Technology Adaptation in Facilitating the Digital Evolution of University Libraries in Sri Lanka: Librarians' Perspectives

Abstract

Background: In the evolving landscape of university libraries, technological adaptation plays a pivotal role. But the sustainability of the technology adaptation is more crucial than downloading the technology especially in the Sri Lankan context due to economic crisis, cost-effectiveness, local economic viability and resource constraints, demand for capacity building, societal preferences, attitudes, personal interests, and generation change, infrastructural changes, environmental impact, and evolving needs. Originality/Value: As key stakeholders, librarians provide context-specific insight in terms of strategies, unique challenges, and innovative solutions pertinent to the Sri Lankan university libraries. Objective: The study focuses on investigating the strategies, challenges, and solutions related to technological adaptation in Sri Lankan university libraries from the perspective of librarians. Methodology: For this qualitative research, structured interviews were conducted with randomly selected 10 academics representing university libraries. Thematic analysis was administered to analyze the best practices, inform decision-making processes, optimizing the role of technology in advancing the digital evolution, challenges, and solutions to overcome them. Findings: Assessment of current infrastructure, stakeholder engagement and collaboration, customized technology solutions, capacity building and training, and cloud-based solutions were suggested as strategies. Insufficient financial resources, infrastructure, technological literacy, and resistance to change were among the top challenges while enabling cost-sharing Initiatives with industry partners for shared investment, utilizing cloud services, public-private partnerships to build the necessary infrastructure, conducting training, workshops, and seminars, providing access to online courses or resources, implementing change management practices to address fears and resistance, communicating the benefits of technology adoption to the stakeholders, initiating pilot projects to foresee the advantages in small scale. Conclusions: The identified factors in this actual scenario can be used as dimensions for a framework to be included in policy formations which can be resulted through future research.