LIBRARIANS’ OPEN SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE AND DATA ANALYSIS SKILLS IN THE ERA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EVIDENCE FROM A MULTIINSTITUTIONAL SURVEY Section Articles

Abstract

The skills of librarians in open science ensures accessibility of information resources without
barriers based on the findable, accessible, interoperable and reuseable (FAIR) principles, while
leveraging on artificial intelligence for data analytic skill boosts the confidence of librarians’
research in using digital tools to provide insight to research outcomes and proffer diverse
solutions. However, the need to ascertain the AI readiness and data analytic skills of Librarians
across diverse libraries in embracing the transformation in library services is essential. The study
used descriptive research methods to determine the level of librarian’s awareness of open science,
AI readiness, data Science skills, research participation and level of institutional support available
librarian across different institutions in Nigeria. A purposive sampling was adopted to obtain
responses from 47 librarians with the aid of an online google form. A reliability test was conducted
using the Cronbach Alpha and a consistency of 0.955 was obtained, indicating a high reliable
instrument for the study. The result of the descriptive studies indicated that AI readiness had the
highest mean score (M = 3.10, SD = 1.30), followed by data science skills (M = 3.02, SD = 1.21)
and institutional support (M = 2.96, SD = 1.55). Open science awareness (M = 2.86, SD = 1.36)
and collaborative research participation (M = 2.85, SD = 1.20) recorded the least mean scores.
The study concludes that librarians employed in Nigeria are willing and ready to Adopt AI but
may be limited from the moderate levels revealed in the study. The study therefore recommends
that the management of library institutions should be proactive in supporting librarians to adopt
artificial intelligence through training and policy implementation.