Reimagining the roles and skills of information professionals in the 5IR

The advent of the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR) establishes a transformation of information centers and Information Professionals (IP). 5IR addresses the deficiencies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) with emphasis on renewed direction and development of the roles and skills of IP in the rapidly emerging technological innovations that interplay between humans and technologies from the perspective of Information Professionals and information centers. The roles, skills, and implications of the 5th industrial revolution to information professionals remain unclear. The study establishes a holistic review of roles, skills, and impact of the 5th industrial revolution and proffers working solutions to navigate, survive, and sustain as information professionals. The findings highlight technical skills, soft skills, upskill, re-skilling, and mega-skilling. The study recommends constant learning and adaptability, responsible data stewardship, collaboration across disciplines, human-centric systems, green IT transformation, and goal-oriented information services. By understanding the implications, IP can navigate, survive, and sustain the 5th industrial revolution.