. Farkas (2009) observed the need for libraries to develop social media policies due to the ‘blurred boundaries’ that emerge between personal and professional realms.

Marketing of Library Collections and Services    197

Role of the Librarian in the Industrial Revolution – Information Provides Perspectives It is noted that twenty-first century librarianship witnesses huge changes in the field of Library and Information science Chakrabarti (2016). A twenty-first century librarian needs to strategise to market social media technologies, he needs to get the message across, making Twitter feed (or whatever) more interesting to be followed by more people and get the message across to a wider community to market the library (Potter, 2011). Social media technologies have ushered a paradigm in the way libraries and information centres market their products and services. One can safely argues that library professionals should then keep with current trends of social media marketing in the twenty-first century and keep abreast. Library professionals should also adopt social media technologies and a vehicle in marketing the services. Additionally, librarian should continuous to acquire new skills that are need for twenty-first century environment in order to remain relevant. If librarians, archivists and other information management professionals are well-trained in ICT skills, they can also equip their users with ICT skills (Rakemane & Jain, 2018). The same authors further propose various methods such as, in-house training, workshops and conferences as a platform that can be used training information management professionals. It can arguably be stated that information professionals in the twenty-first century environment should keep up with current trends in social media marketing in the twenty-first century and applied such social media tools in marketing their library collections and services. Lastly, the authors of this chapter argue that information management professionals such as librarian should move away from them old and physical libraries to digital libraries.

Conclusions This chapter revealed that social media plays a crucial role in marketing library collections and services in the twenty-first century. The role that is played by libraries in the marketing the resources cannot be overlooked. As a result, the importance of marketing library resources and services is crucial in order to successfully make users aware of what the library can provide. This implies that for librarians to reach out to twenty-first century users they must communicate well with the users and provide information when it’s needed. There are challenges that were highlighted that libraries can face in this provision of information and librarians in the twenty-first century are therefore encouraged to work hard on that. There is need for library personnel to have websites that are updated and welcoming. If that is not done, the library would be left out and people would not be able to access the information that is crucial in marketing their collection in the twenty-first century. This chapter pointed out recommendations that must be used by the librarians in marketing their services, protect their users (security), training and having policies and standards to make their services attractive to the twenty-first century users and encourage them to use the libraries effectively.

198    Rosemary Maturure and Donald Rakemane

Recommendations In order to maximum the use of social media tools in marketing library collection and services, the authors propose the following recommendation: ⦁⦁ Training must be done to all librarians so that they are effective and efficient

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in offering services. Librarians are to keep up with the current trends in profession and users’ needs. Library and information centres should develop their marketing plan which promotes the use of various marketing strategies in marketing library services and collection including the use of social media technologies. The use of social media is important to capture the attention of online users and helps in distance learning and knowledge sharing. African Government should also provide adequate financial support to libraries and information centres so that they can procure and implement infrastructure required for twenty-first century environment. Policies and guidelines on the use of social media must be clearly stated by the different libraries to avoid challenges in the provision of information in the twenty-first century. Libraries and information centres should train their users and encourage them to use various social media technologies to interact with their information provider. Information professionals in the twenty-first century environment should keep up with current trends in social media marketing in the twenty-first century and apply such social media tools in marketing their library collections and service.

References Adeyinka, T., & Akinboro, E. (2014). The impact of social media to library services in digital environment (pp. 279–295). doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-7415-8.ch015 Aharony, N. (2012). Facebook use in libraries: An exploratory analysis. Aslib Proceedings, 64(4), 358–372. Akporhonor, B. A., & Olise, F. N. (2015). Librarians’ use of social media for promoting library and information resources and services in university libraries in South-South Nigeria. Information and Knowledge Management, 5(6), 1–9. Anyira, I. E. (2011). Western Delta University. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). Barsky, E. (2006). Introducing Web 2.0: Weblogs and podcasting for health librarians. Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association/Journal de l’Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada, 27(2), 33–34. Buettner, R. (2016). Getting a job via career-oriented social networking sites: The weakness of ties. In 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) (pp. 2156–2165). NJ: IEEE. Retrieved from https://themanifest.com/social-media/ how-people-use-social-media-2018 Burhanna, K. J., Jamie, S., & Jamie, S. (2009). No natives here: A focus group study of student perceptions of Web 2.0 and the academic library. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 35(6), 523–532. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.acalib.2009.08.003

Marketing of Library Collections and Services    199 Chakrabarti, A. (2016, April–June). Social media and libraries: A symbiotic relationship for 21st century librarianship. International Journal of Digital Library Services IJODLS, 6(2), 32. Chu, S. K. W., & Du, H. S. (2013). Social networking tools for academic libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 45(1), 64–75. Collins, G., & Quan-Haase, A. (2012). Social media and academic libraries: Current trends and future challenges. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 49. doi: 10.1002/meet.14504901272 Dollarhide, M. (2019). Social media definition. Investopedia. Retrieved from https://www. investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp Emezie, N., & Nwaohiri, N. (2013). 21st century librarians and effective information service delivery. Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, 4, 30, 30–43. Ezeani, C. N., & Igwesi, U. (2012). Using social media for dynamic library service delivery: The Nigeria experience. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). Paper 814. Retrieved from World Wide Web: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=2011&context=libphilprac. Accessed on December 23, 2013. Farkas, M. G. (2007). Social software in libraries: Building collaboration, communication, and community online. Medford: NJ: Information Today, Inc. Farkas, M. (2009). Governing social media. American Libraries, 40(12), 35. Gallardo, R. (2013). Social Media for libraries. Social Media Use. Retrieved from World Wide Web: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/Library_Social_Media_ Use.html. Accessed on December 23, 2013. Herhold, K. (2018). How people use social media in 2018. The Manifest. October 17. Retrieved from: https://themanifest.com/social-media/how-people-use-social-media-2018. Howard, H. (2018). Academic libraries on social media: Finding the students and the information they want. Information Technology and Libraries, 37, 8. doi:10.6017/ ital.v37i1.10160 Islam, M. M., & Habiba, U. (2015). Use of social media in marketing of library and information services in Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/ journal/09764658_DESIDOC_Journal_of_Library_Information Technology Iwhiwhu, B. E., Ruteyan, J. O., & Eghwubare, A. (2010). Mobile phones for library services: Prospects for Delta State University library, Abraka. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/346. Accessed on June14, 2014. Jain, P. (2013). Application of social media in marketing library & information services: A global perspective. European Journal of Business, Economics and Accountancy, 1(1). Jain, P. (2014). Application of social media in marketing library & information services: a global perspective. International journal of academic research and reflection, 2(2), 25. Jain, P. (2015). Impact of social media on information professionals: prospects and challenges. In T. Adeyinka (Ed.), Social media strategies for dynamic library service development. Nigeria: IGI Global. Kenchakkanavar, A. Y. (2015, April–June). The importance of social networking sites for possible implications and promoting libraries. International Journal of Digital Library Services, 5(22). Khan, S. A., & Bhatti, R. (2012, June). Application of social media in marketing of Library and information services: A case study from Pakistan. Webology, 9(1). Kim, Y. M., & Abbas, J. (2010). Adoption of Library 2.0 functionalities by academic libraries and users: A knowledge management perspective. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(3), 211–218. Kumar, C. R. (2015, July–September). Social networks impact on Academic Libraries in Technology Era, 5(3), 101–108.

200    Rosemary Maturure and Donald Rakemane Kumarjit, P. (2014). E-learning and e-publishing: Major issues and challenges to the library professionals in Digital Era. In V. Parasar & M. L. Vishwakarma (Eds.), Current trends of libraries in the ICT era (pp. 133–141). New Delhi: Research India Publications. ISBN: 978-93-84144-08-1. Levesque, L. (2016). Social media in academic libraries: Engaging in 140 characters or less. Public Services Quarterly, 12(1), 71–76. doi:10.1080/15228959.2016.1145092 Lucas, P. (2019). Importance and Benefits of Social Media in Today’s World. Retrieved from https://inspirationfeed.com/importance-and-benefits-of-social-media-intodays-world/ Moreau, F. (2019). What Is Pinterest? An intro to using the social image platform. Retrieved from https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-pinterest-3486578 Okonedo, S., Azubike, F.C., & Adeyoyin, S.O (2013). A Survey of the Awareness and Use of Web 2.0 Technologies by Library and Information Professionals in Selected Libraries in South West Nigeria. International Journal of Library Science. 2(4), 61–68. Ozkan-Canbolat, E., & Beraha, A. (2016). Encyclopedia of e-commerce development, implementation, and management: An overview of social media. Retrieved from http:// www.igi-global.com/chapter/an-overview-of-social-media/149102?camid=4v1 Potter, N. (2011). Marketing academic libraries in a web 2 world. Retrieved from World Wide Web: http://www.slideshare.net/thewikiman/marketing-libraries-in-a-web2-world. Accessed on November 21, 2019. Rakemane, D., & Jain, P. (2018). Revitalization Strategies for Libraries, Archives, and other Information Centers. Library and Information Association of Zambia Journal, 3(1 & 2), 41–51. Rouse, M. (2009). Definition Facebook. Retrieved from World Wide Web: http://whatis. techtarget.com/definition/Facebook. Accessed on November 10, 2019. Smith, K. (2019). The importance of social media in business. Atlanta, GA: Lyfe Marketing. Stephens, M., & Collins, M. (2007). Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the hyperlinked library. Serials Review, 33(4), 253–256. Zohoorian-Fooladi, N and Abrizah, A. (2012). Exploration of uses and gratification of social media application among academic librarians in Malaysia: a preliminary study. In A.Noorhidawati, et al. (Eds.): International Conference of Libraries, Information & Society 2012, Kuala Lumpur: LIS, FCSIT, 2012: pp 157–168 (NonISI/Non-SCOPUS Cited Publication)

Chapter 14

Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources? Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey

Introduction Library services and resources are considered as the main sources to fulfill the information needs or demands of the users. Therefore, library and information science professionals are developing different types of the services, or products and subscribed resources in different formats both in print and digital in order to fascinating and meeting the information needs and demands of the users. The library and information science professionals who are working in the diverse libraries continuously think deeply regarding how they can develop the valuable and quality services and quality products to their users which can not only able to fulfill their needs satisfactorily but also assist in achieving the objectives set for their respective libraries and information center. But it is important to mention that the services, or resources or products cannot reach or sale themselves unless any marketing technique is applied on them for that purpose. Thus, it is necessary to search and apply an effective marketing technique in order to market the library services or and resources to the targeted users successfully. On the other hand, among diverse marketing techniques, the 7Ps of marketing mix which are product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence may be considered as one of the effective and tested marketing technique for marketing of library services or resources or products to the end users successfully. Verma and Dominic (2015) study used 7Ps of marketing mix for marketing the library services and resources Thus, through this study, an attempt is made to apply 7Ps of marketing mix for marketing of library services or resources or products to the targeted users in the library and information science.

What is Marketing? The concept of marketing may loosely be defined in terms of publicity, orientation, outreach activity and promotions in the literatures of library and information Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 201–213 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201023

202    Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey science but in fact the “Concepts of Marketing” has various dimensions and perspectives spanning from planning of the library to delivery of end products and services. A comprehensive and elaborate definition has been put forward by the American Marketing Organization (AMA) stated that Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals (Baker, 1998). Marketing library services is more than just publicity, promotion and improving circulation statistics (Pfeil, 2005). Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science (Ranganathan, 2006) has a significant relevancy to the marketing world. As far back as 1931, a focus on customer needs (second law) and wants through saving of time (fourth law) is clearly emphasized in these laws, also, the third law relates to finding a reader, probably implying that the library should reach out to the customers. Kotler (1994) defined that Marketing is the analysis, planning, implementation and control of carefully formulated programs designed to bring about voluntary exchanges of values with target markets for the purpose of achieving organizational objectives. It relies heavily on designing the organization’s offering in terms of the target market’s needs and desires and as using effective pricing, communication, and distribution to inform, motivate and serve the markets. Renborg (1997) presents a historical review of marketing library services, dating back more than a century, suggesting that “marketing is not a new library activity.” She argues that marketing library services has its roots in Samuel Swett Green’s quoted speech at the ALA Conference in 1876. The concept of marketing nonprofit organizations was initially introduced by Kotler and Levy (1969). However, in the early days, marketing was considered to form part of a managerial process outside the boundaries of library science and librarians were reluctant to use it (Lovelock & Weinberg, 1990; Schwamm, Stephens, & Cleeve, 2009). During the 1970s, the majority of the published articles on marketing mainly addressed issues relating to publicity, advertising and public relations (Kies, 1987; Koontz, Gupta, & Webber, 2006). Gupta (2003), in a brief historical account, suggests that the changes noticed in the use of the “marketing concept” in library and information services indicate a shift from the “selling concept” to the “product development” and finally to the “customer focused concept.” Wood and Young (1988) defined in detail the concepts/orientations (“production,” “selling” and “marketing” orientation) regarding this “historical progression.” They argued that the “product” or “production” orientation is based on the development of quality products or services (like information systems designing or collection development) without, however, determining user satisfaction.

Literature Review Different studies were carried out on the theme marketing of library services and resources using marketing mix concept, in which Janakiraman (1998) examined the use of 7Ps of marketing mix for marketing of library services and information products. This study also proposed the 7Cs viz Consumer needs and wants,

Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources?    203 Convenience to the consumers, Cost to the consumer, Communication with the customer, Company employees, Concrete evidence and experiences and Course of action framework for customer point of view. Edinger (1980) argued regarding the implementing marketing mix concept of marketing the library services and resources successfully. Gupta (1998) pointed out the realities and clarifies the myths of marketing mix concept in light of the marketing of library services. Garusing Arachchige (2002) pointed out the applications of marketing mix in the context of library and information science sector specially libraries and information centers in Sri Lanka. Madhusudhan (2008) through a case study of Goa university library highlighted how marketing of library services and products can be done by using 7Ps of marketing mix model. Mu (2007) urged to use effective marketing techniques to market the library services and resources in proactively. Garoufallou, Siatri, Zafeiriou, and Balampanidou (2013) through literature review investigated the use of marketing concepts and its techniques for marketing of the library services and resources in different perspectives successfully. Kaushik (2018) mapped the use of 7Ps of marketing mix in marketing of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in library and information science sphere. Wanjiku Ndungu and Wacuka Gikandi (2018) emphasized to create and use effective marketing strategies to market the library services and resources in Kenya. This study further concluded that the marketing techniques are helpful in marketing of library services and resources to the end user. Zafeiriou, Siatri, and Garoufallou (2012) through the literature review measured the use of marketing mix concept for marketing of library services and resources in academic libraries This study also discussed how marketing mix concept may be implemented in the academic libraries effectively. Kim and Park (2006) through a survey mapped the use of 7Ps marketing mix concept in Korean libraries context and found that large academic libraries are using 7Ps marketing mix concept to market the library services and resources. Lamba (2019) through a case study discovered that the marketing and promotion strategies were used by the libraries to market their library services and resources to the targeted audience. Goi (2009) crucially reviewed the 4Ps of marketing mix in marketing context and discovered that 4Ps of marketing mix may be effective marketing technique to market the services and resources. Soroya and Ameen (2013) discussed the marketing concept in library and information science domain detailing the Pakistan perspective and also urged to conduct more research in marketing of library services and resources. MoikanMollel (2013) argued to use the marketing mix concept for libraries and library and information science professionals. This study further discussed that how libraries and library and information science professionals can use the marketing mix concept for marketing of library services and resources. Das and Karn (2008) discussed the marketing concept in detail and also urged to use 5Ps of marketing mix like product, price, place, promotion and person (staff) to market the library services and resources. This study further concluded that main objective of marketing of library services and products is to impart right resource to the right user in the right time.

204    Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey

Objectives of the Study This study has following objectives: a) To define the marketing concept. b) To apply 7Ps of marketing mix to market the library services, resources and products. c) To identify the Internet resources available on Internet freely on marketing of library services.

Methodology This study used “Marketing library services” search term and Google scholar search engine to discover the literature published on 7Ps of marketing mix in library and information science domain. Some relevant studies were reviewed and included in the literature review sections on diverse topics related to 7Ps of marketing mix and library and information science domain. Furthermore, the same search term “Marketing library services” and search engine “Google” used for identifying the important Internet resources which are available freely on Internet on marketing of library services.

Is Marketing of the Library Services and Resources Necessary? Of course yes, because library services, resources and products cannot sell or market themselves unless any marketing techniques will not apply on them, therefore, they have need to apply some marketing techniques to market the library services, resources and products to the targeted audiences. Marketing techniques are helpful in making the bridge among targeted users and services, resources and products offered by the libraries, library and information science institutions. Marketing techniques may be anything like public relation, 4Ps or 7Ps, publicity, advertisement, etc. Some studies (Chandratre & Chandratre, 2015; Garoufallou et al., 2013; Islam & Islam, 2009; Jain, 2013) used marketing mix technique to market the services or resources in different domain including library and information science domain. Therefore, 7Ps of marketing mix can be considered as one of the effective technique to market the library services or resources to the targeted users. 7Ps contains seven components like product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and process. This technique assists in achieving the goals set for making the services or resources or products to the users. Each component of 7Ps explicitly defines what has to be done and what has to be done and also helps greatly in marketing the library services, resources and products to the targeted users effectively. Thus, it is duty to library and information science professionals to identify the targeted users and know the information needs and demands of the users prior to developing the services or products to the users. The developed services or resources should be able to meet the needs of the users and able to satisfy

Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources?    205 them. However, it is necessary to market the library services or resources by using marketing techniques and 7Ps of marketing mix can be used for that purpose.

7Ps of Marketing Mix in Library and Information Science Domain Marketing mix is a very important medium to develop, implement and evaluation of any service or resource or product. It assists greatly in achieving the tasks set for the services or resources or products. Marketing mix is a set of 7Ps components, namely product, price, place and promotion (Koontz & Rockwood, 2001), people, physical evidence and process (Rafiq & Ahmed, 1995). We used 7Ps of marketing mix concept to market the library services and resources which described by Table 14.1.

Application of the 7Ps of Marketing to Library Services These 7Ps of marketing mix can be applied in marketing of library services and resources in the following ways:

Product The product may be anything which can develop with the motto to satisfy the information need of the users (Satit, Tat, Rasli, Chin, & Sukati, 2012). Product is not a physical entity but it is perception of user’s needs. In the libraries, any service or resource or purposefully developed product can be considered as a product. Prior to develop or offer a product to the users, it is very necessary to do marketing research and analysis diligently. Besides this, the targeted audiences, their needs and demands, competitors, objectives, etc. should be identified and determined. The products must be developed strictly on the line of targeted users, needs of users and demanded format so that the developed product can meet their targeted audiences, needs of the users and satisfactory level successfully because the basis aim of developed product is to meet users’ needs effectively. A strategic plan needs to be developed in order to achieve the set objectives of a product. It is needful to include that the services or resources or products which offering to the users should be developed on the basis of users’ needs or demands which able to meet the needs of the targeted audiences and also contains relevant, update, accurate, authentic with accuracy of the information and able to satisfy the needs of the users successfully.

Price Price is another important factor which be measured by all cost spent by the customers in terms of money, time and other efforts to find their desired information or services or resources or products. Thabit and Raewf (2018) through a case study assessed the marketing mix elements including pricing. Price can be two types one is monetary price and another is social price. Monetary price

206    Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey Table 14.1.  The 7Ps of Marketing. 7Ps

Descriptions

Product

Product can be anything service or resource or product which aim to develop to fulfill the information needs of the users satisfactorily

Price

Price can be calculated through cost, time and efforts spent in the development and access of the services or product

Place

Points of distribution services or products to the targeted users

Promotion

Channels of communication or promotion (internal as well as external)

People

Humans who involved in developing and delivering of the services or products

Physical evidence

An environment in which a product or services delivered to the targeted audience

Process

The procedures, mechanism and other activities involved in developing of the products or services

contains the sum of certain payment made by users for the service or products, while social price can be measured by the additional efforts made by the users to get access of the services or products. Effective price should set when the service or product offers to the users but price can be changed according to the changes made in the products because the price can be a flexible element. In the nonprofit organizations like libraries, it is suggested that both monetary price and social price should be considered while offering services or products to the audiences should be considered. For measuring monetary price, development cost of services or products and impact of the services or products should be considered. While measuring the social price meeting the needs, want, interest of the users, delivery of services or products effectively and satisfaction level of the users can be considered. Actual calculation of price of a service or product can be made on the basis of cost analysis calculation. Therefore, pricing is an important factor for the library services and products (Singh, 2012).

Place This factor confines on to describe distribution channels which to be used by the organizing or libraries to convey about the library services, resources and products to the targeted users or end users. Pace factor may be judged with regard to accessibility, acceptability and convenience of the services and products offered to the targeted users. Place factor includes different points or ways through which services, resources and products are made available to the audience within the campus, remote location, physically or virtually. In the libraries,

Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources?    207 place may be different branches, sections, library websites, bookmobile and other ways also. The distribution of the libraries services or products focused on to “When,” “Where,” and “How” library service or products can be connected to the user wherein “When” denotes the time period in which services is to be provided, “Where” shows the location of the services and “How” depicts the type of distribution is to be made.

Promotion Promotion is the one of the very important factor of 7Ps of marketing mix (Khan, 2014) and it needed an effective process to follow to inform to the targeted group or users about the library services, resources and products are available to them. Many times users are not fully aware about the services, resources and products which made available by the libraries and library and information science institutions (Schmidt, 2007). Thus, these library services, resources and products need to promote among users. Therefore, the promotion is very important factor of the 7Ps of marketing mix. For promoting the library services, resources and products, many formal or informal may be used by the library and information science professionals. These include Internet marketing, institutional or library portal, brochure, periodic get together, library bulletin-emagazine, library bulletin-print-magazine, print media, information literacy program, list-serves, library and information science forum, literary clubs, personal communication and contacts, exhibitions, publicity, public relation, lecture, advertisements, sample mailing, posters, flyers, word of mouth publicity, notice boards and so on. Yi (2016) through online survey discovered that the various techniques and tools should be used to promote library services and resources effectively. Apart from this, Web 2.0 or Library 2.0 and other social networking sites may be extensively used by the library and information science professionals for promoting the library services, resources and products because all kind of the users are using Web 2.0 or Library 2.0 and social networking sites and tools extensively for the getting updates in the different domains and various purposes and these means of communication are considered as the effective medium to making communication very fast among the users and targeted groups in the present era (Jones & Harvey, 2019).

People People factor shows that people who involved in developing and delivering the library services, resources and products. A team of library and information science professionals may be created who can develop and deliver the value added services, resources and products to the targeted audience. The main role of each team member should well define and communicate explicitly so that no confusion may be occurred and they can work with full collaboration. It is necessary to entire members of team that they should work Full Corporation and coordination so that they can able to achieve the set aims for the services, resources and products in real situation.

208    Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey Physical Evidence In the Physical evidence factor, physical resources, documents and environments are to be used in marketing of library services and resources to the targeted users will be included. Physical resources may be techniques, equipment, documents, tools and other kind of physical resources to be required to marketing of the library services and resources. All the physical evidences may be properly filed and preserved for the future use.

Process As the last factor of the 7Ps, process incorporates the procedures, mechanisms, techniques, tools and other activities involved in developing of the library services and products to the users. Under the process factor, it is to be decided by the library and information science professionals that through which the mechanism of the marketing of library services and resources can be done in order to ensure to that these library services and resources to be reached to the end users. Therefore, the effective procedures and process should select successful procedures, process, tools, techniques, etc., which will be recorded using reliable media and preserved for future use in different ways.

Some Important Resources on Marketing of Library Services The following are the Internet resources available freely on Internet on marketing of library services and resources: Marketing Library Services Newsletter (http://www.infotoday.com/mls/): Marketing Library Services Newsletter started its journey in 1987, published in six issues in a year under the banner of Info Today Inc., covering wide variety of valuable articles, case studies and other information like news, interviews, book reviews, conferences information related to marketing library services and products of different types of libraries which written by renowned authors of marketing of library and information services area around the world. This newsletter is being considered as one of the oldest newsletters in the marketing of library services arena at global level. Marketing Library Services newsletter provides free access of one or two article in each its published issue. Kathy Dempsey is the editor of this well-known newsletter in the marketing of library services arena. Public Library association marketing strategies (http://www.ala.org/pla/ resources/tools/public-relations-marketing/marketing-strategies): Public Library Association (a division of American Library Association) provides a wide range of resources on marketing of library services ranging from four simple ways to beef up your library marketing to libraries transform toolkit, under the heading of marketing strategies. This association presents publications and resources connecting to the marketing library services and these resources are available through popular social networking websites as well.

Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources?    209 Libraries are essentials – library marketing resources (https://www. librariesareessential.com/library-marketing-resources/resources/): This website was developed by Kathy Dempsey covering variety of resources pertaining to the marketing of library services area under the banner of “libraries are essential” in nine headings ranging from branding to web marketing strategies. This website contains hyperlinks to access the resources and covering literature from 2003 to 2012 period including journal articles, books, quotes, blogs, etc. on marketing of library services sphere. This websites also presents update information on marketing library services which published in a blog namely “M word – marketing libraries” and conferences information as well. IFLA – management and marketing section (https://www.ifla.org/ES/managementand-marketing): Under the aegis of world’s leading library and information science association namely The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), a management and marketing section was created in 1997. This management and marketing section provides latest updates like event information, publications, conferences, news, etc. at worldwide level regarding marketing of library services. This section also provides an international award related to marketing library namely IFLA Press Reader International Marketing Award every year. This section contains a standing committee and available on Facebook which is a very famous social networking site in the global perspective. The “M” Word – marketing libraries (http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/): The “M’ Word –Marketing Libraries is a one of the prominent blog in the area of marketing library services providing library marketing related updates, tips, trends and information about other happening in the domain. This blog not only presents ideas and trends about the library marketing but also assists greatly in keeping abreast of the librarians regarding recent happening taking place in the marketing of library services. This blog was developed by Ms Kathy Dempsey who is very renowned professional in the area of library marketing. Some popular social networking tools include Facebook, twitter, etc. Emailing and sharing facilities are being provided by the blog in the each posting. This blog also provides facility to give comments against each posting. Marketing and advocacy resources bibliography (https://www.loc.gov/flicc/bibliography2.pdf): Marketing and advocacy resources bibliography complied by Roger Garren, Shoran Lenius and Michele Masias, and sponsored by FLICC/ FEDLINK marketing and advocacy subcommittee, made available in portable document format (.pdf) in 14 pages. This bibliography is available under the four headings viz. best practices, benchmarks, guidelines, toolkits and performance measures, branding, market research, advocacy, strategic planning, return on investment, e-marketing, blogging, podcasting, RSS, wikis and SLA resources (note: these resources are only available to SLA members) in which section heading contains large numbers of resources in comparison to the above mentioned three headings. The resources are made available in each heading arranged in alphabetical order and covering time period from 2001 to 2007. This bibliography may be considered as one of the important bibliography in the marketing of library services area.

210    Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey Marketing of library and information services: international perspectives (https:// www.degruyter.com/view/product/178271): This book is an unique addition in marketing of library and information services area in international perspectives and brings forefront issues and aspects of marketing of library and information services which do not cover so far in any book published under the marketing of library and information services domain at international level. This book consists 40 chapters by 47 contributors who are very famous and closely connected and associated with marketing of library and information science area and contributed a lot in this subject. This book published by K. G. Saur, Munchen, Germany in 2006. This book is edited on behalf of IFLA by four renowned experts of marketing of library and information services belonging to different parts of the world. The book is divided into six sections, namely: (i) Marketing Concept: A Changing Perspective; (ii) Marketing in Libraries Around the World; (iii) Role of Library Associations; (iv) Education, Training and Research; (v) Excellence in Marketing; and (vi) Databases and Other Marketing Literature. Each section of this book contains brief introduction about chapters and each chapter with selfexplanatory titles and significant justification discussed in the respective sections along with relevant tables, and tone of articles written in set format. Marketing your library (https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/librarians/ marketing/index.htm): Under the banner of Emerald Publishing which is known as one of the leading publishers in the world, a very important electronic resources made available to the librarians by the Ms Lisa Ennis, entitled “marketing your library” made available in 12 installments with the aim to make informed and bring close to the services offered to them. She also discussed the roles of librarians to spread the library services and products to the end users with satisfaction level. Each installment contains detailed information about the respective headings. These resources may be considered as a one of the worthy resources to getting the idea how to market your library services and products successfully to the targeted users.

Conclusion This study described that how essential to market the library services and resources and 7Ps of marketing mix can assist greatly for marketing of library services and resources to the targeted users. This study further emphasized to develop products in terms of services or resources after doing proper market research and analysis and knowing the targeted audiences and their information needs and demands as well. This study detailed that all 7Ps of marketing mix have their own significance but wide promotion of the library services and resources need to be done through various channels of communications using cutting edge technologies and tools including social networking media. This study also revealed that 7Ps of marketing mix can be used in making the services or resources or products valuable among the targeted users. Therefore, library and information science professionals need to maintain the quality of the services and resources in order to add value in the services of resources as well as to meet the information needs of the targeted users in manifold ways. Besides

Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources?    211 this, library and information science professional uses some Internet resources to develop their marketing skills and can clarify their doubts regarding marketing of library services and products related doubts in connection to use best marketing techniques and tools for marketing the library services and resources to the end users successfully.

References Baker, M. J. (1998). The marketing manual. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Chandratre, S. V., & Chandratre, M. S. (2015). Marketing of library and information services. Journal of Commerce & Management Thought, 6(1), 162–175. Das, B. K., & Karn, S. K. (2008). Marketing of library and information services in global era: A current approach. Webology, 5(2), 56. Edinger, J. A. (1980). Marketing library services: Strategy for survival. College & Research Libraries, 41(4), 328–332. Garoufallou, E., Siatri, R., Zafeiriou, G., & Balampanidou, E. (2013). The use of marketing concepts in library services: A literature review. Library Review, 62(4/5), 312–334. Garusing Arachchige, J. J. (2002). Application of marketing mix elements (4Ps) in the library sector. Jula, 7(1), 12–36. Goi, C. L. (2009). A review of marketing mix: 4Ps or more? International Journal of Marketing Studies, 1(1), 2–15. Gupta, D. K. (1998). Marketing in library and information context: Myths and realities. SRELS Journal of Information Management, 35(2), 99–104. Gupta, D. K. (2003). Marketing of library and information services: Building a new discipline for library and information science education in Asia. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 8(2), 95–108. Islam, M. S., & Islam, M. N. (2009). Marketing of library and information products and services: A theoretical analysis. Business Information Review, 26(2), 123–132. Jain, M. K. (2013). An analysis of marketing mix: 7Ps or more. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(4), 23–28. Janakiraman, M. (1998). Marketing mix in the context of library & information products & services. DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, 18(3), 11–19. Jones, M. J., & Harvey, M. (2019). Library 2.0: The effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool for libraries in educational institutions. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 51(1), 3–19. Kaushik, A. (2018). 7P’s of marketing mix in MOOCs environment. International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology, 8(2), 57–61. Khan, M. T. (2014). The concept of ’marketing mix and its elements (a conceptual review paper). International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 6(2), 95–107. Kies, C. (1987), Marketing and public relations for libraries. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. Kim, H., & Park, Y. (2006). Marketing analysis of reference and information services in Korean libraries. In 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council (pp. 20–24). Retrieved from http://www.chinalibs.net/Upload/Pusfile/j0220.pdf Koontz, C. M., Gupta, D. K., & Webber, S. (2006). Key publications in library marketing: A review. IFLA Journal, 32(3), 224–231. Koontz, C. M., & Rockwood, P. E. (2001). Developing performance measures within a marketing frame of reference. New Library World, 102(1163/1164), 146–153. Kotler, P. (1994). Marketing management: Analysis, planning, implementation, and control (8th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

212    Anna Kaushik and Shweta Pandey Kotler, P., & Levy, S. J. (1969). Broadening the concept of marketing. Journal of Marketing, 33(1), 10–15. Lamba, M. (2019). Marketing of academic health libraries 2.0: A case study. Library Management, 40(3/4), 155–177. Lovelock, C. H., & Weinberg, C. B. (1990). Public and nonprofit marketing: Themes and issues for the 1990s. In Public and nonprofit marketing: Readings and cases (2nd ed., pp. 3–14). South San Francisco, CA: The Scientific Press. Madhusudhan, M. (2008). Marketing of library and information services and products in university libraries: A case study of Goa university library. Library Philosophy and Practice, 10(1), 1–6. MoikanMollel, M. (2013). Marketing mix for librarians and information professionals. Infopreneurship Journal, 1(1), 10–28. Mu, C. (2007). Marketing academic library resources and information services to international students from Asia. Reference Services Review, 35(4), 571–583. Pfeil, A. B. (2005). Going places with youth outreach: Smart marketing strategies for your library. Chicago: American Library Association. Rafiq, M., & Ahmed, P. K. (1995). Using the 7Ps as a generic marketing mix: An exploratory survey of UK and European Marketing Academics. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 13(9), 4–15. Ranganathan, S. (2006). The five laws of library science. New Delhi: EssEss Publications. Renborg, G. (1997). “Marketing library services: how it all began”, Libraries and Information for Human Development. In Proceedings of the 63rd IFLA General Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, 31 August–5 September, IFLANET. Retrieved from www.ifla.org/IV/ifla63/63reng.htm Satit, R. P., Tat, H. H., Rasli, A., Chin, T. A., & Sukati, I. (2012). The relationship between marketing mix and customer decision-making over travel agents: An empirical study. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2(6), 522–530. Schmidt, J. (2007). Promoting library services in a Google world. Library Management, 28(6–7), 337–346. Schwamm, H., Stephens, D., & Cleeve, M. (2009). Marketing orientation of national libraries. Libri, 59(4), 259–274. Singh, M. (2012). Marketing mix of 4p’s for competitive advantage. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 3(6), 40–45. Soroya, S. H., & Ameen, K. (2013). LIS marketing approach in libraries: A selected literature review. Pakistan Library & Information Science Journal, 44(4), 4–18. Thabit, T., & Raewf, M. (2018). The evaluation of marketing mix elements: A case study. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 4(4), 100–109. Verma, N. C., & Dominic, J. (2015). Marketing of library and information products and services in Uttarakhand: Theory and practices. Journal of Library, Information and Communication Technology, 2(1-2), 45–54. Wanjiku Ndungu, M., & Wacuka Gikandi, J. (2018). Strategic marketing of electronic resources in academic libraries in Kenya. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 49(4), 435–452. Wood, E., & Young, V. L. (1988). Strategic marketing for libraries: A handbook. New York, NY: Greenwood. Yi, Z. (2016). Effective techniques for the promotion of library services and resources. Information Research: An International Electronic Journal, 21(1), 1–22. Zafeiriou, G., Siatri, R., & Garoufallou, E. (2012). Academic libraries and the marketing mix. In International Conference on Contemporary Marketing Issues (ICCMI) (pp. 329–334). Retrieved from http://eureka.teithe.gr/jspui/bitstream/123456789/ 1232/1/Zafeiriou_Siatri_Garoufallou_Academic_Libraries_and_the_Marketing.pdf

Do Libraries Need to Market Their Services and Resources?    213

Additional Web Resources IFLA – Management and Marketing section – (https://www.ifla.org/ES/ management-and-marketing). Libraries are essentials – Library marketing resources – (https://www. librariesareessential.com/library-marketing-resources/resources/). Marketing Library Services Newsletter – (http://www.infotoday.com/mls/). The “M” Word –Marketing Libraries – (http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/). Marketing and Advocacy Resources Bibliography – (https://www.loc.gov/flicc/bibliography2.pdf). Marketing of library and information services: international perspectives – (https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/178271). Marketing Your Library – (https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/ librarians/marketing/index.htm). Public Library Association – Marketing strategies – (http://www.ala.org/pla/ resources/tools/public-relations-marketing/marketing-strategies).

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Section VI

Capacity Building of Librarians in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

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Chapter 15

Capacity Building for Library and Information Science Professionals in University Libraries Stephen Tsekea

Introduction The chapter discusses the importance of capacity building for library and information science professionals. The changing dynamics in information and communication technologies has led to shift in demands for skills and competencies for library and information professionals. Such need for training is more urgent than before especially in developing countries. If Libraries are to remain relevant in the twenty-first century, they need to constantly adapt and have professional librarians who are able to cope with such rapidly changing environments. The aim of this chapter is to document how libraries can capacitate their staff in order to make them competent in their work of information provision. The main objectives of this chapter are: ⦁⦁ To find out what are the core skills required by librarians in the twenty-first

century;

⦁⦁ To determine capacity building techniques used by modern libraries; and ⦁⦁ To establish the challenges that libraries are facing in staff development.

The twenty-first century library patron has different expectation than users from previous years. The modern university library user is a critical thinker, a problem solver and is exposed to technology. The librarians should be ready to support such users. They should be knowledgeable on delivering information resources and services via the virtual platforms; digitising collections and then build digital libraries; contribute ideas on repurposing of the library to make it suitable to the needs of the twenty-first century learner; preparing research grants for funding of the library projects; and applying pedagogical and andragogical skills for training of students and staff. Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 217–225 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201024

218    Stephen Tsekea

The Concept of Capacity Building Capacity building is a priority of many organisations that include the library. There are variations regarding how it is regarded with some scholars preferring to call it training, staff continuous development, capacity development or manpower development. Capacity building is defined by Wassem et al. (2019, p. 4) as: the practice of developing and establishing skills, nature, ability, procedures, and resources that are required for the organisations and societies to adapt and increase employee performance in a fast changing world continuously. The process enhances skills of personnel, leading to excellence in the organisation. Adu, Appiah, and Yamson (2016) noted that through capacity building, individuals can develop technical and decision making skills which can help them improve themselves and their communities in general. Capacity building has become a major strategy being used by many institutions to try and increase the ability and performance of staff (Lamidi, 2017). It is a core component in enhancement of employees’ performance (Wassem et al., 2019). Capacity building is related to training and development. The term is sometimes used synonymously with organisational development. The need for capacity building was noted by Adu et al. (2016) as imperative since academic librarians are involved in provision of information resources needed by faculty and students in support of teaching, learning and research. Panda, Swain, and Jena (2009) notes that capacitating the library must be inclusive of the people in the library, the environment and appearance. Libraries should therefore show the desire to have training programmes of its staff. Staff should also be ready to be capacitated as noted by Kont and Jantson (2015) who found out that staff in Estonia were willing and ready to be trained in new skills. Adu et al. (2016) did a study on the capacitation of librarians and found out that capacity development is necessary for skills development. In a Library that is still using traditional services, librarians are expected to upskill themselves in manual systems of information organisation, utilisation of predominantly precoordinated indexing systems, selective dissemination of information, selection of materials and management of budgets and cataloguing and classification (Sarmah, 2014). In the modern world, Lamidi (2017) observed that some of the technological skills necessary for the modern university librarian in addition to the traditional ones include use of computers and information technology tools and use of Internet and computer communication networks.

Skills and Competencies for University Librarians in the Twenty-first Century The University Library is at the centre of the university. The Library is established to support Education 5.0 which includes teaching and learning, research, extension services, innovation and industrialisation. There are various new functions

Capacity Building for Library and Information Science Professionals    219 that librarians are expected to conduct in support of their missions. As such before looking at the different strategies used to enhance skills and knowledge of the librarians, an analysis of the competencies required for the twenty-first century librarian will be done.

Research Support Services According to Nwabueze and Anike (2016), one of the critical attributes of a university librarian is to be a scholarly professional. This skill entails being able to assist patrons in their scholarship works and is a requirement especially for subject librarians. Such capable staff will increase the research productivity of an institution (Ogungbeni, Adeleke, & Opeke, 2014). Librarians are expected to have an in-depth understanding of the research cycle. Such understanding will help them with assisting patrons in every stage of their research. The Librarian must have knowledge on research cycle; research statistics – university librarians must have skills and knowledge on interpretation of citation metrics and altmetrics using tools such as PlumX, PLoS and ScienceCard, journal impact factors and high impact journals; software packages like anti-plagiarism detection tools like Turnitin-Ephorus and Turnitin; electronic reference management software like Mendeley, Zotero and Refworks; electronic document delivery applications; setting of new article or databases alerts to patrons; organising research clinics for different users including undergraduate and postgraduate levels; assisting researchers in connecting their research on platforms such as Researchgate and Academia; and assisting researchers in creation of unique identifiers through use of platform like Orchid which will help them in having specific identification.

Digital Literacy Skills Due to the ever changing dynamics in the digital age, librarians have had to grapple with a lot of responsibility in order to meet the needs of the twenty-first century patrons. Information is coming in many different digital formats and platforms. Research scholars are sharing their knowledge discoveries through platforms like blogs, wikis, open educational resources and other social media platforms. University librarians have to ensure that that they have some knowledge on how such platforms operate in order for them to assist the patrons. Lamidi (2017) notes that the need to build capacity in technological skills becomes necessary in the wake of digital library services and globalisation. Some of the digital skills necessary include: ⦁⦁ basic computer literacy has become a must for any practising university librar-

ian. They should know basic computer operations, how to use different input and output computer devices. These will also allow the Librarian to effectively manoeuvre the library automation software modules of Library Management systems like Koha, Millennium, Evergreen, Mandarin and TIND; ⦁⦁ basic programming;

220    Stephen Tsekea ⦁⦁ database creation and updating, for example in creating a Digital Library of

past examination papers of a University or electronic thesis and dissertations.

⦁⦁ website designing and updating; ⦁⦁ networking skills, that is the ability to handle different computer communica-

tion networking architectures such as LAN and WAN and different protocols like FTP, TCP and HTTP. Such networking skills will allow speedy sharing of resources and access to the Internet; and ⦁⦁ trouble shooting skills.

Pedagogical Skills University librarians are increasingly expected to offer training programmes for faculties. Librarians will conduct information literacy skills training to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Trainings, by their nature require critical skills such as basic understanding of different instructional strategies, learning theories, how to approach large classes, lesson planning, adult education and basic sociological, philosophical and psychological educational foundations. In their various training programmes, university librarians have to use what is referred as Evidence Based Teaching. This entails being able to do preliminary findings or researches on what training are required for the faculties and how best to approach such. Thus, librarians are taking new teaching roles with the faculties. Subject librarians are partnering with Faculties in delivering of information literacy skills training. This training will help in moulding the user to have good information retrieval skills to be able to access the information, critical evaluation skills that will include assessments of the authenticity and quality of what would have been retrieved and use of information ethically and legally (avoiding plagiarism and being able to reference properly) .

Competency in the Use of Social Media Tools University Libraries are becoming more and more engaged with their users via the Social Media. Libraries are using the Social Media for various activities. These include marketing and promotion of resources and services, broadcasting of notices and other messages to patrons, downloading articles on academic social media like Researchgate, Academia.edu and Mendeley. Some of the social media tools which have become popular in Libraries include Facebook where there is need for maintaining a heavy presence since that’s where the users are, Librarians also post the Faculty’s research publications on Twitter. Users either like or dislike the post. Youtube, Instagram, Blogs are also being used.

Research Data Management One of the key determinants for success of any modern university is research and innovation. University Libraries act as the custodians of the researches that

Capacity Building for Library and Information Science Professionals    221 faculties are producing. The twenty-first century Librarian is expected to have skills on how to use different software for archiving of researcher’s research data. This includes use of such data management software like Mendeley. Librarians will need basic understanding of data archiving, crafting of policies for submission, description and sharing of the data.

Generic and Traditional Skills Generic skills cannot be ruled out for effective delivery. Koltay (2015) notes that librarians may possess generic skills, but the key is in making the connection between those skills and their role in improving services. These include basic communication skills, problem solving, analytical skills, presentation skills, decision making and others. The traditional skills cannot be overruled. Cataloguing, classification, indexing, referencing services, innovative, marketing and selective document delivery are some of the critical skills that are still relevant for the twenty-first century librarian. Additional requirements are on the appreciation of modern technology. For example in cataloguing and classification, cataloguers will have to know how best to use online classification scheme and cataloguing standards tools such as the Cataloguers Desktop and Toolkits such as for the Resource Description Access (RDA).

Resources Building and Access Selecting electronic resources useful for Faculty is one of the modern skills that Librarians should possess. They also need to have a thorough understanding of how to evaluate the resources acquired. Once resources are acquired, there is need for them to be processed expeditiously. This may include making sure that e-books Machine Readable Catalogue (MARC) records are added to the library’s database such that users can access them on the catalogue. Librarians should also have basic understanding of interpretation of licence agreements of e-book and e-journal databases. University Librarians should also possess digital curation and preservation skills. Since most libraries are changing from the traditional print-based to digital based, there is need of basic understanding of digital library architecture. Knowledge of open access software such as Dspace, Invenio, Zenodo and Greenstone becomes handy. As more and more universities are using learning management systems, librarians should be partnering with faculties in making of key decisions in the procurement of a learning management systems. Librarians have to support e-learning. They must be prepared to ensure that they have basic understanding of how the different learning management systems work, for example Moodle. They should also ensure that resources are available in the digital or virtual platforms to ensure that distance learners and those trying to access off-campus resources get as much service as those on campus. It is also important for librarians to be familiar with how Open Educational Resources, Open Courseware and Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) operate and how to integrate them in the Library’s own website.

222    Stephen Tsekea Space Repurposing Expertise One of the most underrated yet critical skills for the modern librarian is being able to create a conducive and welcoming environment. The ambience of the library is very critical in attracting users. Users are not attracted by dusty shelves and old books. One skill necessary for university librarians is that of designing the library into a modern facility through removing old library stock and refurbishing such into discussion rooms, digital scholarship rooms, innovation rooms, quiet workspaces, computer and multi-media rooms, siesta rooms, etc. To do this, there is need for installation of more additional power point, internet data line and WIFI points.

Models and Strategies of Capacity Building There are mainly two different types through which library staff can be capacitated in the work environment. These are on-the-job and off-the job training. In on-the-job training, libraries can conduct their training at their work places. The trainees will be able to produce their output while learning. Participants will normally be given study materials and have freedom of expression. Examples of onthe job training include coaching, mentoring, understudying and apprenticeship. These are discussed in detail below. Off the Job training involves that training when library staff will be away from the work environment. According to Khan and Taher (2015), off-the-job training is conducted separate from the job place, study material is supplemented and there is full concentration on learning rather than performing. The trainees will be free from the stress, frustration and hustle of day-to-day activities. Some of the training methods that can be used include lectures and conferences, sensitivity training and simulations. Workshops, Seminars and Conferences: Conferences are one of the most stable and reliable Continuous Professional Development (CPD) platforms (Appleton, 2018). They help one to discover upcoming innovations and developments within one’s field, sharing of best practices, discovering new products from vendors and network with colleagues (Appleton, 2018). Librarians can get capacitated through conferences and workshops. These can be arranged by professional library associations such as International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the African Federation of Librarian Associations (AfLIA) and national consortiums and associations. Attendance at these workshops will empower librarians and help them improve their service delivery. They can also get one or more of the critical skills mentioned above. Short courses and Webinars: Library staff can enrol in short courses through the MOOCs platform. AfLIA has been active in training librarians throughout the African continent through use of Webinars and very good numbers have been attending. Some of the workshops that has been done include Library Leadership and Management – building today’s African’s public and community library leaders for tomorrow and on Open Access ‘Open for Whom Webinar’. University librarians can also benefit from programmes such as the Carnegie-sponsored one for Young Librarians in Africa.

Capacity Building for Library and Information Science Professionals    223 Mentoring and Coaching: Mentoring is a staff programme where library members are ‘mentored’ for a period of time by another person (the mentor) who usually will be an experienced someone in a particular area. Ubogu (2019) defined mentoring as a method of learning and development based on individual relationship in which an experienced librarian called a mentor helps a new librarian called a mentee to develop as a professional and achieve professional goals. A core feature that defines mentoring relationship and distinguishes it from other types of personal relationship is that it is a developmental relationship embedded within the career context (Anike, 2016). Mentoring is usually useful for new staff members so that they get to acquaint themselves with the organisation and how things are done. Old employees can also be mentored in order to enhance their job skills and competencies. According to Ubogu (2019), mentoring programmes in university libraries boosts individuals and team commitment and permits individuals to gain greater insight into the library’s workings. Coaching involves the coach facilitating the equipping of the coachee with knowledge, skills and techniques necessary for development. The coach conducts the process and gives the coachee an opportunity to find solution to problems. Coaching is usually offered on a one-to-one basis (Cobblah & van der Walt, 2017). Apprenticeship: This is a formalised method of training programme that comprises of both classroom education and formalised on-the-job training method under close supervision (Vasanthi & Basariya, 2019). Exchange visits: Libraries can arrange exchange visits with other libraries in their own country or outside. Such partnership will allow the libraries to exchange staff. This is very important in that librarians will be able to learn new skills and practices. Job rotation: According to Cobblah and van der Walt (2017), job rotation entails shifting of library staff through a series of related library jobs. This process results in library staff being accustomed to many of the processes taking place in different units of the library. Study visits/Contacts: Contacts visits entails a librarian being attached at another library for a certain period of time. This is useful in that the librarian will get to know the practices of the library under which they are attached. Research and Publications: According to Cobblah and van der Walt (2017), researching as a strategy for professional development involves library staff researching and publishing in scholarly journals and books. In the University Library, this is now becoming a requirement for any promotions.

Challenges for Capacity Building in Universities Despite the efforts being made by universities to try and capacitate their staff, challenges are still being experienced particularly in the developing world. Moonasar and Underwood (2018) note that the challenges faced by librarians are many, but financing subsistence and travel is the major limiting factor. Similarly, Anunobi (2013) had earlier on reported the challenge of inadequate finance to send the staff for training. In many African countries, employers are finding it difficult to allow their staff to attend courses due to budget constraints. The remuneration

224    Stephen Tsekea of the librarians in most developing countries is very low. Many are not able to attend international conferences, travel abroad for short courses, afford registration fees for enrolling for training programmes. Kont and Jantson (2015) found out that staff in Estonia were willing and ready to capacitate themselves with new skills but faced challenges of low incomes. The issue of attitude of senior management is an important factor to consider. Managers having a negative attitude towards training and are sometimes not supportive of any training and development programmes that employees/ juniors may want to be involved in. One challenge facing libraries, particularly in developing countries is that of time. Many employers are reluctant to release their staff for them to attend training due to shortages of staff as there won’t be any available replacements. Some training requires a particular age group to attend. The younger librarians can sometimes be side-lined in favour of the moreexperienced librarians. Another significant challenge being faced by University libraries in trying to capacitate their employees is that even if they send their staff for courses, they may fail to implement what has been learnt due to lack of proper infrastructure and resources. Poor internet connectivity is another challenge. Some training like attending a web conference requires good internet connectivity. Many universities have low bandwidth such that attending the online training might be a challenge.

Conclusions and Recommendations The discussion of this chapter has shown the need for capacitating staff in university libraries. Discussion has shown that the twenty-first century librarian requires critical skills to be able to meet the ever changing demands of the modern user. These skills include digital literacy, use of Internet or databases searching retrieval technique, website designing, virtual reference services, research data management, digital libraries, use of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 Social media platforms and applications. Therefore, continuous staff development programmes have to be implemented by libraries so as to ensure that staff is competent in delivering services. The author recommends that university libraries should develop and implement staff capacity development policies and programmes. Library associations’ bodies such as The IFLA should play a pivotal role in the training of librarians and making it compulsory for libraries to have staff development policies which are properly supported.

References Adu, I. N., Appiah, A., & Yamson, C. (2016). Assessing the impact of capacity building initiatives on the service quality of library professionals in selected private universities in Ghana. Journal of Resources Development and Management, 17(2003), 69–82. Anike, A. N., & Nwabueze, A. U. (2016). Mentoring strategies in use for professional development of libraries in South-East Federal University Libraries. Journal of Applied Information Science and Technology, 9(1).

Capacity Building for Library and Information Science Professionals    225 Anunobi, C. V. (2013). Human capacity building in Nigerian University libraries: An imperative for academic libraries’ contribution towards national development. African Journal of Librariy, Archives and Information Science, 23(1), 33–44. https:// doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004 Appleton, B. L. (2018). Training and development for librarians: Why bother? Library Connect. Available on https://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/articles/training-anddevelopment-librarians-why-bother. Accessed on January 7, 2020. Cobblah, M. A., & van der Walt, T. B. (2017). Staff training and development programmes and work performance in the university libraries in Ghana. Information Development, 33(4), 375–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266666916665234 Khan, A. A., & Taher, M. A., (2015). Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations (4th Ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Abir Publication. Koltay, T. (2015). Data literacy for researchers and data librarian. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 49(1), 3–147. doi:10.1177/0961000615616450A. Kont, K.-R., & Jantson, S. (2015). Librarians work-related learning and self-development: Trends in Estonian University Libraries. American Journal of Educational Research, 3(3), 366–376. https://doi.org/10.12691/education-3-3-16 Lamidi, D. A. (2017, August). Capacity building for library and information professionals: Core skills and competence. Moonasar, A., & Underwood, P. (2018). Continuing professional development opportunities in Information and Communication Technology for academic librarians at the Durban University of Technology. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 84(1), 47–55. https://doi.org/10.7553/84-1-1759 Nwabueze, A. U., & Anike, A. N. (2016). Mentoring strategies in use for professional development of librarians in South-East Federal University Libraries. Journal of Applied Information Science and Technology, 9(1), 182–208. Ogungbeni, J. I., Adeleke, O., & Opeke, R. (2014). Re-engineering of Nigerian university library personnel for optimal performance in the digital age. Information Development, 30(4), 313–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266666913492447 Panda, B. P., Swain, D. K., & Jena, K. K. (2009, September). Restructuring of libraries and information centers. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/41043851_Capacity_Building_and_Restructuring_of_Libraries_and_ Information_Centers_a_Spotlight. Accessed on January 12, 2020. Sarmah, R. (2014). Capacity Building in University Library Services. In 9th Convention PLANNER, Di brugarh University, Assam, September 25–27 (pp. 187–196). Ubogu, J. (2019, May). Mentoring for professional development of academic librarians in Nigerian University Libraries. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-Journal). Vasanthi, S., Basariya, S. R. (2019). On the job training implementation and its benefits. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR), 6(1). Wassem, M., Baig, S. A., Abrar, M., Hashim, M., Zia-Ur-Rehman, M., Awan, U., … Nawab, Y. (2019). Impact of capacity building and managerial support on employees’ performance: The moderating role of employees’ retention. SAGE Open, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019859957

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Chapter 16

Reskilling the Library Workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri and Moses C. Nwosu

Introduction Analysts worldwide are increasingly commenting about the potentials of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).” Generally, it is being speculated that it will change how we live and how we work, how the economy works and how we are governed. While the business world is already discussing and preparing for how this revolution will affect their businesses, dubbing it “Industry 4.0,” the wider societal impacts of this new revolution have not, to date, been discussed in depth nor planned for particularly in the information service business. The Cambridge Dictionary (2017) initially defines the term industrial revolution as: “the period of time during which work began to be done more by machines in factories than by hand at home.” The advances in science and technology have continuously supported the development of industrialization all around the world, and have helped to bring more specific and explicit meanings to this term over the years (Belvedere, Grando, & Bielli, 2013). Large shifts in technology have resulted in large shifts in social structures, and how individuals both contribute to society and make a living. The Industrial Revolution, for example, brought large-scale changes to our socio-economic structures and the kinds of work people did. Maynard (2015) observes that even though there is still no universal agreement on what constitutes an industrial revolution the National Academy of Science and Engineering – ACATECH (2013) has identified four general phases from the perspective of the technological evolution. The First Industrial Revolution, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, involved a change from mostly agrarian societies to greater industrialization as a consequence of the steam engine and other technological developments. The First Industrial Revolution paved way for a new energy source –steam, which pushed industries toward mechanization. It helped industries to improve productivity. The Second Industrial Revolution introduced electricity and other

Examining the Impact of Industry 4.0 on Academic Libraries, 227–233 Copyright © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-656-520201025

228    Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri and Moses C. Nwosu innovations in infrastructure. It created new industries and opportunities to thrive on mass production lines. When we arrived at the third revolution during the late twentieth century, information technology (IT) was the major change agents toward the automation of production processes. The Third Industrial Revolution, sometimes called the digital revolution, involved the development of computers and IT since the middle of the twentieth century. And here we are now, the next big thing in the history of the industrial revolution – the fourth one. The 4IR is growing out of the third but is considered a new era rather than a continuation because of the explosiveness of its development and the disruptiveness of its technologies. It is getting much attention and hailed as important a milestone as the first one.

Impact of the 4IR Schwab (2016) former president of the World Economic Forum, coined the term “fourth industrial revolution,” to describe an era of “technological revolution that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.” A progress defined by “velocity, scope, and systems impact” unlike ever seen before. The 4IR –commonly referred to as Industry 4.0 or i4.0 is the next stage in digital transformation. The 4IR is sometimes described as an incoming thunderstorm, a sweeping pattern of change visible in the distance, arriving at a pace that affords little time to prepare. While some people are ready to face the challenge, equipped with the tools to brave the change and take advantage of its effects, others do not even know a storm is brewing. That era is upon us, and big changes are happening everywhere. Today, a 4IR unfolds. The 4IR is bringing technologies that blur the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres across all sectors. … Such profound realities will disrupt and change the business model of each and every industry. The 4IR is all about connectedness and how we can embed the technology into our societies and industries. All emerging technology breakthroughs will speed up the digitization of industries. Cloud technologies and 5G will be the front runners of this. A few examples of emerging fields are Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), The Internet of Things (IoT), where such innovation is happening. 4IR or Industry 4.0 is not about inventing technology for technology’s sake (De, 2019). The Industry 4.0 concept encompasses the digitalization of the horizontal and vertical value chain, innovation in products and services and the creation of new business models. The key business drivers of this transformation include improving customer experience, increasing speed to market and reducing costs. The current wave of digital transformation is rapidly changing service industries. To thrive in today’s economy, companies and individuals are changing not only the way in which they do business, but also how they partake in their daily lives. Currently, it encompasses a wide range of advanced technologies including the IoT, automation, AI, robotics and additive manufacturing. The IoT, cloud computing and other innovations facilitate a more software-driven, individual and efficient way of producing goods and services. Recently, we talked about how this year’s tech trends are the stepping stones for the imminent flip of the

Reskilling the Library Workforce    229 digital switch already transforming countless jobs, cities, services and experiences. Also, it presents a formidable challenge to the workforce since only a successful transformation of the digital work environment in general and of service industries in particular can ensure library’s competitiveness in the future.

Features of the 4IR In terms of work and workplaces, there are a number of distinguishing features of the predictions associated with the 4IR (Deloitte Global & the Global Business Coalition for Education, 2018). 1. The first is the change in the composition and skill-sets of the workforce. There will not only be labor displacement, but there will also be a shift toward new and different jobs and toward new skill-sets. The challenge for governments will be dealing with labor displacement and labor reskilling. 2. The second change is the very nature of work and workplaces. There will be more work located away from designated workplaces and more work that involves interaction with information and communication technologies. 3. The third change will be regulatory, as work will become invisible and geographically dispersed through online and subcontracting arrangements. For governments, there will be challenges regulating employment, identifying employers, collecting taxes and supporting social protections, such as through pensions (de Ruyter, Brown, & Burgess, 2019). The technological revolution, often called the 4IR, is changing industries and the jobs within them, forever. Industry 4.0 is shorthand used in this chapter to describe a journey industrial companies are taking toward a complete value chain transformation. Introducing connectivity, AI and machine learning into the workplace has meant that employers no longer rely on their teams having a static set of skills, but instead, requires adaptable, digitally minded workers that are committed to lifelong learning in order to fill requirements. According to Zauzau (2019), a hallmark of the 4IR is the convergence of the digital and physical worlds which in turn blurring traditional boundaries throughout the value chain. 3D printing for example, can help companies meet the growing consumer demand for product personalization. The fashion brand ministry of supply now uses scanning and 3D printing to create sweaters mapped to an individual’s thermal profile under 90 minutes. The 4IR is actually changing how we live, work and communicate. Many trades have been highly affected by 4IR, libraries are one of them. The libraries of twenty-first century are shifting their paradigms from traditional setup to modern information networking. As people and machine are connecting to each other at enormous speed, AI, mobile computing, machine learning and automation of every trade have become a need of the day (Hussain, 2019). In view of the breathtaking benefits derivable from 4IR, libraries, institutions, industries and corporate organizations have no other option than to embrace it for enhanced efficiency and productivity.

230    Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri and Moses C. Nwosu In today’s technology driven era, universities and academic institutions are striving to boost their research and academic productivity through the development and implementation of digital technologies in research, teaching and learning. Digital research is rapidly growing and poses challenges to universities to come up with new approaches of research data management. This has given academic libraries opportunities to leverage on digital technologies and then develop new processes as well as introducing new services to users (Atkinson, 2018). To meet up with the demands of 4IR, Ntlotlang (2019) and Cardwell (2009) advise that libraries should conduct library staff skills audit exercise in order to identify each individual’s strength, ability and skills gap so as to have in-depth understanding of library staff competencies in regarding of their role of the demands brought about by technological revolution. This clearly shows that for libraries to successfully redesign their services in line with 4IR, they should utilize existing staff expertise as well as improve capacity and ability of identified skills gap. Emphasizing the imperative need for librarians and libraries to be 4IR compliant, Khan and Bhatti (2017) noted that have changed from “a storehouse of resources to a place of learning, research and innovation.” In the light of this, academic libraries must adopt this new culture through development of IT infrastructure, digital library development projects and digital collections to help users to find digital information. Librarians are indeed becoming essential organs of educational institutions by providing greater access to digital information and assisting researchers and faculty members in using technology to fulfill the educational and research needs of users. Our world is dynamically changing to accommodate rapidly evolving economies, we are breezing past industrial age like it never existed. Automation is taking over and technology undoubtedly lights the path to our future (Ito, 2018). The overwhelming and geometric speed with which 4IR is impacting trades businesses, institutions including libraries and information centers are as clear as day light. The million dollar question is: Are we prepared in keeping the pace? The libraries of the 4IR era is shifting their roles to modern information networking, mobile computing, machine learning and AI as a result of changes arising from 4IR which requires knowledge management, information literacy and dissemination to ensure that their skills and know-how are up to date (Workforce.com, 2017).

Reskilling of Library Staff Admittedly, library managers and librarians should update their skills to be able to provide those services associated with libraries of the 4th Industrial Era, like Open Educational Resources (OER), Institutional Repository (IR), Library Management Software (LMS), Website, Blog, Social Media, Databases and other emerging technologies in operation. World Economic Forum (2020) notes that learning occurs throughout our lifetimes and across diverse contexts; people accumulate knowledge, skills and competences through formal, informal

Reskilling the Library Workforce    231 and non-formal avenues. At the same time, without regular maintenance, certain skills may depreciate with time. There is thus need for more regular and consistent information on skills based on standardized framework, to better assess staff training needs. In view of the above submission by World Economic Forum (2020), library managers are to ensure the reskilling and upskilling of librarians to key into the Fourth Industrial Era by ensuring that Professional Development programs such as mentoring are continuously organized for them. Ubogu (2019) supports this notion and stressed that librarianship as a profession engages in mentorship so as to sharpen and sustain professional practice and keep abreast with new developments on the job. Furthermore, the profession organizes workshops, trainings, conferences, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) which guarantee continuous and affordable development opportunities that benefit librarians and their institutions.

Suggestion of Further Study Further study should be carried out on the “opportunities and challenges of reskilling and upskilling of librarians for libraries of the 4th industrial era.” Furthermore, study should also be carried out on “Connecting the dots between African libraries and their preparedness for the library of the Fourth Industrial Era.”

Conclusion The best strategy to stay ahead of the changing needs of the labor market is to retrain upskill and transform the workforce (Schiller cited in Marwala, 2019), it has become critically important for institutions to leverage and invest in relevant innovation and disruptive technologies. Universities can support this process by offering flexible multi-disciplinary programs that respond to these real-world needs that enable young people to acquire the skills needed for the jobs of the future. Schiller (cited in Marwala, 2019) admonishes that “you cannot wait until a house burns down by fire you put insurance on it.” Expectedly, library managers cannot wait until there are massive dislocations in our libraries to prepare for the4IR. The time to prepare our libraries for the 4IR is now.

References Atkinson, J. (2018). Collaboration and the era of academic library. Cambridge: Chandos. Cambridge Dictionary. (2017). The industrial revolution. Retrieved from https://dictionary. cambridge.org/dictionary/english/industrial-revolution. Accessed on December 5, 2017. Cardwell, P. (2009). Competences-based services reviews and workforce planning at Deakin University Library. Library Management, 30(8/9), 539–548.

232    Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri and Moses C. Nwosu Belvedere, V., Grando, A., & Bielli, P. (2013). A quantitative investigation of the role of information and communication technologies in the implementation of a productservice system. International Journal of Production Research, 51(2), 410–426. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2011.648278 De, N. (2019). How integration platform is driving the 4th Industrial Revolution in 2019. See how Integration Platform is driving the 4th industrial revolution. Retrieved from https://www.mydbsync.com/blogs/how-integration-platform-is-driving-the-4thindustrial-revolution/ de Ruyter, A., Brown, M., & Burgess, K. (2019). Gig work and the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Conceptual and regulatory challenges. Journal of International Affairs, 72(1), 37–50. Deloitte Global and the Global Business Coalition for Education. (2018). Preparing tomorrow’s workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution For business: A framework for action Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com › gx-preparing-tomorrow-workforce-for-4IR Hussain, A. (2019). Industrial Revolution 4.0: Implication for librarians and libraries. Library Tech News, 37(1), 1–5. Ito, P. (2018). Upskilling for the Forth Industrial Revolution. Retrieved from https://www. amazon.com/Upskilling.com/gp/profile/amzn.1.account.AGTL4YHDGV6DY. JCUGV26 Khan, S. A., & Bhatti, R. (2017). Digital competencies for developing and managing digital libraries in Pakistan. The Economic Library, 35(3), 573–593. Marwala, T. (2019). Preparing Africa for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Retrieved from https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2019/si/article-0006.html Maynard, A. D. (2015). Navigating the fourth industrial revolution. Nature Nanotech­ nology, 10(12), 1005–1006. PMid:26632281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015. 286 National Academy of Science and Engineering – ACATECH. (2013). Recommendations for implementing the strategic initiative industrie 4.0. final report of the industrie 4.0 working group. Frankfurt: ACATECH. Report. Ntlotlang, T. (2019). Technology mediated tools as drivers of library researcher collaboration: The case of Botswana International University of Science and Technology Institutional Repository (IR). Retrieved from https://www.creativecommons.org/ licence/by/4.0 Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it means, how to respond. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/ thefourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-andhow-torespond/. Accessed on March 20, 2018. Ubogu, J. (2019). Mentoring for professional development of academic librarians in Nigerian University Libraries. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 2357. Workforce.com. (2017). Workforce announces the 2017 Game Changers, including this trio from the Golden State. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/workforce-magazine/docs/ wf0717_issuu Zauzau, M. (2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution will change production forever. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agency/agenda/2019/ot/theopportunitiesandperils-f-4-r-production-platform/

Reskilling the Library Workforce    233

Definition of Terms Fourth Industrial Revolution: is an era or age where the use of advanced technologies such as AI, robotics, big data, augmented reality and 3D printing is used by employed persons to create, exchange and distribute value. Workforce: a number of qualified persons employed by organization, institution to perform activities, task or projects that actualizes the mission and vision of such institution or organization. Reskilling: is the retaining of already employed workforce, training and retraining of such workforce to acquire new sets of skills fitting for updated working environment.

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About the Contributors

Nneka Chinaemerem Agim – Contributing Author, is staff at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. She is currently an Assistant Librarian in the Bibliographic Unit of the library. Chidimma Agunwamba – Contributing Author, is a Librarian at Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, UNN. Josiline Phiri Chigwada – Editor, is the Sub Librarian at Bindura University of Science Education Library. She has worked in university libraries since September 2006. She holds a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in Information Science from the University of South Africa (UNISA), Master of Science (MSc) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) Honours Degrees in Library and Information Science from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita – Contributing Author, is a Researcher based at the University of South Africa College of Human Sciences’ Department of Information Sciences. He is a holder of Masters of Science in Information Sciences and PhD LIS. He is a renowned writer and speaker who have presented papers at various fora including Euro Africa Partnership for Research in ICT’s, Promoting African European Research Infrastructure Partnerships (PAERIP), IFLA, among others. He has also worked with Ubuntunet Alliance and other regional and international NRENS, for example, ZARNET, ZIMREN, MAREN and TENET. Egbert de Smet – Contributing Author, was born, studied and still works in Antwerp, Belgium. After graduating as MSc in Social and Political Sciences, he started working at the University of Antwerp, first as a Researcher, later on as a Coordinator of an Inter-university Special Degree in Information & Library Science. He holds PhD in Information Science obtained in 1994 and from then on active in many international projects mainly focusing on using ISIS-technology in documentary information systems, e.g., supervision of the ABCD software development . He is currently the Project Coordinator in the University and Society department of the University of Antwerp. Mercy Ekenma Echem – Contributing Author, works at the Department of Library and Information Science, Rivers State University as a Lecturer. Viviana Fernández-Marcial – Contributing Author, is a Associate Professor in Library and Information Science at the University of A Coruña, Spain. Previously, she was based at CEU San Pablo University and Carlos III University of

236    About the Contributors Madrid. Her research activity is focused on information management, marketing, and scientific communication. She is the author of several publications. She is also referee in international journals, and takes part in standing and scientific committees in congress and conferences. Llarina González-Solar – Contributing Author, holds a PhD in Information Sciences from the University of A Coruña, Spain, she has held several positions in special and academic libraries and is currently a librarian at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. Her research focuses on scientific communication, marketing and library services. She has authored several publications and is involved as a reviewer in scientific journals. Shahajada Masud Anowarul Haque – Contributing Author, is serving as a Sr Assistant Librarian in Ayesha Abed Library at Brac University, Bangladesh. He did his BSS (Honors) and MSS in Information Science and Library Management from the University of Rajshahi in 2004 and 2005, respectively. He started his professional career in 2007. He has a long experience in library and information management field to work with the Universities, International organization in a different capacity. Mr. Haque has received ITEC scholarship in 2016 from the Govt. of India. He is a certified Mendeley and Scopus Librarian. His research interest includes e-resource management, digital library, information literacy, institutional repository, academic libraries and open-source software. He can be contacted at: [email protected] Thembelihle Hwalima – Contributing Author, is as Assistant Librarian at Gwanda State University Library in Zimbabwe and former Institutional Repository and Faculty Librarian for Commerce at Lupane State University. She is a co-developer of a framework for librarians on research data management for developing countries in the AOSP Project. She is a qualified librarian with seven years’ work experience in an academic and research library setting and is an expert in faculty liaison work, Information Literacy training, Institutional Repository management and research support. She holds a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science from NUST (Zimbabwe), Honours degree in Library and Information science from UKZN and Bachelor’s degree in Library & Information Science from UFH. Md. Nazmul Islam – Contributing Author, is currently working as an Associate Professor of the Department of Information Science & Library Management at University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. He has received VLIR-UOS scholarships to take part International Training Program on Lib@web-2014 organized by University of Antwerp, Belgium. He has completed his PhD research at the Department of Information Science & Library Management, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh on “Scientometric Analysis of Literature on Public Health using Scopus Database.” He has also been serving as a Member of editorial board of the journal Indian Journal of Library and Information Science (IJLIS) since 2017 and a Member of editorial panel of the journal Development Compilation since 2019.

About the Contributors    237 Md. Nurul Islam – Contributing Author, currently serves as a Deputy Director, Library and Information Division and Adjunct Faculty Member, Library and Information Science at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC). He is also a MPhil (equivalent) Research Fellow in National University, Bangladesh Department of Library and Information Science. He previously worked at Eastern University Library, Autish Dipankas University of Science and Technology Library; he also obtained a scholarship on Lib@Web: Electronic Information Management and Digital Libraries funded by VLIRUOS in Belgium. He received his Honors and Master’s degree from University of Dhaka from Information Science and Library management department. He is the scholar of University of Antwerpen, Belgium. Now, he is a Doctoral Student of Nanjing University, China. Anna Kaushik – Contributing Author, works as a Deputy Librarian and In-charge, Central Library, University of Kota, (Rajasthan). He holds a PhD degree and has 15 years of work experience in library administration and management. He has published several articles in national and international referred LIS journals, conferences, edited LIS books and contributed book chapters in international and national repute LIS books. He has been undergone special training programmes and organized various training programmes, conferences, symposiums in library and information science domain. His areas of research interest are open sources software and resources, internet resources, marketing of library services, web 2.0, and application of emerging technologies in LIS sector. He is a Member of Indian Library Association (ILA) and editorial board member of ISST Journal of Advances in Librarianship (IJALIB), Indian Journal of Information Library and Society (IJILS) and International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology (IJIDT). Nqobulwazi Khanye – Contributing Author, is a qualified librarian with over 10 years’ experience in an academic library environment. He is a Client Services Librarian and Faculty Librarian for Agriculture at Lupane State University. He holds a Masters in library & information science (National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe), Bachelors in library & information science and is currently studying towards a PhD in library & information studies with UKZN, SA & and is a part-time lecturer with LSU. He is experienced in policy formulation within the library and various other institutional policies, expert in digital librarianship and user services. Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo – Contributing Author, is a Lecturer at Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic. Rosemary Maturure – Contributing Author, is a University Librarian at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. She has worked in school libraries and academic libraries since 1996. She has been a University Librarian since 2007–2018 at Solusi University and at Africa University since November 2018 to date. She holds a PhD in Library and Information Studies from University of Botswana, Botswana and Master of Science Degree and Bachelor’s Degree in Library and

238    About the Contributors Information Science from National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe. Her research interests are records management, marketing advocacy, library management, monitoring and evaluation of library services, provision of library services to physically challenged students, digital libraries and governance. Her hobbies are travelling and reading. Grace Msauki – Contributing Author, attained a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Library and Information Science, both from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Zimbabwe. Grace is passionate about the role of libraries and information centers in the realization of sustainable development, Digital Literacy, Knowledge management focusing on Knowledge Value Chains, Research utilisation and evaluation. Ngozi Maria Nwaohiri – Editor, is a Librarian and Information Scientist by profession, currently working at the University Library of Federal University of Technology, Owerri. Imo State Nigeria. Nwaohiri holds PhD and Master degrees in Library and Information Science and another Master from the University of Wales, United Kingdom in Information Technology (MSc IT). Nwaohiri has worked on many Units of the library, teach library orientation and information literacy to undergraduates of the said university where o work Moses C. Nwosu – Contributing Author, PhD, is a Lecturer at the Department of Library and Information Science of Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Unwana Afikpo. Austin Tonderai Nyakurerwa – Contributing Author, is a Content Management Services Librarian at Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Library and Information Science from the National University of Science and Technology. He is the current chairperson of the Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) Midlands Province and the board secretary of the Gweru International Book Festival (GIBF). Comfort N. Owate – Contributing Author, is a Lecturer, Department of Library and Information Science, University of PortHarcort, Donald Ekong Library, Nigeria Shweta Pandey – Contributing Author, works as a Senior Assistant Librarian and In-Charge at The LNM Institute of Information Technology (Deemed University), Jaipur. She holds PhD degree and qualified UGC-NET in Library and Information Science and has 10 years’ work experience in library administration and management. She has gained a rich experience of working in modern technology driven environment. She has served many prestigious institutes and organization like The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM) and Central University of Rajasthan. She has edited several chapters and written many scholarly papers and articles. Pauline Iroeze – Contributing Author, is the Head of the Bibliographic Unit at the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria.

About the Contributors    239 Donald Rakemane – Contributing Author, is currently working as Records Manager in the Office of District Commissioner, Botswana. He holds Masters of Archives and Records Management and Bachelors Degree in Library and Information Studies all attained from University of Botswana. He has previously worked at Elsimate Institute as lecturer in archives and records management. He is a member of Records and Information Association of Botswana (RIAB) as well a member of the Eastern and Southern Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESRABICA). His current areas of research interest are: Records management policies and procedures, E-records management, Marketing of Archival services, Access to Archival material, Cloud Computing and Assertive technologies. Stephen Tsekea – Contributing Author, is an Assistant Librarian with Bindura University of Science Education. He has over 14 years of experience as an Academic Librarian. He holds a Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in Library and Information Science. Stephen also read for a Master’s in Business Leadership and a Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Education. He has worked in different units of academic libraries especially information services and cataloguing and classification. He is a researcher and his subject areas include digital libraries, school libraries media centres, indigenous knowledge and intellectual property, libraries and ICT. He has published in several renowned journals and presented papers at different national and international conferences. Janet Onomeh Ubogu – Contributing Author, has BLS in Library Science, MSc in Library and Information Science from Delta State University, Abraka respectively and PhD in Library and Information Science from University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria. She is currently working with Delta State University Library Abraka as Librarian 1. She is also a certified Librarian of Nigeria (CLN). Delight Promise Udochukwu – Contributing Author, is a Librarian at Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, UNN.

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Index ABCD Advanced Loan Module (EmpWeb), 69 ABCD Serials Control System (SeCSWeb), 69–70 ABCD Site Module ABCD Site Admin, 72 Admin Interface in, 74 embedding IM Text in, 71–72 preview, 73 UI in, 73 ABCD software, 66–68 ABCD Modules, 68–69 ABCD OPAC, 69 ABCD Site, 70 ABCD-Based Web Module, 70 Abstracts, 84 Academic librarians (see also librarians), 131 academic librarian-researcher relationship, 129 challenges faced by Zimbabwean, 138–139 competencies for research support services, 135–137 relationship with researcher, 133–134 roles in research support, 134–135, 137 stereotypes, 129 Academic libraries (see also Library/ libraries), 166 maker culture in, 118 research support services, 109–112, 129 services provided by, 112 technologies and activities, 118 Access to information, 8, 17, 20, 32, 41, 50, 155 Accessibility features, 59

Accreditation, 164 Africa Union (AU) Agenda 2063, 32–33 African Federation of Librarian Associations (AfLIA), 222 African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AFLIA), 10–11 Alliances, 124 Altmetrics, 141 American Library Association (ALA), 11, 178 American Marketing Organization (AMA), 202 Anglo American Cataloguing Rules second edition (AACR2), 159, 175 ANSWERMAN, 36 AOL, 65 Apprenticeship, 223 Artificial intelligence (AI), 3, 7–8, 31, 35–36, 124, 228 use in libraries, 19–20 Assessment, 164 Assistive technology (AT), 55 cloud computing application to deliver, 59–60 cyber-physical systems application to deliver, 58–59 IoT application to deliver, 60–61 Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), 180 Audio-visual materials, 86 media system, 5, 57 resources, 80 Augmented reality (AR), 36–37

242    Index Bandwidth, 44 Bibliographic Services Unit, 174 Bibliography, 80, 83 Big data, 3–4 analytics, 8 Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), 172–173 Biological systems, 19 Block chain technology, 34–35 Blockchain, 8 Blogs, 97, 196, 230 Business Model Canvas (BMC), 21 Business work processes, 22 Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), 136 Capacity building, 218 challenges, 223–224 models and strategies, 222–223 skills and competencies for university librarians, 218–222 Cataloguers Desktop and Toolkits, 221 Cataloguing and Classification, 159 CD-ROMs, 5, 18, 57 Chat widget, 64 Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), 173 Chronic funding shortages, 38–40 Clients, 47 Cloud computing, 3, 5, 37–38 application to deliver AT, 59–60 Coaching, 223 Collection development, 158–159, 178–179 in LIS, 152 Collection Development Policy (CDP), 175 Communication, 125 Competency in use of social media tools, 220 Computer age, 47 Computer anxiety, 25 Computer-mediated reference service, 63

Conferences, 10–11, 222 Consumers, 47 Contacts, 223 leave, 10 Contemporary academic library services, 94 Content creation spaces. See Maker spaces Content repackaging, 86 Context-specific strategies, 6–7 Continuous professional development (CPD), 7, 157, 222 Convenience, 116 Copyright, 24 Core Competencies for Twenty-first Century CARL Librarians, 123 Coursera, 11 Cryptocurrency, 44 Current Awareness Services (CAS), 83 Current Research Information System (CRIS, 110 Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), 18–19 Cyber-physical systems application to deliver AT, 58–59 Cyberphobia, 25 Data and services, 19 Data Management Hub (DaMaHub), 35 Data privacy, 24 Databases, 230 Decibel X, 59 Democratic divide, 50 Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme (DDC), 175 Digital age, 47 Digital divide, 50–51 Digital environment, 6, 95, 131 Digital library (DL), 49–50 Digital literacy, 51 skills, 219–220 Digital reference sources, 63–64 Digital research, 230

Index    243 Digital systems, 19 Digitization, 17–18, 27, 67, 228 Directories, 85 Disconnection, 121 Disruptive changes, 23 Disruptive technology, 44 “Do-it-yourself ” approach (DIY approach), 105, 117, 125 Documentation, 164 E-book, 86 E-journal, 86 E-learning, 160 E-mail, 65 E-newspaper, 86 Education of librarians, 139 and training, 6 Education 5.0, 143 Edx, 11 Electronic age, 47 Electronic literacy (E-Literacy), 44 Electronic magazine, 86 Emerging technologies, 5, 23, 26, 55, 230 End users, 47 Enrich world-class scholarship, 125 Environment, 24–25 Evaluation, 164 Excerpts, 84 Exchange programmes, 10 Exchange visits, 223 Extracts, 84 Fablabs. See Maker spaces Facebook, 97, 174–175, 195 First Industrial Revolution, 18, 227 Five Laws of Librarianship, 47 Five Laws of Library Science, 202 Flatarchies structure, 21 Formal education, 10 Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), 3–4, 17–19, 41, 56–57, 227–228 challenges, 9–10

changes brought by, 7 characteristics, 57–61 continuous professional development, 7 drivers, 5–7 features, 229–230 history, 4–5 impact, 228–229 opportunities, 8–9 reskilling of library staff, 230–231 solutions and recommendations, 10–11 study areas, 11–12 tools and applications in libraries, 5 Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), 67 Full-text databases, 18, 57 Fullerton’s Pollak library, 65 Funding, lack of, 138 Funding in LIS, 154 Future Learn, 11 General readers, 87 Generic skills, 221 Global divide, 50 Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII, 60 Goa University Library (GUL), 171 Google, 11, 204 Google Scholar, 141 Graduate School of Business and Leadership (GSBL), 179 Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), 173 Guidelines, 164 Hackerspaces. See Maker spaces Handbook, 83–84 Heavy lifting, 60 High Processing Computer (HPC), 5–6 Higher Degree Research (HDR), 119 Higher education institutions, 105 Holacratic Structure, 21

244    Index Human resource, 176–178 management, 93 scarcity of, 138 Hyperledger, 35 Implementation, 164 Inadequate funding, 98 Inadequate internet connectivity, 99 Inadequate telecommunication infrastructure, 39–40 Industrial Revolution, 4 history, 18–19 librarian role in, 197 Industry 4.0 (i4.0). See Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Information, 48, 77 analysis and consolidation of, 83 centre patron, 77 communication infrastructure, 5–6 literacy, 97–98 need, 48, 52 organisation of, 181 products, 33, 48–50, 57, 78, 80, 150, 162 system, 47 tailoring information to meet clienteles’ needs, 86 use, 52 users and information needs/ sources, 86–88 Information and communication technologies (ICTs), 5, 32, 50–51, 91–94, 153, 165–166, 185, 188 lack of, 98 skills, 197 Information literacy (IL), 160 Information Literacy Skills (ILS), 173 training, 180–181 Information packaging, 78–79, 97 strategies in libraries and information centres, 83–84 Information repackaging, 78–79 forms of, 79–81 importance, 81–82

reasons for, 82 strategies in libraries and information centres, 83–84 strategies of, 84–86 Information services, 91, 159–160 delivery, 95–96 universities and colleges, 10 Information technology (IT), 228 application, 182 Information user in electronic age, 47–49 classification of understanding, 51–52 digital divide, 50–51 digital libraries vs. traditional libraries, 49–50 digital literacy, 51 Infrastructural amenities, 98 Infrastructural challenges, 24 Innovation, 6 Innovative technologies, 18, 22 Instagram, 196 Instant Messaging (IM) IM-based VRSs, 64, 66 reference, 63 service, 64 Instant messenger chat, 65 Institutional Repository (IR), 183, 230 Instrumental services, 110 Insufficient finance, 25 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 10–11, 17, 20, 31, 156, 209, 222 International Standards Organisation (ISO), 155–156 Internet, 6, 18, 44, 57, 63–64, 80, 81 facilities, 98 Internet of Things (IoT), 3, 5, 19, 228 services, 55 Inventories, 85 IoT application to deliver AT, 60–61 ISI Web of Knowledge database, 48

Index    245 JAWS software, 87 Job rotation, 223 Job specifications and roles, 22 Knowledge Management 4.0, 41 LCoNZ Virtual Reference (VR) project, 65 Leading universities, 129 Librarians (see also Academic librarians), 7–9, 11, 31, 77, 110, 121, 131. See also Twenty-first century librarians and maker researcher relationship, 119–123 readiness of, 23 role in Industrial Revolution, 197 role in twenty-first century, 94–95 in transition, 92–94 Libraries, Fourth Industrial Revolution and, 19–20 controversies, 25 issues/challenges/problems, 22–25 recommendations, 27 reinventing models of business, 21 remodeling job specifications and roles, 22 remoulding organizational operations, 20–21 reorganizing business work processes, 22 solutions, 25–27 Library 4.0, 31, 44 chronic funding shortages, 38–39 future research directions, 41 inadequate telecommunication infrastructure, 39 resistance to change, 39–40 solutions and recommendations, 40–41 technical skill deficiencies, 39 Library 4.0 and sustainable development, 33–34 artificial intelligence, 35–36

augmented reality, 36–37 block chain technology, 34–35 cloud computing, 37–38 maker spaces, 34 Library Advocacy, 96 Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA), 11 Library and Information Association of Zambia, 11 Library and information professionals, 164 Library and information science (LIS), 93 automation, 154–155 collection, 152 funding, 154 future research directions, 162 library facilities, 153–154 quality of, 152 schools, 11 solutions and recommendations, 161–162 staffing, 152–153 standards in LIS services, 155–161 Library Consortium of New Zealand (LCoNZ) VR project, 63 Library Facebook, 194 Library Management Software (LMS), 230 Library marketing resources, 209 Library of Congress Classification Scheme (LCCS), 175 Library WhatsApp, 174–175 Library-Robotic Conveyor System, 20 Library/libraries (see also Academic libraries), 5, 8–10, 17–18, 31–32, 57, 91, 110, 188 facilities in LIS, 153–154 and Fourth Industrial Revolution, 33 function, 17 information skills, 171 materials, 164 in Nigeria, 91

246    Index products and services, 188 promotion, 125 quality assurance in, 151–152 readiness of, 23 services, 92, 164 staff training, 26 strategies to attract users to, 96–98 in transition, 92–94 LILLIAD Learning Center Innovation, 119 LinkedIn, 195–196 Live Chat, 71 Live Person, 65 LiveHelper (LivePerson), 66 LucyTech Inc, 59 ‘M’ Word–Marketing Libraries, 209 Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC), 5, 56, 221 development, 18 Maker culture, 105, 117–118 user-researchers in era of, 117–119 Maker movement, 117 Maker researcher, 122 Maker spaces, 34 Management/administration/ planning, 157 Manual library practices, 91 Marker spaces, 20 Marketing, 188 Marketing 4.0, 41 Marketing and advocacy resources bibliography, 209 Marketing libraries methodology, 192–193 social media importance in, 194–195 social media tools for collections and services, 195–196 Marketing Library Services, 208 Marketing Library Services Newsletter, 208 Marketing mix, 7Ps of, 202–205 Marketing of library and information services: international perspectives, 210

Marketing of library services, 183–184, 201–202, 204–205 application of 7Ps to, 205–208 literature review, 202–203 methodology, 204 objectives, 204 resources, 208–210 Marketing your library, 210 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), 10–11, 105, 117, 203, 221 Medium repackaging, 86 Meebo-based IM interface, 65 Mentoring, 223 Midlands State University Libraries (MSU Libraries), 165, 175, 177–178, 184–185 Sitting Capacity, 180 Millennium librarian, 93 Minimum Academic Standards (MAS), 168 Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science, and Technology Development (MHTESTD), 143 Mobile cyber-physical systems, 58 Mobile Phones, 97 Models of business, 21 Monitoring, 164 Movable devices, 97 MSN Instant Messenger, 65 MSU Library Standard Operating Procedures, 183 MSU Quality Assurance Policy Framework, 175 National Academy of Science and Engineering (ACATECH), 227 National Higher Education Transformation Agenda, 167 National Universities Commission, 168 National University of Science and Technology Library (NUST Library), 174

Index    247 New business models, 21 New media age, 47 News services, 85–86 News sheets, 85 Newsletter, 85 Non-academics, 139 Non-reading user, 87 Nottingham Obstacle Detector (NOD), 60–61 Obstacle Detector Systems, 60–61 Online Document Delivery Service (ODDS), 67 Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), 5, 56–57, 67, 179 Online reference service, 63 Open Courseware, 221 Open Educational Resources (OER), 221, 230 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 51 Organisation of information, 181 Organizational operations, 20–21 Packages of materials, 85 Packaging, 77 reasons for, 82 Partnership, 97, 124 Patrons, 47 Pedagogical skills, 220 People, 207 Permanent Storage Problem, 24 Personal computers, 4 Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), 231 Physical Evidence, 208 Physical systems, 19 Physically challenged library users. See Special need library users Pinterest, 196 Place, 206–207 PLoS, 219 PlumX, 219

Policy, 188 Price, 205–206 Procedure, 188 manual, 164 Process, 208 Product, 205–206 Promotion, 123, 207 Public Library association marketing strategies, 208 Publicity Materials and Announcement of Current Events and Programme Activities, 85 Qualified personnel, lack of, 98 Quality assurance, 164, 166, 172–176, 188 collection development, 178–179 future research directions, 185 human resource, 176–178 ILS training, 180–181 infrastructure and facilities, 179–180 key role players and responsibilities, 177 in libraries, 151–152 marketing, 183–184 organisation of information, 181 recommendations, 184–185 research support services, 182–183 systems, 182 Quality Assurance, Teaching and Learning and Performance Contracting (QATAL), 174 Quality assurance in LIS in Zimbabwe, 149. See also Library and information services (LIS) impact in meeting SDGs, 155 problem statement, 150 theoretical framework, 150 Quality Assurance Unit, 175 Quality control, 149, 164 Question Point, 65 QuestionPoint (OCLC), 66

248    Index Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), 20 Readers, 47 Readiness of library and librarians, 23 Recruitment of librarians, 139 Reference services, 97 Reprints, 84 Research communication process, 129 data management, 220–221 education and development, 142 ethics and integrity, 142 impact, 141 as key factor in universities, 106–109 life cycle, 10, 135–136, 146 management services, 110 output, 141 partnership and funding, 142 and publications, 223 staff development, 141 systems, 141 Research support librarians, 132, 135, 138, 141–142 relationship, 123–125 Research support policy, 139–140 lack of, 138–139 Research support services, 111, 113, 129, 131, 182–183, 219 academic librarians roles in, 134–135, 137 academic librarians’ competencies for, 135–137 challenges faced by Zimbabwean academic librarians, 138–139 conceptualising research support, 132–133 higher education institutions in Zimbabwe, 139–142 management, 105 new perspectives in relationship of research support, 123–125 relationship between librarian and maker researcher, 119–123 relationship between researcher and academic librarian, 133–134

research as key factor in universities, 106–109 research directions, 142–143 research methodology, 131–132 researchers’ information behavior, 112–117 as response from academic library, 109–112 user-researchers in era of maker culture, 117–119 Researchers, 116, 124–125 benefits of better connection with, 120 in context, 113 information behavior, 112–117, 129 maker culture, 129 relationship with academic librarian, 133–134 Resistance to change, 39–41 Reskilling of library staff, 230–231 Resource Description Access (RDA), 221 Resource Description and Access (RDA), 181 Resources building and access, 221 Responsive strategies, 6–7 Retention of librarians, 139 Robotics, 3, 124, 228 Robots, 3 ScienceCard, 219 Scopus, 141 Searchers, 47 Second Industrial Revolution, 4, 18, 227–228 Security, 24 Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI), 83, 191 Self-Packaging, 81 Seminars, 10, 222 7Ps of Marketing mix, 202–205 people, 206–207 physical evidence, 208 place, 206–207 price, 205–206

Index    249 process, 206, 208 product, 205–206 promotion, 206–207 Short courses, 222 “Site”, 66 Skill acquisition, 26 Skills challenge, 23–24 Skype video conferencing, 65 Smart era, 24 “Smart” devices, 60 “Smart” products, 60 Smartphone, 58–59 Social divide, 50 Social media, 80, 193, 230 importance in marketing libraries, 194–195 technologies, 192–194 use, 97 Social media tools challenges of applying and using, 196 competency in use of, 220 used for marketing library collections and services, 195–196 Social networking, 191–192 SonoFlex, 59 SoundAlert, 59 SoundPrint, 59 Space repurposing expertise, 222 Special Collections using AR to Enhance Learning and Teaching project (SCARLET project), 38 Special need library users, 55 Industry 4.0 and, 56–61 Specialised fields, support of, 139 Springer Nature survey, 110, 112 Staff attitudes, change of, 26 Staff development, 164 Staffing in LIS, 152–153, 157 Standard operating procedures (SOPs), 155, 161 Standards, 164, 188 in LIS services, 155–161

Standing Conference of Eastern Central and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL), 11 Story telling, 80 Study visits/contacts, 223 Subject readers, 87 Sustainable development, 32, 44 future research directions, 41 Library 4.0 and, 33–38 solutions and recommendations, 40–41 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 31–32, 35, 37, 149, 164 Sustaining technology, 44 Systems, 182 TapTapSee apps, 59 Technical skill deficiencies, 39–41 Technology, 21, 92 literacy, lack of, 98 “Technophobia”, 25 “Technostress”, 25 Telephone, 65 Text messaging, 65 Third Industrial Revolution, 4, 18, 57 Time schedule, 86 TouchChat, 59 Traditional libraries, 49–50 Traditional skills, 221 Translation, 80 of materials, 83 Twenty-first century librarians, 93. See also Librarians challenges for twenty-first century librarians, 98–99 future research directions, 99 information service delivery, 95–96 role, 94–95 solutions and recommendations, 99 training in new skills, 95 Twitter, 97, 175, 195

250    Index UI from ABCD-based Website, 72–73 “UK Survey of Academics” series, 114 UK-based Virtual Enquiry Project, 63 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 37, 79 Universities challenges for capacity building in, 223–224 research as key factor in, 106–109 University librarians, 220 skills and competencies for, 218–222 University Library, 218 University of Queensland Library, 125 University ranking, 129 Up-to-date Information, lack of, 24 US-Based Special Library Association, 172 Usability specialists, 49 Usability studies of digital libraries, 49 User behavior, 52 User interface (UI), 66, 86 Users, 77–78, 191 and information needs/sources, 86–88 profiles, 60 with special needs, 87–88 strategies to attract users to library, 96–98 user-researchers in maker culture era, 117–119 Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), 19 Virtual reality, 3 Virtual Reference (VR), 63 Virtual reference service (VRS), 63–65 ABCD, 67–68 ABCD Modules, 68–69 ABCD OPAC, 69 ABCD Site, 70 methodologies, 66 objectives, 66 Zoho Chat, 66–67, 70–73 VRLPlus (Sirsi), 66

Web, 18, 57 Web of Science, 141 Web-based indexing, 5 Webinars, 10–11, 222 Website, 230 Wide Area Information Services, 80 Workshops, 10, 222 World Economic Forum, 9 World Economic Forum Executive Chairman, 18 World War II, 4 World Wide Web, 47, 80 YouTube, 175, 195 Zimbabwe, research support services in higher education institutions in, 139 research education and development, 142 research ethics and integrity, 142 research output and impact, 141 research partnership and funding, 142 research staff development, 141 research support policy, 139–140 research systems, 141 Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE), 143, 160–161, 174–176, 178–179 Quality Assurance Standards for Higher Education, 175 Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA), 11, 143 Zimbabwe Research Council, 143 Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium (ZULC), 143, 156–160 Zoho Chat, 66–67, 70 Admin Interface from, 79 results, 72–73 widget, 66, 70 Zoho account creation and customization process, 70–72