Library staff support with Fourth Industrial Revolution's application to provide information resources to remote clients during the COVID-19 library services

Abstract

PurposeThe Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have challenged the academic libraries system with a paradigm shift that has never been experienced before. This article highlights how the library staff offered support with the 4IR to the remote during the COVID-19 era; to ensure that the provision of information resources does not halt because of the imposed lockdown COVID-19 regulations. The purpose of this study was to examine the library staff support with 4IR's application to provide information resources to remote clients during the COVID-19 library services.Design/methodology/approachThe study was anchored by the positivism research paradigm and used a quantitative research approach. Microsoft Form was used to design an online questionnaire to collect data from the library staff working in a distance education environment in Gauteng Province of South Africa. The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).FindingsThe findings discovered that the library staff was keen on job innovation; however, the COVID-19 restrictions were a major cause for the library staff not to provide information resources to remote clients effectively.Research limitations/implicationsThe 4IR has both positive and negative effects on the library staff and the remote clients. To ensure that academic libraries fully embrace the 4IR; it is imperative to examine how the remote clients affected by digital divide can benefit from this revolution since they do not have access to adequate gadgets such as laptops/personal computers/tablets/smartphone/iPods and data for Internet connection.Practical implicationsThis study contributed to the Library and Information Science's (LIS) field by adding value to the knowledge base concerning how the library staff working in academic libraries operating in a distance education environment in Gauteng Province of South Africa offered support to the remote clients during the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted the drastic adoption of the 4IR.Social implicationsStakeholders, library management and policymakers gained insight to revisit the existing library staff support regarding mentoring, coaching training remote clients on how to access and download online information resources. This is inspired by the fact that COVID-19 significantly influenced library services' value for knowledge by facilitating policy changes and aligning with 4IR.Originality/valueThe study greatly influences policymakers and information practitioners to mobilize new methods of library staff support.