Technological advancement and transformation of libraries: a glimpse into African context

It is no longer news that advancement in technology has changed and is still changing the library landscape across the globe. Today, advanced technologies especially those ushered in by the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotic technology, cloud computing, big data, internet of things, IoT, virtual and augmented reality, and others have all changed the way libraries operate. Traditional library tasks such as cataloging, circulation, and collection development, which were performed manually a few decades ago, have now been automated to a greater extent. The way user services are being rendered has also changed compared to what obtained in the past. These changes seem to be more pronounced in developed nations such as the US, UK, Australia, and some other countries in Europe. In those nations, the changes seem to be prominent, well pronounced, and adequately communicated in form of research reports. However, much of the transformation taking place in Africa librarianship seem not to be well known and communicated to the outside world. Examining the transformation taking place in the African Library landscape brought by advanced technology is considered to be of interest to the outside world. In light of this, this presentation seeks to take a glimpse into what is happening in African librarianship by way of examining the changes that have taken place, the changes that are currently taking place, and then project into the likelihood of the changes that will occur in the future. The presentation will discuss the technology that libraries in Africa have used in the past, the ones currently being used, and the ones that will dominate the scene in times to come. The presentation will also delve into the past by looking at the way library services were rendered, the technologies used, and compare to the present to be able to project into the future. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations will be made on how libraries in African can adequately compete and match up with their counterpart in the developed nations.