Addressing delegates at the opening of the International Conference on “Transforming Libraries: Innovation, Management, Smart Technologies and Creative Knowledge of Society for the Future”, Vice-Chancellor Senior Professor Kolitha B. Wijesekara of Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka delivered a stirring chief guest speech, arguing that technology is an enhancer, not a substitute, for the profession of librarianship.

The Two-day conference was jointly organized by the Library and the Department of Management Studies of Periyar University, Selam, Tamil Nadu India with the funding of the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF) of Government of India on 14 and 15 March 2026.

The conference brought together academicians, researchers, librarians, educators, IT professionals, policymakers and students to share ideas and discuss future directions for libraries in building a knowledge-driven society.

The Vice-Chancellor, Kolitha B. Wijesekara acknowledged the transformative impact of digital tools on information access but stressed that they lack the human intuition and critical thinking skills that librarians provide. He emphasized that technology cannot replicate the empathy, the mentorship, or the scholarly dialogue that a trained librarian provides. As academics, our role is not to be replaced by machines, but to harness them, freeing ourselves to focus on the higher-order tasks of teaching, guiding, and empowering our communities.

He called on information professionals to embrace their evolving roles as data experts, digital literacy coaches, and research collaborators. The speech set a thoughtful and human-centric tone for the conference, which aims to explore the future of information sciences.