Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Information Services

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Information Services

By

Azeez ADEOYE, Wizard Librarian

Information services are among the oldest forms of services known to humanity. From time immemorial, people have depended on information to make decisions, solve problems, reduce uncertainty and accomplish tasks. Human needs are also insatiable, and no single individual can independently provide all the goods, skills and services required by society. One person cannot simultaneously be a farmer, physician, fisherman, tailor, teacher, trader, driver and several other professionals. This interdependence creates opportunities for people to provide specialised services that meet the needs of others.

Information itself can be understood as a phenomenon that reduces uncertainty and supports sound decision-making. Consequently, the fundamental responsibility of information professionals is to provide access to, organise, interpret and deliver information in ways that help individuals and organisations make better decisions. In doing so, information professionals are not merely performing routine library duties; they are solving societal problems. And solving problems is at the heart of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship begins with identifying a need, creating value and developing a sustainable means of delivering that value. Therefore, when information professionals identify information-related problems and develop solutions that people find useful, they have created an entrepreneurial opportunity. When you create value, money will follow.

The field of Library and Information Science (LIS) offers enormous opportunities for entrepreneurship. The services of LIS professionals are not confined to the four walls of a library. Information professionals can provide publishing services; establish and manage journals and magazines; offer information literacy and professional training; provide consultancy and advisory services; develop and market information products; sell and supply library resources; organise and curate knowledge; develop websites and digital platforms; support library software development and implementation; provide educational support services; engage in policy development and advocacy; web archiving and digitalisation, participate in political and professional leadership; manage digital marketing; create content; and provide research and information consultancy services. Therefore, do not underestimate the courses you have taken in Library and Information Science. Each course is potentially a career path. Each skill is potentially a service. Each information problem is potentially an entrepreneurial opportunity.

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has expanded these opportunities even further. AI does not fundamentally change the problems that information professionals solve; rather, it changes the tools, speed and scale with which those problems can be addressed. An information professional who understands the information needs of users and combines that professional knowledge with AI tools can deliver services more efficiently, reach a wider market and create new information products.

For example, AI can support the development of websites and applications through vibe coding and AI-assisted programming; facilitate research and knowledge synthesis through tools such as NotebookLM; support automated content creation, editing and publishing; power intelligent chatbots for libraries and information centres; enhance discovery and retrieval systems; automate repetitive administrative tasks; support digital marketing and social media management; and improve user engagement with information products and services. Emerging technologies such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) can also create opportunities for connecting AI systems with library management systems, databases and other information resources, enabling more intelligent and context-aware information services.

The entrepreneurial possibilities are therefore enormous. An LIS professional can, for instance, build an AI-powered information service for students, develop a specialised research-support platform, create a subscription-based information product, provide AI-assisted literature-search services, develop training programmes, offer digital publishing services, build intelligent library chatbots, provide knowledge-management consultancy, or create digital educational resources. The professional knowledge remains the foundation; AI becomes an enabling tool for creating, scaling and delivering value.

However, technology is changing rapidly. The knowledge landscape is constantly evolving, and what is considered cutting-edge today may become outdated within a few years. This phenomenon is not peculiar to Library and Information Science. It is evident in medicine, engineering, agriculture, business, education, publishing and virtually every other profession. The tools change, the platforms change and the methods change, but the fundamental principles of the profession remain.

This has an important implication for students and professionals. By the time you complete a degree programme, some of the technologies and knowledge you learned at the beginning of the programme may already have changed. Therefore, the most valuable thing you acquire from university is not simply a collection of facts or technical procedures. It is the capacity to learn, unlearn, relearn, adapt, innovate and continuously acquire new skills.

Lifelong learning is therefore no longer merely an academic ideal; it is an entrepreneurial necessity. Information professionals who remain curious, adaptable and willing to embrace emerging technologies will be better positioned to identify new opportunities and create sustainable services.

The future of information services will not belong exclusively to those who know how to use AI. It will belong to those who understand information, people, problems and value creation and know how to combine these with AI.

For Library and Information Science professionals, the message is simple: do not wait for the traditional library job to come to you. Identify a problem, develop an information solution, use technology to deliver it efficiently, create value and build a sustainable enterprise around it.

Artificial intelligence is not replacing the information professional; it is expanding the professional's entrepreneurial toolkit. The task remains the same to solve information problems and create value but the tools available to accomplish that task have become more powerful than ever.

Learn. Innovate. Create value. Leverage AI. Build sustainable information enterprises.

"The speech above was my presentation at the Department of Library, Archival and Information Studies (LARIS), University of Ibadan. The event was organized for final year students and coordinated by the lecturers-in-charge, Dr. K. I. N. Nwalo and Dr. Balikis Babarinde.

The event was graced by the Head of Department, Professor C. A. Akande, and Dr. Oyewale Oyewole, who served as a panelist. I sincerely thank the department for this warm invitation and commend the students for their energetic presentations during the entrepreneurial project exhibition."