Dear Library managers and library HR personnel,

My name is Lesego Makhafola. I am a PhD student in the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria.

You are invited to consider participating in a study titled, Recognising and mitigating the influence of disruptive technologies: a strategy to enhance digital competence of South African university library staff. The research aims to address the perceived gap in the knowledge and confidence of how information professionals so that they can prepare themselves to identify and mitigate the influence of disruptive and harmful technologies while adhering to ethical conduct. Specifically, the research aims to develop a strategy for South African information professionals to enhance their digital competence, enabling them to recognise and alleviate the influence of disruptive technologies in university libraries.

The in-depth individual semi-structured interviews will take approximately 60-90 minutes each and will be conducted in person or online.

Criteria for participation:

• Library managers or HR personnel working in the library or directly with the UKZN library

If you are interesting in participating in this research, please email me on: u29320098@tuks.co.za or lesego.makhafola@up.ac.za.

The participation of library managers and HR personnel in libraries/ working directly with the library is crucial for the success of this research. Your insights and expertise will contribute significantly to the development of a robust strategy aimed at equipping information professionals with the necessary skills to thrive in an increasingly digital world. It will also inform the creation of an online questionnaire that will be distributed to library staff in the quantitative stage of my research.

This study received Gatekeeper's approval from UKZN and the Ethical Clearance from the University of Pretoria: EBIT/26/2024.

Kindly find attached the gatekeepers letter, ethics clearance, and the informed consent form should you choose to participate.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Lesego Makhafola

Supervisors: Dr Martha J. van Deventer (Vandeventer.martha@up.ac.za) and Professor Marlene A. Holmner (marlene.holmner@up.ac.za)