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This paper aims to measure the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) to achieve sustainability in services being offered in university libraries in Pakistan.

The study applied a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a framework and used quantitative data collection and analysis method. In total, 246 university library professionals were surveyed using a questionnaire consisting of UTAUT factors. The gathered data were analyzed using partial least structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results showed that performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE) and social influence (SI) significantly impacted the behavioral intention (BI) to adopt BDA. Facilitating conditions (FCs) have a statistically significant influence on the adoption of big data in libraries, while BDA has a statistical influence on the sustainability of library services (SLS).

BDA assists libraries in making better decisions about demand-driven collection creation, library space management, usage tracking, and quality maintenance in routine and repetitive library tasks such as cataloging, indexing, archiving, administration, preservation and representation. BDA supports libraries in making more cost-effective, innovative, user-oriented services, resource transferring, social identity, resource utilization, healthier user experience, strategic planning, informed decision-making and state-of-the-art infrastructure.

The foundation of this study is based on information gathered from various sources and university libraries in Punjab to better understand the challenges associated with using BDA for the SLS in Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how social media can be an effective tool for academic libraries to support their communities in the digital environment and relay information about their cultural functions.

This paper involves a literature review to discuss the implementation of academic libraries’ cultural functions through social media account. This paper also observes some academic libraries’ accounts that use social media to carry out their cultural functions.

Social media provides opportunities for academic libraries in performing and developing their cultural functions. Academic libraries already use social media to deliver and communicate their cultural functions. However, some challenges might arise and necessitate a review of the library’s resources and the skills of library professionals.

This paper fills the lack of empirical studies analyzing the implementation of academic libraries’ cultural functions through social media accounts and contributes to the literature about the cultural functions of libraries in the digital environment. This paper can help those academic libraries wanting to leverage, bring innovation and increase their cultural functions in the digital environment through their social media accounts.

With the technological innovation dominating higher education, the university libraries, as physical spaces, continue to play a crucial role in connecting students with knowledge. The emergence of the “Learning Commons” serves as a catalyst in the design of library spaces, renewing libraries’ roles and missions and making them popular to Millennials for new reasons. This study aims to record Greek librarians' views on the current situation in Greek academic libraries regarding physical space design, services provided and the existence of the “Learning Commons” model characteristics.

This study was conducted through an online survey structured questionnaire (closed-ended, five-point Likert scale, multiple-choice and statements questions). This study population comprised librarians working in 37 academic institutions and colleges. The collected data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. The research questions were answered using variables creation and the tests, t-test, ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis. The groups of questions were tested for their reliability using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

In total, 186 librarians responded to this study. The responses revealed that participants were willing and ready to accept and support a different approach to academic library physical spaces use, according to the shared learning spaces model. However, this requires changes in the organization's vision, further growth and evolution. Although recently most Greek academic libraries have made significant progress in developing their services to function as information and digital hubs, they do not function as learning collaborative hubs, since the “Learning Commons” model is not reflected in their buildings.

The creation of new academic libraries according to the “common” model is a rapidly evolving issue that affects Greek libraries. This paper highlights the characteristics of libraries that should be adopted in the modern era, the new roles of academic librarians and the importance of an appropriate design of the physical space to achieve optimal learning outcomes. At the same time, this paper is one of the few that illustrates librarians', and not users', perceptions of these changes. This paper is a good research example, and the methodology for measuring this type of context could be used by other future research approaches in other countries.

Spatial olfactory design in the library appears to be a practical approach to enhance the coordination between architectural spaces and user behaviors, shape immersive activity experiences and shape immersive activity experiences. Therefore, this study aims to explore the association between the olfactory elements of library space and users’ olfactory perception, providing a foundation for the practical design of olfactory space in libraries.

Using the olfactory perception semantic differential experiment method, this study collected feedback on the emotional experience of olfactory stimuli from 56 participants in an academic library. From the perspective of environmental psychology, the dimensions of pleasure, control and arousal of users’ olfactory perception in the academic library environment were semantically and emotionally described. In addition, the impact of fatigue state on users’ olfactory perception was analyzed through statistical methods to explore the impact path of individual physical differences on olfactory perception.

It was found that users’ olfactory perception in the academic library environment is likely semantically described from the dimensions of pleasure, arousal and control. These dimensions mutually influence users’ satisfaction with olfactory elements. Moreover, there is a close correlation between pleasure and satisfaction. In addition, fatigue states may impact users’ olfactory perception. Furthermore, users in a high-fatigue state may be more sensitive to the arousal of olfactory perception.

This article is an empirical exploration of users’ perception of the environmental odors in libraries. The experimental results of this paper may have practical implications for the construction of olfactory space in academic libraries.

This study identifies factors affecting brand building for academic libraries affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT) in Iran.

This research applied the grounded theory method based on the three open, axial and selective coding steps (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). The research tool was interviews conducted with 20 experts in librarianship, marketing and branding.

Library building architecture, library information resources and services, librarians' branding, marketing activities and library management are the causal conditions affecting brand building. The national economic situation, the digital publishing situation in the country and different characteristics of the new library community are the intervening conditions affecting brand building. The role of other libraries in society in the scientific education of the new generation provides contextual conditions for brand building. The higher education system and the library parent organization play a part in the operative actions/interactions for brand building. The consequences of brand building are brand image development, brand excellence and brand behavioral loyalty for libraries. Library brand identity is also a core category in brand building.

Facing steep challenges by emergent services, academic libraries are ill-prepared to meet the needs of the new information society solely with traditional services and functions. Academic libraries are required to rebrand themselves to be more successful at delivering a strong performance within a changing information environment by enhancing their brand image and establishing a more effective relationship with users.

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of social networks on the use of academic libraries by university students.

The method used in the present study was a survey. The statistical population included 461 university students. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The result of the Cronbach test was equal to 0.726 indicating the acceptable reliability of the questionnaire. For data analysis, descriptive statistical methods and inferential statistical methods using SPSS 21 software were employed.

The findings showed that 243 of the participants used social networks for 4–6 h a day, 192 students never used university libraries and 229 used the university library only once in a month. Communication with friends was also reported to be one of the main goals in using social networks. The results of regression analysis also indicated that four predictor variables including information retrieval, social influence, trust and attractiveness of social networking environment were statistically able to explain the variance of reluctance to use university libraries.

The present study is one of the few studies that has examined the negative impact of social networks on visiting university libraries.

This study explored the different artificial intelligence (AI) applications used in academic libraries and the key factors and impediments related to their implementation.

The author applied quantitative research methods in the form of a questionnaire, using both open and closed questions. A total of 472 valid questionnaires were received from academic librarians.

The author sought responses from librarians who had implemented AI applications and those who had not, identifying the types of AI applications implemented, key factors relating to their implementation, and impediments to promoting AI. Gaps were identified between the level of support for AI applications and the negative effect of the impediments. Furthermore, the more extensive the individual and organizational knowledge activities performed by the librarians and libraries held, the more positive the attitude was librarians' attitude toward AI applications in their libraries. However, librarians recognized that AI applications are inevitable, but indicated that the difficulties of in execution have hampered the adoption of AI.

The sample data were collected in Taiwan; therefore, the data may only represent the views of Taiwanese academic librarians on AI applications. The results of this study may not apply to librarians worldwide; however, they may provide a useful reference.

The results revealed the top four AI applications that libraries would most likely implement in the near future. Therefore, AI application developers and suppliers can prioritize the promotion of these products for to academic libraries. This study revealed that funding and costs related to AI implementation were discovered to be key factors relating to implementing AI applications. Some impediments to the implementation of AI applications relate to technological problems. Several librarians suggested that managers should invest more resources at an early stage rather than reducing cutting back on human resources initially. Although worries regarding privacy and ethics were mentioned expressed by some respondents, most academic librarians did not regard these to be major concerns.

This study provides the perspectives of librarians who have implemented AI applications and of those who have not. In addition, it explores the advantages and disadvantages of AI applications, and the level of support for and impact of AI applications and promotions. This study also included a gap analysis. Moreover, individual and organizational knowledge activity scales were adopted to examine AI awareness and the perceptions of academic librarians.

The purpose of the present study was to identify the conditions that affect the absorptive capacity (AC) of knowledge, discover its consequences and design an AC paradigm pattern in public academic libraries. To do so, AC was investigated at the levels of individual and organizational learning.

In this paper, to answer the three major questions of this qualitative-survey study, the views of 24 experts were examined using an in-depth semi-structured interview and grounded theory strategy. The data were collected using a nonrandom combined targeted sampling procedure (targeted and snowball) and analyzed based on Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) approach and utilizing MAX Qualitative Data Analysis (MAXQDA) software.

Throughout the grounded analytic stages, 121 open codes were identified. These were distributed around the AC axial category in academic libraries in terms of individual and organizational learning. The 33 axial concepts were then categorized into 16 selective general categories. The paradigm pattern was initially designed to explore the relationships between causal, intervening, strategies, context and consequences conditions. The transition from academic libraries to learning organizations, their increased functional value and the development of their innovation were identified as the consequences of AC development.

This qualitative research is the first in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) to support AC both theoretically and empirically in terms of learning in academic libraries. This study thus not only addresses a key research gap in LIS but also provides significant insights and direction to interested librarians and researchers.

The evolution from emerging technologies to smart libraries is thoroughly analyzed thematically and bibliometrically in this research study, spanning 2013 through 2022. Finding and analyzing the significant changes, patterns and trends in the subject as they are represented in academic papers is the goal of this research.

Using bibliometric methodologies, this study gathered and examined a large corpus of research papers, conference papers and related material from several academic databases.

Starting with Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data (BD), Augmentation Reality/Virtual Reality and Blockchain Technology (BT), the study discusses the advent of new technologies and their effects on libraries. Using bibliometric analysis, this study looks at the evolution of publications over time, the geographic distribution of research and the most active institutions and writers in the area. A thematic analysis is also carried out to pinpoint the critical areas of study and trends in emerging technologies and smart libraries. Some emerging themes are information retrieval, personalized recommendations, intelligent data analytics, connected library spaces, real-time information access, augmented reality/virtual reality applications in libraries and strategies, digital literacy and inclusivity.

This study offers a thorough overview of the research environment by combining bibliometric and thematic analysis, illustrating the development of theories and concepts during the last ten years. The results of this study helps in understanding the trends and future research directions in emerging technologies and smart libraries. This study is an excellent source of information for academics, practitioners and policymakers involved in developing and applying cutting-edge technology in library environments.

This study aimed to predict and understand the academic libraries' probability of successful adoption of blockchain within the lens of integrated technology acceptance model (TAM) and technology organization and environment theory (TOE) framework.

A mixed approach was employed to gather data from librarians (292) and system analysts (46) totaling 338 respondents. The total enumeration sampling technique was considered. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically, while quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation model (SEM).

Perceived usefulness and policy are the important factors that influence academic libraries' blockchain adoption intentions. Unlimited access to both print and electronic resources, security of users' information and easy collaboration between users and library staff were found to be the benefits of blockchain application to academic libraries' operations. Major challenges to the adoption of blockchain in academic libraries include the cost of infrastructure related to blockchain applications, privacy issues and a lack of understanding of blockchain technology among librarians.

Future studies would need to include more relevant items to the observed variables of the independent variables that were found insignificant in this study.

The findings of this study will create a roadmap for government and polytechnic management on the factors that could strengthen the adoption of blockchain in the libraries.

The outcome of this study came at a crucial moment when the majority of academic libraries in developing nations like Nigeria were skeptical about the deployment of blockchain technology in their libraries.

The study identified new factors that influence blockchain adoption intention.