Technological Shifts in Academic Libraries

Academic libraries have always needed to be responsive to changes in emerging technology over time. Adopting or integrating new library technologies requires librarians to acquire and develop proficiency in new skills. In recent decades as academic libraries have continued to become ever more digitized, this has resulted in a growing need for librarians to gain new technological skills. This qualitative study will use focus groups of academic librarians to explore what current technological shifts academic librarians are experiencing, what skills are most needed to navigate those changes, and how academic librarians are gaining those new skills. This study aims to gain insight into current factors impacting technology in academic library contexts like the continued impacts of Covid-19 and AI, factors unaccounted for in the existing literature. The results of this study will be of interest to current and future academic librarians, library administrators, and LIS educators.