Factors Affecting the Adoption of Metaverse Technology Among Librarians in Federal Universities of Technology in Nigeria

Introduction Librarians' readiness for metaverse technology in Nigerian universities of technology is not well documented. This study aimed to assess librarians' awareness, digital skills, perceived infrastructure, organizational support, and challenges regarding metaverse technology in Federal Universities of Technology in Nigeria, and to examine the relationships between awareness and digital skills and between infrastructure and organizational support. Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and July 2026 in six Federal Universities of Technology in Nigeria. Academic librarians in these universities who agreed to participate were included, and incomplete questionnaires were excluded. Data were collected with a validated online questionnaire using four-point scales. Descriptive statistics were used with a criterion mean of 2.50, and Pearson correlation was used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level. Results A total of 103 librarians were included. Overall, 97 (94.2%) reported very high or high awareness of the metaverse concept. While 91 (88.3%) reported being able to operate metaverse access devices, 29 (28.2%) reported being able to upload library content. Reliable internet connectivity was reported by 87 (84.5%), and augmented reality devices by 27 (26.2%). Inadequate training was the most highly rated challenge, reported by 98 (95.1%). Awareness was correlated with digital skills (r = 0.49, p < 0.001), and infrastructure with organizational support (r = 0.38, p < 0.001). Conclusion Librarians appeared to be aware of metaverse technology, but their skills and resources seemed better suited to accessing virtual environments than to delivering library services within them. Introduction The metaverse refers to a persistent, shared multiuser virtual environment that merges physical reality with digital virtuality, in which users interact with one another and with digital content through avatars, supported by virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies [1]. The term originated in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, and the concept has since attracted substantial attention from technology companies and researchers [1,2]. In academic libraries, metaverse technologies have been applied or proposed for virtual tours, exhibitions, information literacy instruction, access to digital collections, and interaction between librarians and users [3,4]. Librarians' awareness of and readiness for metaverse technology have been examined in Thailand, the Gulf region, the United States, and Nigeria [5–8]. Factors reported to influence adoption include librarians' awareness and digital competence; the availability of devices, software, bandwidth, and electricity; and organizational support in the form of funding, training, technical assistance, and policy [9,10]. Privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity have also been identified as implementation concerns [11]. In Nigeria, studies of university libraries have reported variation in digital competencies and technological resources, and interest in metaverse applications alongside limitations in expertise, infrastructure, funding, training, and policy [8,12]. Federal Universities of Technology hold a mandate for technological education and research; however, librarians' awareness, digital skills, and perceptions of infrastructure, organizational support, and challenges relating to metaverse technology in these institutions remain insufficiently documented. This study aimed to assess librarians' awareness, digital skills, perceived infrastructure, organizational support, and challenges regarding metaverse technology in Federal Universities of Technology in Nigeria, and to examine the relationships between awareness and digital skills and between infrastructure and organizational support. Literature Review Awareness of Metaverse Technology among Librarians Proposed library applications of metaverse technology include immersive user engagement and changes to collections and reading spaces [3,13]; virtual, augmented, and mixed reality services [14]; virtual tours, simulations, tutorials, and collaborative spaces [4]; and immersive information literacy instruction [15]. From the user perspective, studies have examined willingness to patronise a metaverse academic library [16], intentions to use metaverse digital library services [17], knowledge exchange through a virtual living library [18], and information needs involving interaction, participation, and user-generated content in metaverse communities [19]. Among librarians, moderate awareness has been reported in Thailand [5] and in Nigeria, where it was accompanied by enthusiasm for adoption [12]. However, the relationship between librarians' awareness and their digital skills has not been examined in Nigerian Federal Universities of Technology. Digital Skills Possessed by Librarians for the Adoption of Metaverse Technology New professional capabilities have been described as necessary for librarians in intelligent library environments [20]. Librarians in the Gulf region have reported substantial familiarity with and interest in metaverse technology, together with barriers related to expertise and technical resources [6]. Positive views of metaverse integration have also been reported alongside gaps in technical expertise [21]. In Nigeria, digital skills have been associated with preparedness for metaverse-enabled services [12], and readiness and digital capacity have been reported to vary across universities [8]. Training has been recommended to address these gaps [4,10,22]. However, existing studies have not distinguished librarians' ability to navigate virtual environments from their ability to create content, retrieve resources, and communicate with users within them. Adequacy of Technological Infrastructure for the Adoption of Metaverse Technology Infrastructure has been identified as a factor in the adoption of metaverse technologies in academic libraries [9] and has been associated with readiness among library professionals in Pakistan [23]. Immersive library applications and scalable metaverse service models require high-capacity connectivity, and internet and infrastructure constraints have been identified as barriers to implementation [4,14]. Reviews of metaverse technologies in libraries have also highlighted implementation constraints [10,22]. In Nigeria, studies have reported uneven technological resources and limited institutional readiness [8,12]. In a related context, facilitating conditions have been associated with librarians' adoption of artificial intelligence [24]. Organizational Support Available for the Adoption of Metaverse Technology Institutional encouragement has been linked with favorable perceptions of metaverse technology among librarians [6], and leadership support has been identified as a component of readiness in Pakistan [23]. In urban libraries in the United States, overall operating expenditure and population served did not explain the application of metaverse-related technologies [7]. In Nigeria, financial and policy constraints have been reported [12]. Recommended measures include professional development [20]; phased implementation, training, and user feedback [4]; and collaboration, policy, and investment [10,22]. Challenges Affecting the Adoption of Metaverse Technology among Librarians. Reported barriers include technical, financial, and ethical concerns in Thailand [5]; connectivity, training, and service delivery [4]; resource and inclusion issues [10,22]; and costs, skills, funding, and readiness in Nigeria [12]. Professional challenges include changes to librarians' roles [20] and changes associated with the convergence of metaverse technology and artificial intelligence [25]. Ethical and security concerns have also been identified [5,22], including cybersecurity and data protection [11]. At the service level, challenges relate to community participation and ownership of information [19] and to the transfer of knowledge exchange into virtual settings [18]. The characteristics and main findings of the reviewed studies are summarized (Table 1). Table 1. Characteristics and main findings of the reviewed studies. Ref. First author (year) Setting Focus Main findings [3] Margam (2024) Conceptual Metaverse and user engagement Immersive engagement in libraries [4] Tella (2025) Distance learning libraries Metaverse service delivery Tours, simulations, tutorials; connectivity and training barriers; phased implementation [5] Alam (2024) Thailand Librarians’ awareness Moderate awareness; technical, financial, and ethical concerns [6] Subaveerapandiyan (2025) Gulf region Metaverse literacy High familiarity and interest; expertise and resource barriers; institutional encouragement [7] Guo (2024) United States Metaverse technologies in urban libraries Expenditure and population served did not explain application [8] Subaveerapandiyan (2025) Nigeria Metaverse readiness Variation in digital capacity and resources; limited readiness [9] Shahzad (2026) Systematic review Adoption factors in academic libraries Infrastructure identified as an adoption factor [10] Adeyinka (2026) Systematic review Metaverse in public libraries Resource, inclusion, and implementation barriers [11] Oladokun (2025) Conceptual Cybersecurity in metaverse libraries Cybersecurity and data protection concerns [12] Oladokun (2026) Nigeria Preparedness of academic librarians Moderate awareness; skills linked to preparedness; funding, cost, and policy constraints [13] Daradkeh (2023) Conceptual Metaverse in intelligent libraries Changes to collections and reading spaces [14] Jayasuryan (2025) Conceptual Metaverse in information spaces VR, AR, and MR applications requiring high connectivity [15] Okuong