LIBRARIANS’ PERCEPTIONS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

The article explores the perceptions of librarians towards emerging technologies and how they can proactively engage with them to enhance their professional lives and the experiences of their users. The digitization of content and the virtualization of the global information landscape has transformed the nature of library operations and the information-seeking behavior of users. In response, librarians must adapt to new competencies and face rapid technological change and innovations. The study presented in this article aims to achieve three objectives. Firstly, to survey the attitudes of librarians towards the potential use of emerging technologies in their professional environment, comprising cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. Secondly, to investigate the impact of a multilinear story on the attitudes of librarians towards the portrayed technologies, which deliberately shows different variants of the future. And finally, to determine whether there is a difference in attitudes towards emerging technologies between staff in academic and public libraries. The research design follows the method of Science Fiction Prototyping, which fosters critical reflection on the consequences of technological innovations. It comprises three main phases: identifying and analyzing the drivers shaping the future of the domain, developing the narrative to portray the impact of the technologies on people, and exposing the audience to the narrative and reflecting on the impact and resulting learnings. The study reveals a clear gap between cognitive and affective attitudes both before and after reading the narrative scenario. The portrayed technologies are in general overall more imaginable than desirable for the participating librarians. The conclusion is that librarians must engage proactively with emerging technologies and adopt new competencies to remain relevant in the 21st century. Science Fiction Prototyping offers a valuable approach to reflecting critically on the consequences of technological innovations and can contribute to better envisioning the specific use of emerging technologies in everyday work.