Technological innovation in libraries

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to identify technological innovation in libraries and further examine the knowledge source and their effects during the technology life cycle (TLC).Design/methodology/approachThis paper discusses the technological innovation taking place in libraries. Patent citation analysis was used to capture the trend of technological innovation associated with libraries.FindingsThe findings are as follows: (1) library technologies are now in the ascent phase of their life cycles; (2) private companies from the United States, Germany, France, Japan and the United Kingdom are the top-five owners of intellectual property rights associated with library technology and (3) patent data along with knowledge and technology indicators can be interpreted in the light of library development. The knowledge source with the highest degree of scientific and technological orientation was identified as basic material chemistry. The major technological categories that have received the greatest knowledge effect from library-associated technological innovation are chemistry, electrical engineering, instruments, mechanical engineering, with other fields (civil engineering and furniture, games) being subject to less effect.Research limitations/implicationsThere are two research limitations in this study. First, the results use single informants, patents retrieved from United States Patent and Trademark Office, as the source of data. Second, this study uses patent citation measures for exploring the knowledge source and effect of technological innovation, these measures are only subjective for those new invention highly based technological advances. This study concludes that technological innovation for libraries will be characterized by an increasing role for science-intensive and interdisciplinary areas. This study also suggests that organizational learning facilitates innovation. Therefore, a library hoping to co-evolve with dynamic environment through technological innovation should improve its organizational learning processes.Practical implicationsTheories of technology-push and demand-pull were examined in relation to technological innovation taking place in libraries. The TLC analysis indicated that library technology is mainly in the ascent stage, suggesting that libraries have not achieved the strongest technological transformation. The findings suggest that the importance of demand-pull and technology-push vary over the TLC of libraries.Social implicationsTo survive in a dynamic environment library must be able to cope with increasing complexity and high-speed technological change. It is pivotal to integrate the views of users (as customers), software houses or design companies (as suppliers) as well as other libraries (as communities) into the sustainable development strategy of a library. In these contexts, libraries with the capacity to innovate will be able to respond to new demands faster and to invent and provide new services better than noninnovative libraries.Originality/valueAnalysis based on the technological innovation perspective to identify the future development of libraries is still lacking. This paper seeks to identify the technological innovation employed in libraries to accommodate the 21st century model of information-seeking behavior. This study identifies a variety of factors that have influenced the transformation of library services, and these include technology developments and new demands from library users. To illustrate the driving forces of technology-push in libraries, this paper examines holistic-patented technologies invented for libraries.

The antecedents and consequences of organizational learning in the library: A systematic literature review

“…From Figure 1, there are eight antecedents of organizational learning in libraries: leadership (Acadia, 2020; Castiglione, 2006; Chen and Lin, 2008; Evener, 2019; Somerville and Farner, 2012), organizational culture (Acadia, 2020), individual learning (Yang, 2009), team learning (Yang, 2009), intrinsic motivation (Castiglione, 2008), communication (Chen, 2006; Chen and Lin, 2008), institutional evaluation (Chen, 2007; Chen and Lin, 2008) and knowledge management (Figueroa and Bustos González, 2006). With regard to the consequences, there are six: innovation in the library (Fowler, 1998; Lee, 2020), library enhancement (Loo and Dupuis, 2015), knowledge performance (Kassim and Mohd Shoid, 2013; Shoid and Kassim, 2012; Yu and Chen, 2015), knowledge creation (Somerville and Farner, 2012), learning method (Abdullah and Kassim, 2008) and organizational change (Fabbi, 2009).…”

“…It can be said that organizational learning facilitates the emergence of innovation (Fowler, 1998; Lee, 2020). Libraries that thrive together with a dynamic environment through technology must enhance the organizational learning process.…”

“…Libraries that thrive together with a dynamic environment through technology must enhance the organizational learning process. The results of research conducted by Lee (2020) reveal that the ability of libraries to transform sustainably through innovation requires good organizational learning implementation. For Increasing the value of technological innovation is also identical to the learning process, organizational learning and organizational innovation, which are positively related to each other (Brockman and Morgan, 2003).…”

Editorial: Special selection on bibliometrics and literature review

“…Janavi and Emami (2021) also investigated the co-citation of information security patents in the USPTO database. Lee (2021) used patent citation analysis to capture the trend of technological innovation associated with libraries. Also, Zhu (2020) proposed a self-organizing map neural network algorithm to quickly retrieve the same or similar patents in a large patent database.…”

A worldwide quantitative review of the iSchools' archival education

“…In 1988, the School of Library and Information Sciences (now the School of Information Sciences) at the University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, and Drexel University's College of Information Science and Technology formed the “Gang of Three” to share information and to foster the development of a community of colleagues in response to the dramatic information technology changes occurring in libraries (Larsen, 2009). Such rapid technology changes are still evolving with many recent innovations (Lee et al. , 2021).…”