Editorial: 40th anniversary: contemporary library research

Libraries are transforming from a space to store books into integrated cultural, meeting and learning spaces that tend to operate 24/7 (Yip et al., 2019; Chan et al., 2020a; Kim et al., 2020; Leung et al., 2022; Ho et al., 2022a,b; Jiang et al., 2022; Wong and Chiu, 2023). Noh (2022) investigated the library as a complex cultural space and showed that library users participated and enjoyed its services and programs. On the other hand, Zhou et al. (2022) investigated the library café as a study space. They showed that the library café is essential for students' learning and life. Further, Nwagwu and Matobako (2022) examined the knowledge commons in South African public libraries. Earlier this year, we had a special section on library wayfinding (Chiu and Ho, 2022).

Another important direction of transformation of libraries system is digitalization and automation (Lo et al., 2017; Sun et al., 2022; Lin et al., 2022; Tse et al., 2022; Shahzad and Khan, 2022). This is particularly important as a measure against library lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic (Huang et al., 2021, 2022a; Fasae et al., 2021; Guo et al., 2021; Meng et al., 2022; Yu et al., 2022). Khan and Ayesha (2022) studied information management systems for automation in university libraries. Also, Xu and Du (2022) used the information system success model and affinity theory to study factors influencing undergraduates' intention to use university digital libraries. Further, Ocran and Afful-Arthur (2022) studied how academic librarians help in digital scholarship.

Social media is particularly impactful to the younger generation, not just in their daily lives but also in their learning (Leung et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021; Lei et al., 2021; Dong et al., 2021; Cheng et al., 2022; Wang and Xie, 2022; Dong et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2022b). Thus, library services also need to be promoted and provided on social media (Chan et al., 2020b; Cheng et al., 2020; Fong et al., 2020; Lam et al., 2022; Guo et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2022). Al-Aufi et al. (2022) investigated and developed a model to check for the effectiveness of crowdsourcing through social media in improving information services. Wu and Yang (2022) studied how to use social media marketing strategies to promote library collections for preadolescents. They used a Facebook page to experiment and investigate the effects of word-of-mouth marketing, buzz marketing, event marketing, viral marketing and gamification marketing. We shall release a special issue on “Contemporary learning on mobile devices, social media, and beyond” and plan to have a special selection on modern social media applications in library and information management next year.

Information literacy is an essential skill for modern life, and it is an essential professional skill for library and information systems science researchers and practitioners (Li et al., 2021; Tse et al., 2022). Ali and Ahmed (2022) investigated the information literacy skills of Pakistan's university library and information science professionals. They used regression to show that information literacy skill is a prerequisite for improving library and information science professionals' research support services. On the other hand, Batool et al. (2022) used a Delphi study to develop an information literacy curriculum for higher education in developing countries. Yew et al. (2022) analyzed the curricula of nearly 100 library and information science (LIS) programs from the American Library Association (ALA) and Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) worldwide to guide potential students in selecting their suitable LIS programs. This article also highlights the impact of contemporary technology on LIS curricula. Readers may also be interested in reading about similar trends in archival studies programs recently published (Ng et al., 2022; Li and Chiu, 2022).

For more advanced forms of information literacy, Wu et al. (2022b) investigated how to protect digital library readers' data and behavior privacies and analyzed different approaches to safeguarding such privacies. Furthermore, Wójcik (2022) studied the brain-computer interface and accessed its potential impact on the design, use and evaluation of information retrieval systems. On the other hand, readers may also be interested in misinformation and prevention issues (Zhang et al., 2022; Ho et al., 2022a,b; Au et al., 2021).

New technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), mobile visual search and infographics, are now incorporated to strengthen library services (Lo et al., 2019; Suen et al., 2020; Li and Liu, 2022; Xin, 2022). Dalili Saleh et al. (2022) studied the use of AR in medical libraries in universities and showed that AR could assist library management. Zeng et al. (2022) built a mobile visual service system to present Dunhuang murals in a smart library system to provide references for cultural heritages under protection and not open for the public to visit. Mansour (2022) also presented infographics for information dissemination in Egyptian public libraries.

New technologies have improved library services in the past decade (Lee, 2021). Kaffashan Kakhki et al. (2022) investigated how organizational levers and information technology (IT) influence how librarians acquire and apply innovation.

One important trend is artificial intelligence (AI) (Asemi et al., 2021; Okunlaya et al., 2022; Huang, 2022; Harisanty et al., 2022; Borgohain et al., 2022). Yoon et al. (2022) surveyed public and academic librarians in North America and noted that academic librarians were aware of and used AI more often than public librarians. We recently had a special issue on social robots, services and applications (Kelner et al., 2022). We shall have an upcoming special issue on AI and blockchain for information and library sciences.

In addition, cloud technology is becoming increasingly popular and influencing our daily lives. These technologies are also reshaping library services. Loghmani Khozani et al. (2022) surveyed 83 academic librarians from Iran and found them unfamiliar with cloud computing and suggested further efforts were needed to promote cloud computing for Iranian academic librarians. By using cloud technology, Wu et al. (2022a) developed a mechanism to protect readers' privacy when using digital library services, which can help construct a privacy-preserving digital library platform. Wang et al. (2022a) also reviewed the use of cloud computing in the information technology infrastructure library (ITIL). Readers may be interested in further reading about library cloud technology applications (Lai et al., 2021; Awan and Abbas, 2022).

The Internet of things (IoT) is now becoming ubiquitous (Sun et al., 2021; Chohan et al., 2021; Bokharaei Nia et al., 2021). Khan et al. (2022) surveyed academic libraries in Nanjing, China. They noted that the IoT-augmented services in academic libraries should be supported through robust management practices and effective utilization of technological resources. Further, we had a special issue on IoT (Cao et al., 2020) with three literature review articles to further guide the reading on this subject (Liang, 2020; Shammar and Zahary, 2020; Ma et al., 2020).

Green technology is also an important topic nowadays (Chung et al., 2020; Guleria and Kaur, 2021; Ho et al., 2022a,b). Soroya et al. (2022) explored the attitudes of Pakistani university librarians toward green computing behavior.