Smart Academic Libraries Possibilities Through the Application of the Internet of Things

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies provide the opportunity for hybrid and digital academic libraries to move towards offering smart library services and access to resources. Within the context of higher education, smart academic libraries are new generation libraries that utilise smart technologies to offer library services and access to resources that are innovative, creative, and infused in technological advancements. Within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, many higher education institutions revised their modes of teaching and learning towards a hybrid, blended, or even online approach. This forced academic libraries to consider alternative ways of offering information services and resource support. One of these alternatives relates to the use of IoT technologies to create smart academic libraries that can offer varied services and resources, using radio-frequency identification technology, sensors, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. By following a bricolage design within the constructs of interpretivism, views from different authors were considered to propose an IoT architecture and possibilities towards promoting smart academic libraries. The conceptual relatives theory was used to propose ways in which IoT technologies can be utilised to apply smart technologies, develop smart users, offer smart services, and promote smart governance in an endeavour to reconstruct academic library services that are intelligent, flexible, autonomous, and adaptive. It is envisaged that smart academic libraries will support the creation of a teaching and learning environment where students, academics, and researchers can acquire competencies towards personal and professional growth and development.