Application of the Internet of Things for Quality Service Delivery in Nigerian University Libraries

Abstract

The study examined the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) for quality service delivery in Nigerian university libraries. The study’s objectives were toidentify the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that are available in Nigerian University Libraries; identify the areas of use of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in Nigerian University Libraries; examine the functions of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in Nigerian University Libraries; and identify the benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in Nigerian University Libraries. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design, and the population comprises 37 professional librarians in three university libraries in Kwara State. A self-designed questionnaire was used for data collection, while data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. The study’s findings revealed the available IoT technologies, including Wireless Sensor Networks, Cloud Computing, Smoke or Heat sensor, and RFID. The study also revealed that the aforementioned are used in technical services, readers services, theft management, and alerting services for quality service delivery in university libraries. The study recommended that Nigerian University libraries should increase awareness of existing IoT technologies available, put appropriate measures in place for its application to various library routines and departments and employ it to transform into innovative libraries.

Library practitioners’ perceptions on the applications of IoT in university libraries of Bangladesh

“…IoT applications in libraries include, but are not limited to, tracking the location of resources, smart circulation control, better access to resources, collection management, inventory control, notification services, membership apps, user tracking and self-guided virtual tours, data security, remote service, smart reference service, and more (Asim and Arif, 2023;Hadi, 2022;De Sarkar, 2022;Mondal, 2021;Sheeja and Susan, 2019). However, empirical evidence from developing countries like Nigeria and Pakistan show that IoT applications in university libraries are mostly restricted to smart circulation systems, RFID-based security control, and theft management (Eiriemiokhale and Olutola, 2023;Asim et al, 2022). The implementation of innovative IoT technologies in libraries can improve management effectiveness, make libraries smarter, protect library resources, improve readers' service, save users' time, reduce the cost of library maintenance and enhance staff competency (Xu, 2022;Igbinovia and Okuonghae, 2021a).…”

“…Between the upper, middle, and lower levels of management, there were no discernible differences in perceptions of IoT. Among the IoT tools and technologies suitable for university libraries of Bangladesh (RQ2), RFID got the highest preference of library practitioners, followed by wireless technologies, cloud computing, mobile apps, artificial intelligence (AI), semantic search, virtual reality, WSN, smart building technology, and M2M communicationsmajority of which have been identified as crucial elements for the expansion of IoT technology (Eiriemiokhale and Olutola, 2023;Pujar and Satyanarayana, 2015). Findings reveal that IoT can be used in a wide range of library domains, such as resource tracking and tracing, circulation (including book reservations, returns, and borrowing), user identification and authentication, and access to library resources and services, etc (RQ3).…”