@article{ART003351629},
author={Hyo-Yoon Kim},
title={The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis},
journal={Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science},
issn={1229-2435},
year={2026},
volume={37},
number={2},
pages={401-419},
doi={10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401}
TY - JOUR
AU - Hyo-Yoon Kim
TI - The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis
JO - Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science
PY - 2026
VL - 37
IS - 2
PB - Journal Of The Korean Biblia Society For Library And Information Science
SP - 401
EP - 419
SN - 1229-2435
AB - This study empirically analyzes how public librarians’ perception of AI as a job threat influences their active and passive coping strategies through mediation path analysis, with particular attention to the mediating pathway linking employment status to coping behavior. The ultimate aim is to provide theoretical and empirical foundations for human resource management and AI adaptation policies for librarians in the AI era. Despite growing concern that artificial intelligence may displace or transform librarian work, prior research has rarely examined how perceived threat translates into differentiated behavioral responses among librarians with varying employment conditions. To address this gap, an online survey was conducted with 337 librarians working at public libraries nationwide, and a mediation model was tested using AI job threat perception as the mediating variable. The results show that non-regular librarians perceived significantly higher levels of AI job threat than their regular counterparts (β=.249, p<.001). AI job threat perception exerted asymmetric effects on coping behavior, weakening active coping (β=-.131) while strengthening passive coping (β=.442), thereby empirically confirming a learned helplessness pattern. The effect of employment status on active coping was fully mediated by AI job threat perception, whereas its effect on passive coping was partially mediated (VAF=43.2%). In addition, AI self-efficacy and prior AI use and training experience emerged as key personal resources that facilitate active coping. These findings indicate that the lack of active coping among non-regular librarians is not a direct consequence of employment status itself but operates through threat perception, suggesting that AI adaptation policies for the librarian workforce must simultaneously address employment security and the cognitive management of threat perception.
KW - Public Librarian;AI Job Threat Perception;Coping Strategy;Mediation Effect;Learned Helplessness;AI Self-Efficacy;Employment Status
DO - 10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
ER -
Hyo-Yoon Kim. (2026). The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis. Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science, 37(2), 401-419.
Hyo-Yoon Kim. 2026, "The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis", Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science, vol.37, no.2 pp.401-419. Available from: doi:10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
Hyo-Yoon Kim "The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis" Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science 37.2 pp.401-419 (2026) : 401.
Hyo-Yoon Kim. The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis. 2026; 37(2), 401-419. Available from: doi:10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
Hyo-Yoon Kim. "The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis" Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science 37, no.2 (2026) : 401-419.doi: 10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
Hyo-Yoon Kim. The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis. Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science, 37(2), 401-419. doi: 10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
Hyo-Yoon Kim. The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis. Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science. 2026; 37(2) 401-419. doi: 10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
Hyo-Yoon Kim. The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis. 2026; 37(2), 401-419. Available from: doi:10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
Hyo-Yoon Kim. "The Effect of Public Librarians’ AI Job Threat Perception on Coping Strategies: A Mediation Path Analysis" Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science 37, no.2 (2026) : 401-419.doi: 10.14699//kbiblia.2026.37.2.401
