Fatemeh Sadra; Saeed Ghaffari; Soraya Ziaei; Hamid Ghazizadeh
Abstract
The main function of a library is the availability of information resources. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to correctly store and retrieve documents and information in libraries and information centers. This study mainly aimed to design a model of challenges and opportunities for storing and ...
Read More
The main function of a library is the availability of information resources. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to correctly store and retrieve documents and information in libraries and information centers. This study mainly aimed to design a model of challenges and opportunities for storing and retrieving information in Iran public libraries from the librarians' perspectives. The practical research approach is based on the grounded theory in terms of the purpose. Using the grounded theory qualitatively, sampling was conducted by targeted (judgmental) and snowball (chain) techniques for the theoretical saturation of data. Interviews were done with 26 senior public library experts with experience and expertise in this field. Results of the analysis of the data obtained from the interviews show that management, policy-making, and fiscal mechanisms were the primary underlying conditions. Individual and organizational factors were influential under intermediate (intervening) conditions. The approaches of the model of challenges and opportunities for storing and retrieving information include creating an environment for the employees' growth and development and modifying the organizational structure in public libraries of Iran. The presently designed model consists of adequate dimensions and components, casual, underlying, and mediating conditions, and constituting elements, which show the central phenomenon, consequences, and strategies for implementing public policy. Finally, practical suggestions were presented for improving the storage and retrieval of information in the Iranian public libraries.
Mahdi Deramnesari; Fahimeh Babalhavaeji; Zahra Abazari; Nadjla Hariri; Fatemeh Nooshinfard
Volume 20, Issue 1 , January 2022
Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to analyze the strategic role of public libraries in Iran’s Geopolitics of Information. This is applied research adopting a mixed-method (qualitative-quantitative) approach. A semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative information. In the quantitative ...
Read More
The main purpose of this study is to analyze the strategic role of public libraries in Iran’s Geopolitics of Information. This is applied research adopting a mixed-method (qualitative-quantitative) approach. A semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative information. In the quantitative part, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed based on the results of the qualitative part. The statistical population of the research in the qualitative section included 13 experts and university professors who were selected purposefully based on a set of criteria. The qualitative data were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. The findings of the quantitative part were analyzed using factor analysis. The population of the quantitative part included the general managers and deputies of the general administrations of Iran's public libraries (70 people) and the librarians of the provinces that had the central public libraries from five clusters of north, south, east, west, and center of Iran, including 10 provinces and 160 librarians. Some 201 completed questionnaires were received. The findings showed that libraries had an implicit role in strengthening cultural identity and increasing public awareness, especially in strengthening Iranian-Islamic identity, as one of the three main components of geopolitics. However, this role is neither deliberated for a specific mission nor clearly explained in the upstream documents. Moreover, based on the findings, the acquisition of the centralized resources by the Iran Public Libraries Foundation for all public libraries is managed in an integrated manner such that there is not any clear role of user needs in the selection process. This is inconsistent with the Free-Flow of Information approach. The findings also suggested that national policymakers should pay attention to the role of public libraries as a public discourse space in transmitting culture and information and a base for strengthening the power of soft defense, training and explaining the specific role for librarians, developing technological infrastructure of libraries, providing resources based on local needs and the audience needs, continuous and purposeful monitoring of activities, and increasing the number of service recipients from public libraries.https://dorl.net/dor/ 20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.1.8.1
Mansoor Koohi Rostami; Fatemeh Mohamadzadeh; Farideh Osareh
Volume 20, Issue 1 , January 2022
Abstract
This study investigated the factors contributing to the attraction and development of public participation in public libraries from the donors' perspective in the library building. In terms of the research objectives, the present study is exploratory research that was carried out using a mixed research ...
Read More
This study investigated the factors contributing to the attraction and development of public participation in public libraries from the donors' perspective in the library building. In terms of the research objectives, the present study is exploratory research that was carried out using a mixed research method, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. In the qualitative part of the research, 15 active donors were interviewed using the targeted and snowball sampling technique. The research population in the quantitative part consisted of active donors of public libraries in Iran, and a questionnaire was distributed and collected among 246 of them. Inferential tests, including the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used for data analysis. Besides, spss22 and pls3.8 software were run for data analysis. Given the research findings, cultural, economic, social, and structural factors were identified as effective in attracting public participation. The results obtained from the confirmatory factor analysis showed that among the factors affecting the attraction of public participation in public libraries from the donors’ point of view, cultural factors with an impact factor of 0.868 had the highest impact, followed by economic factors with an impact factor of 0.845, respectively. Furthermore, social factors with an impact factor of 0.824 and structural factors with an impact factor of 0.628 were in the third and fourth priorities, respectively. Given the severe challenges of the financial resources of Iran's public libraries, it is quintessential to identify ways to attract more public and donors’ participation, to provide opportunities for participation in public libraries, and to promote this idea among other people. Utilizing donors' experiences in identifying the factors contributing to the attraction of public participation in public libraries can provide a suitable planning environment for the development of public participation in public libraries.https://dorl.net/dor/ 20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.1.9.2
Mohammad Reza Ghane; Leila Mozafari
Volume 18, Issue 1 , February 2020, , Pages 35-48
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the subject of “public libraries” in the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science (WoS) and Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC). The present study is a descriptive-analytical research adopting scientometrics approach in terms of data collection. The ...
Read More
The purpose of this study was to investigate the subject of “public libraries” in the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science (WoS) and Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC). The present study is a descriptive-analytical research adopting scientometrics approach in terms of data collection. The statistical population of the study consisted of 2976 documents indexed in the WoS during 1900-2017 as well as 232 documents indexed in the ISC during 1999-2017. To collect data, we refined the search to title as (TI=Public Library*) and limited it to the time span (PY=1900-2017) in WoS in order to avoid diversity in the retrieved documents. The same approach was followed to retrieve documents from ISC databases. Research findings showed that foreign researchers were interested in “information science and library”, “computer sciences”, and “architecture” in relation to public library studies. On the other hand, Iranian researchers focused on “public library studies”, “assessment”, and “staff studies including managers and librarians”. Considering the journals publishing research on public library issues, the findings showed that the American Library Journal (n=722) and the Iranian Research on Information Science and public libraries (n=134) published the largest number of articles on the subject at the global and local levels, respectively. USA, Canada, and England were the most productive countries in “public libraries” research area. Besides, University of Illinois and Islamic Azad University were the most active institutions publishing in this field at international and national levels with 62 and 57 documents, respectively. This study aimed to survey and compare research on public libraries in WoS and ISC. An examination of the subject area of public libraries revealed the trends of research fronts at the global level and in Iran and determines whether or not the topics of interest to world-class researchers are close to that of national researchers or if domestic researchers have addressed public library issues with an indigenous approach.
Rouhollah Manouchehri; Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam; Atefeh Zarei
Volume 17, Issue 1 , January 2019
Abstract
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 ...
Read More
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.
