Libraries and Information Services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Current Trends, Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

Industrial Revolution (IR) is a phase of technological and innovative changes aimed at solving societal problems. Over the centuries, industrial revolutions have profoundly transformed economic, social and cultural landscapes. The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th IR) brings forth a convergence of digital, biological and physical systems, introducing groundbreaking technologies and trends. These innovations, particularly in Library and Information Science (LIS), have transformed traditional services and offered unprecedented opportunities while also presenting significant challenges. This paper explores the evolution of industrial revolutions, with a focus on the 4th IR's technologies and trends, their impact on LIS and actionable strategies to harness these changes effectively. The first up to the current phase (4th IR) were triggered by discoveries that spurred massive productions in industries, computer-aided economic and social transformations and the Internet. Each of these phases had implications for the growth of LIS.