Academic Librarians' Attitudes towards Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a digital layer in the physical environment, which adds virtual elements to the real world. Academic libraries must meet certain criteria to enter fourth-generation libraries, one of which is the use of new technologies. The aim of this study was to investigate academic librarians' views on the application of components of AR technology in the libraries of medical universities.

The study was a cross-sectional survey study. The statistical population of the study included all librarians working at medical science universities in Iran. The sample size comprised 183 librarians who participated in the present research study. Quantitative research approach and research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Internal validity of the questionnaire was assessed through CVI and reliability was assessed, using ICC (validity within and between assessors). The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed using the opinions of 10 experts in the field of information science and AR technology and its reliability was obtained with Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficient of 0.96 and test-retest method. Using the online questionnaire, the librarians' perspective data on the components of familiarity, facilities, application, advantages, opportunities and limitations were collected in the form of 5 Likert questions. Data analysis with SPSS software was used through independent t-test, ANOVA and Tukey to evaluate the status of AR technology components.

The general attitude of librarians towards the components of application, facilities, advantages, opportunities and limitations of AR technology was on the scale of five Likert options with an average total score of 3.75. 0.05. Overall, 73.65% of librarians agreed with AR technology and 86.99% agreed with its use component in the libraries of medical universities. The results of the Tukey test showed that more graduate students than those with doctoral degrees agreed with the component of facilities available in university libraries to launch AR. Librarians older than 50 years considered the AR component in library management and assistance to librarians to be more effective than those under 30 years of age (P <0.05).

According to the results of the present study, the most important components for the use of AR technology in the libraries of medical universities to strengthen user education included the existence of appropriate content, usefulness, providing diverse services, user guidance, location and the opportunity to implement AR on a larger scale. The librarians' attitudes toward launching AR technology were favorable and they agreed with its applicability.