As countries are embracing the knowledge economy, educational and academic institutions shoulder a large responsibility to achieve this goal and empower a qualified workforce. Societies entertain the hope that universities will play a major role in building knowledge, encouraging new thinking and enabling young people to use information and transform it into effective knowledge. In the Sultanate of Oman, academic libraries are an essential part of these efforts. They provide the necessary knowledge infrastructure for students and academics in their pursuit of education and research.

However, academic libraries face various challenges, such as the increasing demand for knowledge resources and how to maintain up-to-date technologies and methods to deliver services. In this regard, a research team, headed by Dr. Khalfan Zahran Al-Haji from the College of Arts and Social Sciences, conducted a study on the role of academic libraries in supporting the knowledge economy. It aimed to examine how efficient their infrastructure was in supporting the knowledge economy, information services for enhancing continuous learning and knowledge sharing and activities for encouraging culture and creative ideas. The study also investigated efforts to support innovation, utilise intellectual capital and keep pace with the knowledge economy’s requirements.

The knowledge economy is a vital topic that requires special attention from library management due to its positive impact on beneficiaries and society as a whole. Therefore, the study applied a descriptive approach that seeks to accurately describe the situation in order to obtain data consistent with the research objectives. A questionnaire was used as a tool in data collection and analysis.

The study concluded that Omani libraries have a good infrastructure of communications and information technology, including websites that highlight their services, computer labs and internet services for research, e-catalogues linking information searches to relevant scientific sources, in addition to subscriptions to e-databases. Such tools have facilitated access to information and sources.

The study indicated that libraries were keen to provide beneficiaries with skills for searching and accessing information through organising workshops and training courses in modern technologies and programmes with the aim of raising information awareness. Libraries also encouraged beneficiaries to disseminate and share knowledge, thus increasing community awareness of local and global issues. They were interested in acquiring the latest collections concerning ongoing developments in modern technology, and, in doing so, they followed a set of standards that enhanced the acquisition process.

On the other hand, the results showed that there were shortcomings in training workshops and programmes, which were intended to raise awareness of community issues and find appropriate solutions. Furthermore, there was little interest in promoting creative ideas through, for example, organising events that bring together scholars and entrepreneurs. This does not contribute to enhancing a culture of innovation and creativity in society.

Moreover, libraries at some academic institutions do not encourage their employees to think creatively and deliver innovative solutions to societal problems. There is a lack of interest in innovation, exploiting research opportunities and transforming ideas into usable products. They also suffer from a deficiency in providing sources concerned with promoting beneficiaries’ ideas to improve services and products.

The study underlined the need to see how libraries in developed countries managed to deal with the topic of knowledge economy. The libraries should make more efforts to stimulate innovative ideas through cooperation with professional associations, such as the Omani Association for Libraries and Information, to invite experts to give lectures on creative thinking. The study stressed the importance of collaborating with organisations concerned with innovation and investment in the Sultanate of Oman, such as the Muscat Innovation Complex, to hold workshops for employees to help them transform their ideas into usable products.