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