Skills and competencies of academic librarians to use information technology tools in the digital era: A systematic literature review

The systematic review analyzed 27 works of literature related to the skills and competencies needed by academic librarians to use information technology (IT) tools effectively in the digital age. The review is carried out following the recommended Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Relevant literature was extracted from eight major academic databases, including EBSCOhost, Emerald Insight, Scopus, Sage Journal, Web of Science, Taylor and Francis, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. The retrieved articles were exported to RefWorks to identify duplicates and screen articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Only articles that are empirical in nature, published in a peer-reviewed journal, written in English, published between 2020 and 2024 with affiliation from five countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Pakistan, India and the USA) and addressing either one or all the objectives of this study were used. The study determined various IT tools used in academic libraries to improve service delivery in terms of efficiency, accessibility, and quality. This trend requires librarians to develop advanced digital skills and competencies to cope with the digital world. The study also identified challenges encountered by academic libraries regarding the implemented IT tools. The recommendations based on the findings were outlined.