Are Academic Libraries of Bangladesh Ready to Implement Artificial Intelligence? Finding Answers from LIS Professionals
Razea Sultana, Md. Atikuzzaman · The International Information & Library Review · 2025
The present study aims to investigate LIS professionals’ perceptions of the implementation of AI in academic library services in Bangladesh and develop a framework to facilitate the successful integration of AI in academic libraries. A qualitative approach was used to collect data from 30 LIS professionals, including 17 educators and 13 practitioners, from three public and one private LIS degree-offering universities in Bangladesh. In-person interviews were conducted using a convenience sampling technique to collect responses from the professionals. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. The majority of professionals agreed that AI might be used to provide immediate responses to user queries, detect and correct metadata inconsistencies, and accelerate the check-out and check-in process. Enhanced information discovery, improved cataloguing and classification and enhanced user satisfaction were potential benefits, whereas insufficient training, budget and ethical issues were the potential challenges of implementing AI mentioned by the professionals. They also recommended enhancing AI literacy and awareness, developing infrastructure, arranging continuous training and developing AI policy and framework for libraries. Finally, the study proposed a model framework to implement AI services in academic libraries in Bangladesh. This study is the first initiative in Bangladesh to study LIS professionals’ perceptions of the implementation of AI technologies in academic library services. This research holds great value for future studies in understanding the perspectives of LIS professionals on AI implementation.