ABSTRACT
PurposeBlockchain technology is a distributed and decentralized public digital ledger, which is employed to save dynamic transaction data and static records across several computers so that each record could not be modified retroactively without the collusion of the network and alteration of all subsequent blocks. Recently, it has become immensely popular in digital resource sharing in different research areas such as healthcare, smart cities, cryptocurrency and libraries. Since the current eLibrary systems are vulnerable to issues such as unauthorized access, plagiarism, etc., there is a lack of access control system that can efficiently address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe authors designed a conceptual model for evaluating the users' intention in the use of blockchain-based digital libraries, which can facilitate the resource organization and provide additional security to interactive processes between users. To conduct our survey, the authors devised and shared two versions, English and Chinese, among 298 participants. Moreover, 7 PhD students participated in the pre-testing of the questioner design. The authors analyzed the demographic data using the Jamovi software and SmartPLS in order to generate the path modeling.FindingsThis study revealed that blockchain technology adaption in eLibraries is essential for enhancing the quality of services, infrastructure and resources for libraries. The study’s results show that optimism, informativeness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and intention to use blockchain technology for accessing digital resources in libraries.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the adoption of blockchain technology in the digital library. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first empirical attempt to provide a new perspective of developing digital libraries based on security policies. This model shows the underpinning knowledge to manage digital resources, which can facilitate the design phases and enhance the management costs in eLibraries.