Shaping the evolving role of academic librarians in the fourth industrial revolution through continuous professional development at the Durban University of Technology

Abstract

Due to the proliferation of disruptive technologies that drive the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), academic libraries have undergone an evolution, which has also changed the role of academic librarians. With disruptive technologies, library services can be accessed from anywhere in the world, as long as a person is connected to the Internet of Things. For academic librarians to not be left behind, they need to skill themselves to be relevant in the 4IR. It is the thesis of this study that such upskilling can be done through continuous professional development. This explanatory mixed method research used a conceptual framework to explore how the evolving role of academic librarians can be shaped through continuous professional development at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). Quantitative data was collected first through online questionnaires due to the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by qualitative data through physical interviews with selected participants. Parallel sampling was used where different samples for qualitative and quantitative study phases were drawn from the same population. For the quantitative phase, all librarians at DUT were chosen, while for the qualitative study, participants were identified and chosen purposively to the level of saturation to augment the quantitative data. The key findings suggest that the advancement of disruptive technologies has impacted and transformed the customary ways of working in the DUT library. To counter the disruption, academic librarians at DUT have embraced continuous professional development in order to update their knowledge and skills to allow them to evolve and adapt accordingly to changes within their profession. The librarians acknowledged that whilst 4IR provided many advantages, there were still many challenges, such as learning new skills and keeping abreast with new innovations especially in an environment where budget cuts are common, to overcome in respect of changes in their roles and responsibilities. Librarians acknowledged that continuous learning and development provided an advantage that allowed them to understand the evolving changes and adapt accordingly. It is concluded that librarians are perceptive and open to learning new skills to ensure that users' needs are adequately met. The infrastructure at the DUT library is in place to embrace changes, and the institution is continuing to improve the existing infrastructure to accommodate future innovations. The study suggests a framework to align librarian roles and skills with 4IR requirements. A further study on the user point of view and their current needs and how these needs are evolving with 4IR is recommended.