Digital twinning in conceptualising metaversity academic library information hubs

Abstract

The potential of digital technology like digital twins within the context of artificial intelligence can be used for facilitating information retrieval, sharing of contents, and creating collaborative environments to encourage engagement. This article explores the utilisation of digital twinning to bring about digital transformation in South African universities and academic libraries, as this technology is still underutilised. By considering digital twinning technologies, universities can enhance teaching practices and research capabilities and contribute to societal development. Digital twins, namely virtual replicas and models of physical systems or processes, provide universities with the means to simulate, evaluate and optimise infrastructures, resources, and operations. Artificial intelligence-powered recommendation systems can tailor or modify informative content searches, academic publications, and other information resources, based on specific research interests and knowledge preferences. An interpretivism paradigm, bricolage and foresight methods are applied to provide a comprehensive understanding of the future of functions and services to be offered by academic libraries. Findings propose that by utilising digital twins, academic libraries can enhance their societal impact, sustainability, and service delivery. Digital twin technology offers academic libraries the opportunity to enable real-time monitoring, process analysis and simulation, to provide insights into information resource utilisation, patron preferences and space optimisation.