LIBRARIANS’ AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-POWERED REFERENCE SERVICES FOR ENHANCING USER SUPPORT IN SOUTH-EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine librarians’ awareness and adoption of artificial intelligence-powered reference services for enhancing user support in South- East. Descriptive research design was utilized for the study. The population for the study consisted of 154 librarians in Federal university libraries in the South-East, Nigeria. The sample size for the study comprised 120 librarians that responded to the items in the instruments. Data for the study were collected using ‘‘Librarians Awareness of AI-Powered Reference Services Questionnaire (LAWAIPRESQ)’’ and ‘‘Librarians Adoption of AI -Powered Reference Services Questionnaire (LADAIPRESQ). LAWAIPRESQ and LADAIPRESQ were validated by three experts. The reliabilities of LAWAIPRESQ and LADAIPRESQ were respectively ascertained using Kuder-Richardson-21 and Cronbach alpha statistics to yield scores of 0.81 and 0.71. Data collected were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study revealed that librarians’ were aware of AI-powered reference services for enhancing user support while their adoption of them was rare. In line with the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that university management should organize workshops and seminars for librarians to enhance librarians’ skills in AI-powered reference services to enhance user support.