EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

The study reviews the roles of emerging technologies in the transformation of public
libraries. Public libraries engage in collection, processing, preservation and dissemination of recorded information in various formats. The public libraries have
continued to play a long life leading role in educating the society and communities,
providing awareness and access to information both in printed and digital formats.
By this vital role, public libraries are helping to curb the level of illiteracy in the
society and encouraging good reading habit, particularly among young people in
Nigeria. The emerging technologies have brought effectiveness and efficiency in the
vision of library services and thus promote user satisfaction. These emerging
technologies include smart libraries, big data, artificial intelligence, block chain
technology. library bookmarks apps, user focused interfaces and application, digital
interfaces for printed books as well as drones. The study discussed some of these
emerging technologies and identified the role public libraries played in education and
literacy, adoption of emerging technologies and promotion of reading habits as some
major findings and recommended that there should integration of emerging
technologies, investment in training, User-Centric approach and concluded that
public libraries should adopt and integrate these technologies to optimize their services.

Key words: Artificial intelligence, digital format, emerging technologies, public library