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Internet of Things – potential for libraries

Magdalena Wójcik (Institute of Library and Information Science, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland)

Library Hi Tech

ISSN: 0737-8831

Article publication date: 20 June 2016

5674

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to subject the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) technology for libraries in terms of the possible scope and usage forms of this technology in public and academic library services.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on analysis of the subject literature, the main areas of IoT applications in commercial institutions were identified, then an analysis of Library and Information Science English-language literature from the years 2010 to 2015 was conducted in order to create a profile of modern library services. The range of activities of commercial and non-commercial institutions were compared to ascertain if areas in which commercial entities using or planning to use IoT could also be an inspiration for libraries. In this way, a theoretical model of IoT use in library activities was developed.

Findings

The research showed that IoT technology might have the potential to be used in library services and other activities, similar to how it is implemented in the commercial sector.

Research limitations/implications

The aim of the paper is to determine the possible, not the actual, scope and forms of using this technology in public and academic libraries’ services.

Practical implications

The results can be widely used in libraries as an inspiration for the use of IoT technology in modern library services.

Social implications

The use of new technologies in libraries can help to improve the image of these institutions in the eyes of users, especially the younger generation.

Originality/value

The use of IoT in libraries is a new issue that has not been studied much yet. The issue of using the potential of this technology for the needs of libraries has, in recent years, been raised at international conferences, become a subject of interest to librarian associations, and been widely discussed in the blogosphere, thus proving that this topic is important to practitioners. It is difficult, however, to find any scientific, comprehensive studies of this topic.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Mike Timberlake for proof-reading.

Citation

Wójcik, M. (2016), "Internet of Things – potential for libraries", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 404-420. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-10-2015-0100

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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