The integration of artificial intelligence into academic library services has become an immediate \r\nprofessional imperative, yet empirical evidence on AI literacy among librarians in developing countries \r\nremains limited. This study examined the readiness and barriers to AI literacy integration among academic \r\nlibrarians in North-West Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, with a sample of 140 \r\nacademic librarians drawn from federal and state universities across Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, \r\nKebbi, Jigawa, and Zamfara states. A structured questionnaire comprising 50 items across four dimensions \r\n(technological, cognitive, psychological, and organisational readiness) was used for data collection. Data \r\nwere analysed using mean, standard deviation, and ANOVA at 0.05 significance level. The findings \r\nrevealed a low overall level of AI literacy among respondents (grand mean = 2.11), with basic awareness \r\nof AI and ChatGPT failing to translate into formal training or practical skills. While librarians \r\ndemonstrated psychological readiness (grand mean = 3.31) characterised by positive attitudes and \r\nwillingness to learn, they were not technologically ready (2.19), cognitively ready (1.86), or \r\norganisationally ready (1.77). Infrastructural barriers (grand mean = 3.99), particularly irregular \r\nelectricity (4.12) and poor internet (4.08), and institutional barriers (4.00), particularly absence of AI \r\npolicy (4.21) and lack of training (4.18), were identified as the principal obstacles. Significant differences \r\nin AI literacy were found based on years of experience (F = 8.234, p < 0.05) and university type (F = \r\n12.847, p < 0.05), but not gender (F = 2.143, p > 0.05). The study concludes that academic librarians in \r\nNorth-West Nigeria possess the willingness to embrace AI but are severely constrained by technological, \r\ncognitive, and organisational deficiencies requiring urgent intervention.