ASSESSMENT OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) BY ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examines the AI skills and adoption of librarians in Delta State, Nigeria, academic libraries. The study population was all the 93 academic librarians in Delta State. The researchers surveyed 87 librarians in academic libraries using Online questionnaires as the primary data collection tool. SPSS version 25 was used to analyse librarians' motivation and AI skills using descriptive statistics and linear regression. The results highlight the need for specialised training programmes by showing that librarians have differing proficiency with various AI applications. Budgetary constraints, change resistance, and integration issues hindered AI adoption and skills acquisition. Furthermore, librarians' perception of AI technologies' usefulness positively influenced their motivation to learn AI skills. However, their willingness to learn AI skills was unaffected by AI technology's ease of use and accessibility. The study concluded with offering insights and recommendations for improving academic librarians' AI proficiency.