Prospects and Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for st Academic Libraries in the 21 Century Nigeria: A Literature Review

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide challenges on the changing roles of the fourth industrial revolution in  information delivery in  academic libraries in the 21^st century in Nigeria. The paper is a reflective piece examining digital technology revolution and advancement in the context of academic libraries. The paper argued that despite that the fourth industrial revolution have brought easy access of using  digital technology services to connect cyber, virtual and physical space in advancing information service delivery in libraries,  challenges of the fourth industrial revolution in academic libraries in developing countries have led to a wide gap in the way information is delivered with digital technologies. Various studies indicated that digital technologies such as robotic technology, artificial intelligence,  cloud computing, big data, social media, smart phones, digital cameras, sensors and Internet of Things are contributing significantly in global information provision and dissemination. The paper concluded that the fourth industrial revolution in academic libraries is meant  to bridge the prevailing information provision gaps in the teaching, learning and research needs of the users. However, challenges such  as poor training, poor usage of digital technologies and lack of awareness on the effective use of digital technologies hindered easy flow  of digital technology revolutions to close the gaps between developed and developing countries for development and advancement in  the provision of effective library services.