Abstract

This study investigated how the employment of the 5th Industrial Revolution tools has revolutionized the delivery of library services. The population of the study is 96 which included 62 librarians and 34 library officers in the 7 polytechnics in Delta State, Nigeria. Total enumeration sampling technique was used for the study. Questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistical tools of mean, frequency and percentage were used for data analysis. The study found that the 5th Industrial Revolution driving libraries service delivery in the 5th Industrial Revolution include Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Cloud Computing and Data Analytics. Automation of library operations, smart libraries, digital content and access, and user-centric library services are the technology-driven approaches for revolutionizing library services. Even though the 5th Industrial Revolution comes with several opportunities which libraries can harness to reform and enhance their service provision, there are also a lot of challenges which require deliberate planning and sustained efforts to overcome. It was recommended that libraries fully deploy the 5th Industrial Revolution technologies in their operations and services.

Keywords: 5th Industrial Revolution, Library services, Librarians, Polytechnics, Technological innovations