This study examined the influence of technology anxiety on the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for quality service delivery among librarians and library users in selected academic libraries in Northern Nigeria. The study sought to determine the level of technology anxiety experienced by respondents, identify factors influencing AI adoption, assess the impact of technology anxiety on AI utilization, and explore the contribution of AI to service quality in academic libraries. The population of the study consisted of librarians, paraprofessional staff, and library users in selected university libraries in Northern Nigeria. Using purposive sampling, a total of 105 respondents who had prior exposure to AI-enabled library services were selected for the study. A structured questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire contained items on technology anxiety, AI adoption, service quality, and strategies for enhancing AI integration. Data were collected through direct administration of the questionnaire to the respondents. The descriptive survey research design was adopted, and the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviations) and inferential statistics, including Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation. The findings revealed that 42.9% of the respondents experienced moderate technology anxiety, while 28.6% reported high anxiety levels. High anxiety was more prevalent among library staff (40%) than users (18%). A significant negative relationship was found between technology anxiety and AI adoption (r = -0.48, p < 0.01), indicating that higher anxiety levels reduced the effective use of AI tools. The study also showed that AI improved service delivery through faster information retrieval, enhanced cataloguing and indexing, reduced staff workload, and increased user satisfaction. Training availability, management support, and perceived usefulness were identified as major facilitators of AI adoption, while high implementation costs, inadequate digital skills, and fear of job displacement were key barriers. The study concluded that technology anxiety is a critical factor influencing the successful adoption of AI in academic libraries. Effective AI integration requires not only adequate technological infrastructure but also emotional readiness, organizational support, and continuous capacity building. The study recommended that academic libraries should provide regular training programmes, implement AI literacy campaigns, design user-friendly AI systems, and establish clear institutional policies to reduce technology anxiety and promote the successful adoption of AI technologies in library service delivery.
Ekeh et al. (Thu,) studied this question.