Abstract
This study investigated digital skills needed by librarians for implementation of smart libraries in
the 5th Industrial Revolution in Universities in South East Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. Two
research questions were asked and two corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested at
0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The
population is 112 Librarians in 15 public Universities in South East Geopolitical Zone. There
was no sampling technique rather census enumeration method was used to draw the entire
population of the study. A rating scale titled: Digital Skills Needed by Librarians for
Implementation of Smart Libraries Scale (DSNLISLS) contained 16 items. The instrument was
validated by three research specialists in Imo State University, Owerri. A reliability coefficient
of 0.83 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha statistics. Research questions were answered using
mean and standard deviation statistics while t-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses. The
result revealed that the digital imaging, scanning and digital preservation skills are significantly
needed by librarians for implementation of smart libraries in the 5th Industrial Revolution in
Universities in South East Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was
recommended among others that University library management should prioritize training and
capacity-building programs to equip librarians with digital imaging and scanning skills in order
to ensure that they are adequately prepared to support the implementation of smart libraries in
the 5th Industrial Revolution.
Keywords: Digital skills, Industrial Revolution, Librarians, Smart libraries, and Universities.
Publication Date: 2025-11-08