The Internet of Things and its anticipated influence on digital service quality: A survey at the Central Library of the University of Babylon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17977/um063.v6.i2.2026.2Keywords:
Digital service quality, Internet of Things, University libraries, Smart interaction, Digital transformationAbstract
This study examines the anticipated influence of Internet of Things (IoT) applications on digital service quality in the Central Library of the University of Babylon. The research focuses on IoT as an independent variable represented by technical infrastructure, integration with digital services, user experience, and security and privacy. Digital service quality is treated as the dependent variable and is represented by impact on beneficiaries, information control, the library physical and digital environment, and smart interaction. A survey method was used to collect responses from a purposive sample of 209 library beneficiaries. The questionnaire was designed using a five-point Likert scale, and the data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation, and linear regression using SPSS and AMOS. The findings indicate that IoT has a statistically significant positive effect on digital service quality, explaining 46% of the variance. Technical infrastructure, integration with digital services, and user experience significantly contribute to enhancing service quality, whereas security and privacy, although rated highly by users, did not show a statistically significant direct effect in the regression model. The study recommends strengthening technical infrastructure, improving information control systems, integrating digital services, and developing smart interaction features to support user-centered digital transformation in university libraries.
References
Abdullah, R., Rahman, A. A., & Othman, S. H. (2019). Investigating awareness of IoT among library professionals. Library Management, 40(1/2), 63-74.
Adeyemi, I. O., & Haruna, I. (2019). Enhancing user satisfaction through smart library services. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 51(4), 1054-1065.
Akadiri, O. P. (2011). Development of multi-criteria approach for the selection of sustainable construction materials [Doctoral dissertation, University of Wolverhampton].
Al-Hassan, R., & Mansour, E. (2021). The role of digital service quality in enhancing library operational efficiency. Library Management, 42(6/7), 467-480.
Al-Masri, E., Alassaf, N., & Jain, R. (2023). A comprehensive survey on Internet of Things (IoT) toward 6G wireless systems. IEEE Access, 11, 18712-18745.
Al-Momani, A. M., et al. (2022). Internet of things adoption in academic libraries: An empirical study library. Library Hi Tech, 40(3), 869-888. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-06-2020-0142
Alhassan, I., & Asante, E. (2021). Customer service quality in the digital era: The role of staff competence in academic libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(5), 102405.
Alhassan, J. A., & Adam, F. (2022). Assessing users' expectations of emerging technologies in university libraries: A pre-adoption study. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(3), 102534.
Ally, M., & Tole, A. (2020). Smart environmental monitoring in academic libraries using IoT. International Journal of Information Management, 52, 102098.
Almaiah, M. A., & Al-Khasawneh, A. (2020). Investigating the main determinants of mobile learning application satisfaction during COVID-19 pandemic. Education and Information Technologies, 25, 5261-5280.
Alshurideh, M., Al Kurdi, B., Abumari, A., & Salloum, S. A. (2023). Digital service quality and its impact on customer satisfaction in the digital era. Journal of Marketing Communications, 29(5), 467-486.
Ameen, K., & Gorman, G. E. (2019). Digital infrastructure and library service innovation in developing countries. Information Development, 35(3), 369-380.
Ashton, K. (2009). That 'Internet of Things' thing. RFID Journal.
Association of Research Libraries. (2022). LibQUAL+®: Charting library service quality. https://www.libqual.org/
Atzori, L., Iera, A., & Morabito, G. (2010). The Internet of Things: A survey. Computer Networks, 54(15), 2787-2805.
Bandyopadhyay, D., & Sen, J. (2017). Internet of Things: Applications and challenges in technology and standardization. Wireless Personal Communications, 95(1), 49-69.
Chen, L., & Wu, X. (2018). Measuring library user expectations for future technology services. Library Management, 39(6/7), 431-445.
Choudhury, M. M., & Harrigan, P. (2020). Service quality in the digital environment. Journal of Services Marketing, 34(3), 293-309.
Cox, A. M., & Brewster, L. (2018). Library service quality for all: Accessibility and inclusivity in the digital age. Library Hi Tech, 36(1), 140-154.
Fatima, T., Malik, S. A., & Shabbir, A. (2018). Hospital healthcare service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty: An investigation in context of private healthcare systems. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 35(6), 1195-1214.
Garcia, R., & Llorente, A. (2019). IoT-based services for smart libraries: Enhancing user experience. Library Hi Tech, 37(3), 386-402.
Gubbi, J., Buyya, R., Marusic, S., & Palaniswami, M. (2013). Internet of Things (IoT): A vision, architectural elements, and future directions. Future Generation Computer Systems, 29(7), 1645-1660.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage.
Hsu, C. L., Chang, K. C., & Chen, M. C. (2021). The impact of website quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty: The moderating role of customer experience. Online Information Review, 45(3), 465-486.
Hussain, A., & Abalkhail, A. (2021). Anticipating digital transformation: Understanding library users' expectations before service implementation. Library Hi Tech, 39(5), 1160-1178.
Hussain, A., & Abalkhail, J. M. (2020). Impact of digital library service quality on academic research productivity. Electronic Library, 38(3), 531-547.
Ismail, N., Rahman, R. A., & Hamid, N. Z. A. (2019). Digital library as a learning space: Users' perceptions of the library as place. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 24(3), 57-74.
Khan, A., Bhatti, R., & Khan, M. A. (2022). Enhancing user satisfaction in digital library services through staff support: An empirical study. Library Management, 43(6/7), 413-428.
Khan, S., & Qutab, S. (2021). Digital services integration in academic libraries: Opportunities and challenges. Library Management, 42(6/7), 457-470.
Kim, S., & Lee, H. (2022). Digital service quality in academic libraries: Impact on user satisfaction and loyalty. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(5), 102586.
Kumar, N., Gupta, S., & Misra, S. (2021). IoT-enabled security systems for smart libraries. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 8(15), 12067-12075.
Lee, G. G., & Lin, H. F. (2019). Customer perceptions of e-service quality in online shopping. Internet Research, 29(4), 872-890.
Lim, S., & Tan, W. (2020). Data privacy and trust in IoT-based library systems. Information Development, 36(5), 702-713.
Lin, Y., & Huang, M. (2021). Smart interaction in IoT-enabled library services: Enhancing user engagement. Online Information Review, 45(7), 1102-1118.
Madakam, S., Ramaswamy, R., & Tripathi, S. (2015). Internet of Things (IoT): A literature review. Journal of Computer and Communications, 3(5), 164-173.
Mbambo-Thata, B. (2019). User expectations in the age of digital library transformation. IFLA Journal, 45(2), 153-166.
Minerva, R., Biru, A., & Rotondi, D. (2020). Towards a definition of the Internet of Things (IoT). IEEE Internet Initiative, 1-86.
Nguyen, L. T., & Kim, Y. (2022). Smart library infrastructure for the digital age: Design and implementation strategies. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(5), 102621.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Malhotra, A. (2005). E-S-QUAL: A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research, 7(3), 213-233.
Patil, S., & Suresh, M. (2021). Privacy and security challenges in IoT-enabled libraries: A conceptual framework. The Electronic Library, 39(3), 421-436.
Rahman, M. M., & Singh, D. (2019). Digital service quality as a competitive advantage for academic libraries. Information Development, 35(4), 580-590.
Sharma, P., & Jain, S. (2019). Role of Internet of Things (IoT) in academic libraries. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1-10.
Singh, R., & Mahajan, P. (2013). Application of RFID technology in libraries. International Journal of Library and Information Science, 5(4), 100-106.
Whitmore, A., Agarwal, A., & Xu, L. D. (2015). The Internet of Things: A survey of topics and trends. Information Systems Frontiers, 17(2), 261-274.
Yan, Z., Zhang, P., & Vasilakos, A. V. (2015). A survey on trust management for Internet of Things. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 42, 120-134.
Yoon, J., & Kim, S. (2020). Pre-adoption user perception of IoT services in academic libraries. The Electronic Library, 38(4), 747-763.
Zeng, D., Guo, S., & Cheng, Z. (2020). The web of things: A survey. Journal of Communications and Information Networks, 5(1), 1-14.
Zhang, K., Zhao, S., Chen, L., & Yu, P. S. (2021). Smart service systems enabled by the Internet of Things: Experience, interaction, and intelligence. Information & Management, 58(6), 103482.
Zhang, X., & Lee, C. (2020). Integrating IoT and big data analytics in academic libraries. The Electronic Library, 38(6), 1237-1254.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Omaima Hameed Aladilee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
3.png)
1.png)
1.png)
