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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 discusses the role of web-based databases (WBDB) in information retrieval. It provides a background of computerized database, which is an organized data collection for easier access. It explores the functionalities of WBDB and the components of developing and maintaining them. It notes that WBDB are becoming popular as they are easy to use, can be accessed from anywhere, and have a lower total cost of ownership.

One of evaluation studies examining web search tools is ranking algorithm area. Accepting the idea that different search tools do use different ranking algorithms, the present research aims to confirm such an idea using a statistical approach. To do this, five metasearch engines (MSEs) namely Ez2find, Dogpile, MetaCrawler, Info and WebCrawler along with their four common underlying single search engines (SEs) - Google, Yahoo!, Msn (currently called Windows Live Search) and Ask - have been applied. To conduct the research five queries have been utilized. For comparing ranking algorithms of these web search tools, statistical tests "Kruskal-Wallis" and "Tukey HSD" were utilized. The findings indicate and confirm that different search tools on the web make use of different ranking algorithms. In other words, this research supports findings of previous studies. [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.

Introduction: According to the research mission of the librarianship and information sciences field, it is necessary to have the ability to communicate constructively between the user of the information and information in these students, and it appears more important in medical librarianship and information sciences because of the need for quick access to information for clinicians. Considering the role of spiritual intelligence in capability to establish effective and balanced communication makes it important to study this variable in librarianship and information students. One of the main factors that can affect the results of any research is conceptual model of measure variables. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was codification of spiritual intelligence measurement model., Methods: This correlational study was conducted through structural equation model, and 270 students were opted from library and medical information students of nationwide medical universities by simple random sampling and responded to the King spiritual intelligence questionnaire (2008). Initially, based on the data, the model parameters were estimated using maximum likelihood method; then, spiritual intelligence measurement model was tested by fit indices. Data analysis was performed by Smart-Partial Least Squares software., Results: Preliminary results showed that due to the positive indicators of predictive association and t -test results for spiritual intelligence parameters, the King measurement model has the acceptable fit and internal correlation of the questionnaire items was significant. Composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha of parameters indicated high reliability of spiritual intelligence model., Conclusions: The spiritual intelligence measurement model was evaluated, and results showed that the model has a good fit, so it is recommended that domestic researchers use this questionnaire to assess spiritual intelligence., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.