Search results

There are many challenges in the development of a digital library (DL) and their complexity can be approached effectively with a maturity model. In a maturity model, the features of a phenomenon are divided into different levels and at each level, they are first improved before going on to the improvement or realization of the next level. The purpose of this study is to design a digital library maturity model (DLMM) in Iran.

The DLMM was designed using a qualitative approach, meta-synthesis and the Delphi technique. First, the maturity features of a DL were identified by assessing 68 sources of study concerning DLs and maturity models using meta-synthesis. The maturity features were then validated by experts using the three-round Delphi technique. Finally, the experts were asked to categorize these features into the five levels of the capability maturity model (CMM) as the base model.

By analyzing these sources, three categories, seven concepts and 35 codes for the maturity features of a DL were identified. The majority of previous studies focused on the use of hardware/software systems as the backup and empowerment of DLs and the concept of DL content. The maturity features were then validated by experts using the three-round Delphi technique. Like the base model, DLMM has five levels, and most features were categorized into the third and fourth levels by the experts. Features such as human resources, needs assessment of DL and readiness to create a DL were included in the second level.

This work adds the concept of the maturity model to the literature of DLs.

The public sector (PS) has extensively utilized information technology (IT); however, research reveals that the failure rate remains high, particularly for national and sectoral IT (NaSIT) applications. To this end, numerous studies have been conducted to gauge the success of IT applications, where a significant number have demonstrated the importance of planning in this regard. Consequently, the current study aims to investigate the factors that influence the success of NaSIT planning and implementation within this sector.

A qualitative methodology and a systematic literature review encompassing papers indexed in seven databases until November 2022 were utilized.

The review of 92 selected papers revealed that the success of NaSIT planning and implementation is influenced by a number of factors divided into nine main categories. These include vision, goals and objectives; alignment; interoperability; infrastructure; involvement; equity and digital divide; privacy, security and trust; administration; and culture. Human, social, economic and organizational factors comprise the vast majority of these factors. By addressing these factors, the failure rate of IT plans can be reduced. Governments will be able to effectively employ this technology to accomplish their missions if these factors are considered in order to decrease the failure rate of IT plans.

By examining the factors that influence the success of NaSIT planning and implementation in the PS, this study attempts to provide a comprehensive view of various types of research. Furthermore, policymakers can employ this perspective to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the PS.

Strengthening and improving Scientific and Technical Information (S&Ti) flow in all nations require an effective national S&Ti policy (NS&TiP). The very first step in developing an integrated NS&TiP is clarifying its scope and dimensions. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the dimensions of NS&TiP, in the form of an analytical framework, and to show how to apply it.

The current study adopted a qualitative method, called the framework approach, and proposed HeLICAM, a comprehensive framework including different dimensions for NS&TiP. Afterward, Iran's science and technology documents were analyzed based on the proposed framework.

HeLICAM framework includes (1) human resources, (2) laws and regulations, (3) ICT infrastructure, (4) connections, (5) activities and (6) information market. The results obtained from the application of HeLICAM in the analysis of Iran's science and technology policy documents indicated that the various dimensions of NS&TiP have mostly been overlooked. Although several policies have been developed for science and technology in Iran, the efforts have not been comprehensive and effective enough.

This study proposes the normative analytical framework called HeLICAM. The purpose of HeLICAM is to provide a draft of NS&TiP dimensions to policymakers that will be useful in NS&Ti policymaking because this framework helps to answer questions like “what dimensions have been considered in writing the policy document?” and “What it lacks?”, “What are its strengths and weaknesses?”, and “How can it be improved?”

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-11-2020-0493

This study identifies factors affecting brand building for academic libraries affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT) in Iran.

This research applied the grounded theory method based on the three open, axial and selective coding steps (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). The research tool was interviews conducted with 20 experts in librarianship, marketing and branding.

Library building architecture, library information resources and services, librarians' branding, marketing activities and library management are the causal conditions affecting brand building. The national economic situation, the digital publishing situation in the country and different characteristics of the new library community are the intervening conditions affecting brand building. The role of other libraries in society in the scientific education of the new generation provides contextual conditions for brand building. The higher education system and the library parent organization play a part in the operative actions/interactions for brand building. The consequences of brand building are brand image development, brand excellence and brand behavioral loyalty for libraries. Library brand identity is also a core category in brand building.

Facing steep challenges by emergent services, academic libraries are ill-prepared to meet the needs of the new information society solely with traditional services and functions. Academic libraries are required to rebrand themselves to be more successful at delivering a strong performance within a changing information environment by enhancing their brand image and establishing a more effective relationship with users.

This paper aims to present the results of a study on success factors of resource sharing (RS) and cooperation in Iranian Academic Libraries (IAL), from the point‐of‐view of librarians who have direct experience of such activities. It investigates and compares the librarians' experiences of, and opinions on, the importance of the success factors in the current and desirable situations in the IALs.

Based on a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, 58 success factors of RS were identified from the previous studies. Using Likert scale technique, the importance of the factors in the current and desired situations of the RS programs were explored and ranked, based on the experiences and opinions of a sample of “key informants” who had direct experience of RS activities in the context of IALs. Then the consistency and/or inconsistency between the current and desired situations of the success factors were identified, using gap analysis method.

The findings revealed that almost all of the success factors mentioned in previous studies are considered important by the respondents. However, only eight factors received high rankings in the current and desired situations of the RS programs in the IALs.

The research focuses on factors identified in previous studies. This may ignore certain, especially cultural, factors, which are effective in the context of IALs.

The study highlights the importance of success factors in development or improvement of any RS activity. The factors would provide both researchers and practitioners with a rich framework to examine the current situation of their RS programs and develop informed strategic plans to improve that. In particular, the findings inform the RS planners and policy makers that particular attention needs to be given to the factors that are identified as very important by the study participants. These factors would alert them to the causes and impacts of such a deficiency in the RS and library cooperation systems.

There is no comprehensive study on the success factors of RS in libraries and, as such, no investigation of the factors in some real‐life contexts of RS activities. Both researchers and practitioners in the field of RS may value the novelty and results of this study.

The purpose of this paper is to design a conceptual model for the scholarly communication system in the Iranian Research Institute for Scientific Information and Documentation (IranDoc).

Some models have been developed to describe the scholarly communication process in different contexts but few considered this process from the organizational point of view. In the model, the organizational structure of scientific communication in IranDoc was considered. This model has four levels:, e.g. person‐to‐persons (P2P) scientific communication, person‐to‐organizations (P2O) scientific communication, organization‐to‐organizations (O2O) scientific communication, and organization‐to‐persons (O2P) scientific communication.

A conceptual model for scholarly communication within IranDoc is designed. Scientific and research institutions can establish their scholarly communication system by customizing the model.

The model is fairly conceptual and does not refer to technological aspects of the system. The implementation implications of the model are also not considered, so it could not be used directly in action. As it has been developed specifically for IranDoc, it may need some revisions to be used in other contexts.

Compared to the earlier models, the main differences and innovations in the model are: its organizational structure; detailed functions of the organizational scholarly‐communication; researcher based approach of the model; and different and new levels of the model analysis. This model can be applied in research institutions and generalized to those institutions in which information plays an important role.