Digital Libraries

Objective: The purpose of this study was analytical review of the book Designing the Digital Library, written by Mehdi Alipoor-Hafezi and published by SAMT in 2019 based on the criteria and standards of the university textbooks. The type of research was applied in terms of  purpose. As regarded method, it was a mixed-method approach. The analysis, review  and extraction of required data have been simultaneous. The checklist was used for assessing formal writing structure and content features on a Likert-type 5-pointed scale. Author's expertise in the field can be mentioned as the main advantage of the book. The textbook is the only work in Persian in the field of designing digital libraries. A separate chapter on legal  issues in digital libraries can also be considered as another positive point of this work. At the same time, this work has also notable points for improvement, the most important of which are   writing points. In general, the work in hand in terms of evaluation of formal writing structure and content criteria received scores of 46, 46, 63 and 63, respectively and achieved at least 70 percentage points, passing as a  book appealing to its audience. In spite of some defects and weaknesses, the studied textbook is one of few books on designing digital libraries and suitable for students and audience.

Purpose: The present research has been done with a view to evaluation and ranking of production and management of digital resources in the supply chain of digital libraries. Methodology: The present research is essentially an applied one and the method employed, has been descriptive survey based on Shanon Entropy and Fuzzy TOPSIS methods. Findings: According to our findings, the risks of “Collection development strategy of digital resources” with highest rate of Proximity Coefficient(PC)=%731 stand in the first place and then the other ones in order include: risks of “Management strategy of digital resources at libraries” with PC=%7186, “The high cost of technological changes of information carriers and storage formats” with PC=711 and “Competence of library software in detecting repetitious copies” with PC=%651. Conclusion: 26 risks for production and management of digital resources in the supply chain of digital libraries have been identified and amidst production and management risks of digital resources in the supply chain of digital libraries the risk of” Collection development strategy of digital resources” stands in the first place.

Purpose: The present paper aims at identifying and extracting the dimensions, components, and criteria of digital library evaluation based on experts` opinions and the 5S conceptual framework of Goncalves.Methodology: This was an applied, documentary, and survey research making the best use of the fuzzy Delphi method (to extract criteria and develop the conceptual model), forming a trinity in methodology. To refine the components, and criteria, 20 Iranian and foreign experts were polled about digital libraries in 3 stages. The results of each stage were refined based on Minkowski formula. This was an applied research since it presented the evaluation criteria of Iranian digital libraries, and its results can be practically used, enabling digital libraries to evaluate and examine their status quo, and accordingly plan and enhance their activities. It was a descriptive study based on the research design and data collection method. To gather the data, three methods were used: documentary study, fuzzy Delphi (to extract criteria and develop the conceptual model), and survey, creating a trinity in methodology. Findings: During the three stages of the experts` poll, in Stream component 4 criteria, Structure component 4, Space component 4, Scenario component 5 and in societies component 3 ones were refined and also the results of each stage were refined using the formulas of Cheng and Lin model and ultimately the experts agreed with each other on 20 criteria. Conclusion: A digital library evaluation model was designed with 5 dimensions (components), 20 criteria, and 50 sub-criteria. It was offered to all organizations and universities as an evaluation model for digital library performance examination, so that they properly perceive the efficiency and effectiveness of digital libraries and their services.

Purpose : Library users need to have integrated access to digital library content and services. Preparing these services needs syntactic and semantic interoperability infrastructure. Nowadays most digital library applications syntactically have the ability to exchange with each other. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to propose semantic integration architecture for digital libraries to enable them to prepare new semantic services for their users. Method : This study was carried out in the following steps: firstly research literature was collected and studied. Studying research literature helps the researcher to prepare a primary version of the checklist to collect data in this study. The next step aimed to survey the semantic interoperability ability of digital library management systems. In this regard, 26 Iranian digital library management systems were studied by the researcher-made checklist in the previous step. The studied digital library management systems have syntactic interoperability functionalities. Then this study’s semantic integration architecture was proposed according to the analysis and results of the study. Finally, the "demonstration" method was used to assess the proposed architecture. Findings : Findings showed that studied digital library management systems focused on textual materials and paid very little attention to other library information resource formats. Moreover, in many cases, the studied digital library systems did not fill the contents of semantically needed metadata fields. On average, they attempt to document metadata fields such as subject and keywords, by existing reference materials such as Library of Congress Subject Headings and subjective thesauruses that they needed. Conclusion : According to the findings, the architecture of the semantic integration model based on the results of this study was proposed with three data, inference machine, and application layers.

Purpose: In the 21st century, digital libraries have emerged in new ways in the professional career of librarians and other library users worldwide. The aim of the present study is to identify the functions of artificial intelligence in digital libraries. Method: This research is a qualitative systematic review. The population of the study includes all quantitative and qualitative research articles on the identification of artificial intelligence functions in digital libraries. Findings: A total of 500 research titles were retrieved through a multi-stage search in internal and external databases. Following a three-stage monitoring process (based on title, abstract, and full-text study), 34 research sources (9 foreign research titles and 25 domestic research titles) in the form of published journals articles and conference papers were identified and analyzed using thematic content analysis. For qualitative evaluation of the studies, 8 questions were posed to the experts, resulting in 1 selective code, 8 central codes and 42 open codes. Conclusion: The results of this research show that artificial intelligence can play an important role in the functioning of digital libraries and providing services to users. The findings demonstrate that AI-based systems are useful in various areas such as reference services, database search, organization, indexing, collection management, information retrieval, convenience and development, planning, and circulation. Moreover, librarians can enhance the quality of their works by employing this technology, which contributes to user satisfaction and the improvement of library services.

Purpose : The purpose of this paper was to critically analyze the textbook "Management of Digital Libraries: A Practical Guide" written by Mitra Samiei (2023) from Chapar Publications and evaluate it based on the standards and criteria of university textbooks. Method : This was an applied research study in terms of purpose and mixed-method in terms of approach, which used critical qualitative analysis and descriptive survey. A checklist was employed for qualitative evaluation of the content and formal structures of the textbook on a 5-point Likert scale. Findings : According to the analysis results, the textbook scored 54/70 (72%) for formal criteria, which was acceptable. In contrast, it scored 40/70 (53.33%) and 47/70 (67.14%) for structural and writing criteria, respectively, which were unacceptable. It scored 66/95 (69.47%, almost 70%) for content criteria. In general, the textbook under criticism can be suitable and practical for students as a work that collects all the materials available in digital libraries by solving the stated problems. Conclusion : Among the factors that can help improve the present work are modifying photo captions, the publisher's innovative cover design, footnotes for jargon, required persons and concepts, citations, glossary and index, and a list of tables and figures. Therefore, the author is recommended to provide practical examples and new instances, employ up-to-date sources, reduce textbook volume, and avoid duplicate content to improve the current work in the next editions. Also, among the strengths of this textbook is a separate chapter dedicated to digital librarianship, organizational structure, human resources in digital libraries, and the author's credibility and expertise.