Study on the awareness and perception of library staff in applying artificial intelligence for information service delivery in some University Libraries of Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper explored the awareness and perception of library staff on the Application of AI for information services delivery in some  university libraries in Katsina State. Some of the specific objectives of the study were: to determine the awareness of library staff on the  application of AI for information service delivery and to ascertain the perception of library staff on the application of AI for information  services delivery in terms of perceived usefulness using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The quantitative method and descriptive  survey design were adopted for the study. The population of the study was 287, while 165 library staff in UMYU, FUDMA and Al-Qalam  universities were proportionately sampled and used for the study. Descriptive statistics was used in the presentation and analysis of the  data collected while inferential statistics was used to test some null hypotheses using SPSS. The study findings revealed that the majority of the staff are aware of AI in information services delivery and they believe AI can be applied in their respective libraries in the areas of  pattern and image recognition and natural language processing. The findings also revealed positive perceptions of AI by the library staff  especially towards improving their performance, and enhancing productivity, while few others perceived it as being a threat to their jobs  and individual privacy issues. Some of the areas of application as identified in the study include information retrieval services; reference  services; circulation section; and research support services. The findings further revealed that library staff in the studied universities are  ready to embrace and apply AI, especially with the seamless formulation of policies, infrastructure, training and retraining etc. The study  concludes that there is a need for proper preparation and provision of necessary inputs both human and material to ensure effective  awareness and application of AI. In view thereof, it is recommended that promotion and campaign should be organized in the form of  seminars, workshops and conferences towards enlightening library staff and university management on the importance of applying AI in  information services delivery. Also, relevant professional bodies such as NLA, ALA, and NALISE should champion the enlightenment  campaign for awareness and application for wider acceptance in the university libraries and beyond.