Hong Kong academic librarians' attitudes toward robotic process automation

Abstract

PurposeThis research investigates Hong Kong academic librarians' attitudes toward robotic process automation (RPA) and their willingness to learn this technology.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study collected data through one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted with video conferencing software. After participants received basic RPA information and three existing library application cases, they answered questions based on the interview guide. This research used the inductive thematic analysis method to analyze the collected data.FindingsRegarding Hong Kong academic librarians' attitudes towards RPA, 19 themes were identified. Although all participants did not have previous knowledge of RPA, most showed positive attitudes toward implementing RPA in their libraries and some willingness to learn it. Besides, among all identified themes, negative attitudes mainly comprised “Affect” and “Cognition” factors, hindering RPA deployment in academic libraries.Originality/valueThis research helps librarians and RPA vendors make better decisions or strategies for implementing RPA for libraries, which has not been explored, especially in East Asia.

Editorial: 40th anniversary: contemporary library research

“…Another important direction of transformation of libraries system is digitalization and automation (Lo et al , 2017; Sun et al , 2022; Lin et al , 2022; Tse et al , 2022; Shahzad and Khan, 2022). This is particularly important as a measure against library lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic (Huang et al , 2021, 2022a; Fasae et al , 2021; Guo et al , 2021; Meng et al , 2022; Yu et al , 2022).…”

Editorial: Special selections on contemporary social media and social network research

“…They show that such platforms can assist scholars in having improved scholarly communications. Liu et al . (2023a, b) also studied how to disseminate and manage emergency information in social media using case studies.…”

“…Wide-spread and high-quality online information services have provided alternative sources during the lockdown (Ding et al , 2021; Hsieh et al , 2023; Lo and Chiu, 2015; Lo et al , 2015, 2017; Suen et al , 2020; Dong et al , 2021; Sun et al , 2022; Wang et al , 2016; Wong and Chiu, 2023; Fan and Liu, 2022; Zuo et al , 2023; Cheng et al , 2022; Cheng, 2022; Wang et al , 2022; Wong et al , 2023) and people have further changed their information and learning habits to digital, particularly for the newer generation (Chan et al , 2022; Chan et al , 2020; Dai and Chiu, 2023; Guo et al , 2022; Shahzad and Khan, 2022; Soroya and Faiola, 2023; Sung and Chiu, 2022; Yi and Chiu, 2023; Wai et al , 2018; Wong and Chiu, 2023; Yu et al , 2022; Zhang et al , 2021). Moreover, the pandemic has accelerated service transformation (Chan et al , 2022; Cheng et al , 2022; Chin and Chiu, 2023; Khan and Ayesha, 2022; Khan et al , 2022; Li et al , 2023; Li et al , 2023; Lin et al , 2022; Lo et al ., 2020; Noh, 2022; Nwagwu and Matobako, 2022; Tseng and Chiu, 2022; Tse et al , 2022; Yao et al , 2023; Wong and Chiu, 2023; Wu et al , 2022b, 2023; Xue et al , 2023), especially supported by ubiquitous mobile Internet services, social media, apps and devices (Dukic et al , 2015; Ezeamuzie et al , 2022; Fan et al , 2020; Fung et al , 2016; Gong et al , 2017; Hui et al , 2023; Lau et al , 2017, 2020; Law et al , 2019; Ni et al , 2022; Yip et al , 2021).…”

“…Information organizations, such as libraries and museums, have gradually adopted social media to maintain a social presence for building social capital besides being widely adopted for promotion and learning aids (Chung et al , 2020; Fong et al , 2020; Ho et al , 2018; Nabi et al , 2023; Lam et al , 2019; 2023; Lei et al , 2021; Leung et al , 2023; Liu et al , 2023a, b; Li et al ., 2023; Lo et al , 2014; Jiang et al ., 2023; Mak et al , 2022; Xie, Chiu, and Ho, 2023; Xie et al , 2023a, b; Wong et al , 2023; Wang et al , 2021; Yang et al , 2022; Wójcik, 2022a; Wu and Yang, 2022), especially during the COVID-19 outbreak. Particularly, digitalization technology enables libraries to share links and content on social media to attract users (Banshal et al , 2022; Lo et al , 2019; Ocran and Afful-Arthur, 2022; Wu et al , 2022a; Xu and Du, 2022).…”

Editorial: Advances in information and knowledge management

“…Moreover, the pandemic has accelerated service transformation (Chan and Chiu, 2022; Cheng et al ., 2022; Chin and Chiu, 2023; Hsu and Lin, 2021; Khan and Ayesha, 2022; Kelner et al ., 2022; Li et al ., 2023a, b, c; Lin et al ., 2022; Lo et al ., 2020; Noh, 2022; Nwagwu and Matobako, 2022; Okunlaya et al ., 2022; Tsang and Chiu, 2022; Tse et al ., 2022; Yao et al ., 2023; Wong and Chiu, 2023a; Wu et al ., 2022a, b, 2023; Xue et al ., 2023), leading to various recent advancements in information and knowledge management. In this issue, we present 12 papers that research various contemporary issues related to information and knowledge management.…”