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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the attitude of the managers of libraries located at Iran, Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Medical Sciences Universities' training hospitals, on the status of information technology (IT) in the mentioned libraries. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a researcher-made questionnaire. The managers of 40 hospital libraries of Iran, Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities formed the population of the research. To analyze the collected data, the statistical software SPSS (version 17) was used. Findings: Results showed that 12.5 per cent of Tehran, 15.6 per cent of Iran and 25 per cent of Shahid Beheshti Universities library managers agreed, to a very large extent, on the application and development of IT and its tools and 93.7 per cent of the managers from all three hospital libraries deemed the application of IT most necessary. The managers believed that the greatest advantage of IT is concerned with the reduction of human efforts (59.4 per cent), and 100 per cent of the managers acknowledged the need for further promotion of their skills in a wide variety of IT issues. In total, 16.1 per cent at Tehran, 12.9 per cent at Iran and 29 per cent at Shahid Beheshti University considerably approved of formal education for the promotion of their librarians' skills. Originality/value: This study is a step towards acknowledging the contribution, status, and value of hospital libraries to the health sector by the library managers in theory and practice, in the shadow of considering their librarians as network experts, information media and system designers, and technology experts. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)

Purpose: The present research aims to identify the difficulties and obstacles for developing digital libraries in the seven regional branches of Islamic Azad University (IAU), Iran, and to study the status of librarians' skills and education programmes at these institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The 40 individuals working in the regional branch libraries of IAU were surveyed by a questionnaire consisting of 34 questions, and the collected data were analysed using SPSS software (version 16). Findings: It was found that the most important difficulties are the lack of suitable equipment and untrained personnel (i.e. a lack of sufficient training programmes). Research limitations/implications: Because of the small number of participants, it is suggested that a larger scale study is carried out. It is also proposed that the suggestions made by the participants will be considered and implemented, based on the digital library (DL) developments in academic libraries in different countries. Practical implications: It is expected that with improved library management, and the solving of the problems highlighted, through suitable training programmes, librarians will contribute more actively and effectively in establishing and managing DLs in the surveyed libraries. Originality/value: This research can contribute to existing knowledge in the areas of information technology and digital library management, especially in academic arenas. The paper helps librarians do their best in the new environments. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

The present study investigates the Iranian faculties' attitude toward knowing the desirable features and weaknesses of academic textbooks. The survey research method was used and the data were collected by a semi-structured interview. The population consisted of Iranian faculties in the fields of management, geography, sports science and economics, and maximum variation sampling was used as a sampling method. Findings showed that when choosing academic books, faculties pay attention to several aspects including the use of a book, book credits, those materials added to the original text such as a table, diagram, figure, original content issues, book content, book appearance, and its distribution. The weaknesses presented by faculties can be divided into two parts: the weaknesses of compiled books and the weaknesses of translated books, which are related to publishers and authors. Besides, other weaknesses are lack of expert authors, the non-strength of book physical structure, inappropriate layouts, non-fluency, and literal translation. This is the first study to analyze the desirable and weakness point of Iranian academic book publishing and attempt to show selection criteria of academic book publishing as there is no evaluation systems of academic books in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tries to investigate the rate of meeting goals of Public Libraries 2025 Vision and compare this situation in 2025 with that of in 2010 and 2015. So, different situations in three different years, namely, 2010, 2015, and 2025 have been compared by taking into account the indicators regarding 2025 vision document using related data taken from public libraries in each province separately. The findings show that the current situation of the five indicators studied in 2025 has significant difference compared with that of in 2015. Also a comparison between the current situation in 2015 and a past one in 2010 shows a significant difference and an increase in them in terms of three indicators, space, resources and employee. It should be mentioned that there are not a significant difference between these two years, 2010 and 2015, regarding two indicators, book borrowing and membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to evaluate Iranology CD-ROM databases using survey method. Data were collected using a researcher-developed checklist which is composed of four main criteria namely storage, search and retrieval, software design, and indexing. The study sampled all Iranology CD-ROMs recorded by the Iranian High Council of Informatics (IHCI). As a result, 35 CD-ROMs were identified for final evaluation. It was found that the most critical point of Iranology CD-ROMs which its defined indices have been less observed by the softwares is related to criterion "search and retrieval", while the most observed indices belonged to criterion "software design". Findings of this study may assist related bodies improve the status of information flow especially in the field of tourism as this resource has a variety of information about different aspects of Iranian history, literature, art and cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The present research aims to identify the difficulties and obstacles for developing digital libraries in the seven regional branches of Islamic Azad University (IAU), Iran, and to study the status of librarians' skills and education programmes at these institutions. Design/methodology/approach – The 40 individuals working in the regional branch libraries of IAU were surveyed by a questionnaire consisting of 34 questions, and the collected data were analysed using SPSS software (version 16). Findings – It was found that the most important difficulties are the lack of suitable equipment and untrained personnel (i.e. a lack of sufficient training programmes). Research limitations/implications – Because of the small number of participants, it is suggested that a larger scale study is carried out. It is also proposed that the suggestions made by the participants will be considered and implemented, based on the digital library (DL) developments in academic libraries in different countries. Practical implications – It is expected that with improved library management, and the solving of the problems highlighted, through suitable training programmes, librarians will contribute more actively and effectively in establishing and managing DLs in the surveyed libraries. Originality/value – This research can contribute to existing knowledge in the areas of information technology and digital library management, especially in academic arenas. The paper helps librarians do their best in the new environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This study aims to evaluates the existing and potential facilities in Iranian Islamic Sciences Centers (ISCs), including information resources, budget, human resources and facilities. It identifies the views of Center managers in order to find grounds for cooperation and collaboration and to develop communication and information exchanges between the Centers. Design/methodology/approach -- The population of this research includes all 123 ISCs in Iran. Questionnaires were distributed in a three-month interval (August to October, 2008). The data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 16). Findings -- The findings show that ISCs support the establishment of a network and would join it; however, lack of professionals in the informatics and network development, lack of in-service training facilities, lack of financial and facilities, lack of access to the resources of other centers and the absence of fast exchange of information are among the problems that need much attention. Practical implications -- To establish the network, three issues should be considered, i.e. human resources, budget, and facilities of the centers. Originality/value -- The paper can serve as a driver to improve the efficiency in ISCs through establishing an information network to serve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research aims to assess the performance of libraries at the Islamic Azad University, Sciences and Research Branch (IAUSRB) through gap analysis. To do this, a researcher-developed questionnaire which is based on available standards and quality assessment tools including ACRL standards, LibQUAL and ISO 11620, and some criteria included in the related literature was designed and distributed among users of IAUSRB libraries. Five service quality categories, were included in the questionnaire: "Environment, equipment and physical facilities", "Public services", "Non-book materials", "Staff (librarians and their co-workers)", and "Information literacy and user education". Based on research findings, the most expected library services prioritized by users are "operation time" (mean = 4.2300), "staff" (mean = 4.1461), and "circulation" (mean = 4.1208), while the least expected library services which are of lower importance from users' perspective are "press" (mean = 3.9734) and "audiovisual materials" (mean = 3.8796). The findings also indicate that services offered by the libraries surveyed had a relatively quality performance and average success (perceived quality is 2.9635≈50%). In other words, such a finding emphasizes an average performance of IAUSRB libraries. In addition, confirming five research hypotheses concerning gap analysis, there was a significant difference between expected quality of five service categories and their perceived quality based on users' viewpoint. It was also realized that the categories with better performance or perceived quality from users' perspective are "staff" (mean = 3.2240), "information literacy and user education" (mean = 2.9998), and "environment, equipment and physical facilities" (mean = 2.9871), and the two libraries "Theology and Philosophy" (mean = 2.2639) and "Medical Engineering" (mean = 2.4507) have offered poor services than the other IAUSRB libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates the perception of students on the impact of user education on their literacy on the use of reference information in Iran. It notes that students at Qom Islamic Azad University (QIAU) were surveyed in the study. It mentions that the study found that familiarity and proficiency of students on the use of reference resources is in medium level and user education should be offered to faculty for its better use.

This study uses forecasting approach based on key driving forces and their interactions in order to identify important driving forces affecting the future of academic libraries in Iran. The study is a combination of literature review, experts' opinions and cross impact analysis. In order to analyze the data, SPSS and MicMac applications were used. This is an applied study and the study population consisted of a group of stakeholders with dynamic roles in the future of academic libraries or those with clear pictures regarding the current trends in academic libraries worldwide. Experts were selected using purposeful sampling and included faculty members and researchers in the field of information science and scientometrics, as well as managers and librarians of academic libraries. After literature review, 70 driving forces were identified and categorized in 9 categories. The interaction between these driving forces was evaluated by experts selected from the study population. After evaluating direct and indirect interactions between these forces using MicMac software, 13 key driving forces were identified. The findings of this study indicated that driving forces of "systemic and creative thinking of library management", "consistency between library managers expertise with information and scientometrics fields", "development of strategic plans for libraries", "welcoming of changes by the employees", "place as one of the bases of educational system", "electronic publishing", "preparation of curriculum books", " online citation resources", "nature of information and access methods", "development of information and communication technologies", "knowledge management in library planning", "electronic content creation", and "documents management", had the largest effects on future of academic libraries. Also the findings of this study indicated that driving forces of "systemic and creative thinking of library management" and "consistency between library managers' expertise with information and scientometrics fields" had the highest frequency related to being in a suitable situation with average of 1.92 and total of 25 positive scores. Key driving forces of "Development of strategic plans for libraries" and "welcoming of changes by the employees" with the average of 0.69 and total of 9 positive scores had the next places and had the largest effects on future of academic libraries. The analysis of the results indicates two facts regarding academic libraries. The first fact is that, through a small amount of effort, academic libraries are able to retain their traditional position in educational institutes. The second fact is that distancing the general process of academic libraries from critical and undesirable results, requires four main activities including "development of strategic plans for libraries", "using employees who are enthusiastic regarding change", "compatibility between managers' specialties and information science and scientometrics" and "systemic thoughts and creativity of library managers". The results of this study can be used for decision making and planning of higher education managers and authorities. Identifying the driving forces and their interactions can be used for decision making and planning for the future of academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infopreneurship is the art of entrepreneurship using information and helps infopreneurs to struggle and stand in an arena called fair (bazaar) and make benefits with once they succeed. Hence, this research was conducted with the aim of providing a model for online Infopreneurship in Iran. The present research is an applied one in terms of its purpose, and carried out through quantitative approach and analytical survey method. The statistical population of this study included1835 directors and experts of websites and online businesses across Iran. Sampling was done randomly in through stratified simply class and 320 people were selected using Krejcie and Morgan table. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using one-group T-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, analysis of variance and factor analysis. The findings of this study showed that structural, behavioral, field, strategic, and consequential factors are correlated with the correlation coefficient of 0.74, 0.73, 0.75, 0.68 and 0.18 with the variables of Infopreneurship, and were significant at p <0.05. The high middle or high level online business companies include these factors. Eventually, a model of Infopreneurship was represented in relation to online businesses in Iran. Based on the suggested model, it can be concluded that the more the online information businesses in Iran enjoy the identified factors, the more the amount of infopruneurship and its consequences will be, and that such a model can be used as a comprehensive road map for individuals, organizations and online information businesses interested in infopruneurship in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]