Digital Age and Academic Libraries in Nigeria: The Emerging Roles of Academic Librarians

Abstract

The digital revolution has transformed how information is created, disseminated, accessed, and used, thereby necessitating academic librarians to rethink their roles, skills required, and practices. This systematic review examines the evolving role of academic librarians in Nigeria in the digital age and how they need to adapt to meet the changing information needs of users, emerging technologies, and new information landscapes. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, this review identifies and synthesizes the key roles, competencies, and challenges facing academic librarians in the digital era. This paper therefore, examined the impact of digital age on academic libraries and the emerging roles of academic librarians in meeting the changing needs of students, researchers, faculty members, and other user communities. Literature review approach was adopted for the data collection. The author’s experience and views were also used to analyze documents, identify key themes, generate ideas, and draw the conclusion on the topic. The findings highlight the importance of developing technological expertise, cultivating digital literacy skills, engaging in data management and curation, fostering collaborations, and embracing a user-centric approach. The paper conclude that the role of academic librarians in the digital age is multifaceted and critical to the success of higher educational institutions in Nigeria. By providing a holistic understanding of the evolving landscape, this review recommended to academic librarians, library administrators, and other stakeholders about the strategies and best practices necessary to thrive in the digital age for meeting users changing information needs.