RESEARCH ON INFORMATION SCIENCE AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES (PAYAM-E-KETABKHANEH (LIBRARY MESSAGE))
Year:2020 | Volume:26 | Issue:1 (100)|Papers Count:7

ISS which may be interpreted as transparency in information delivery is of high importance in personal life as well as in ruling system. It may be stated that these two are two sides of the same coin. If there is a real intention to govern people in a real democracy, then ISS is well-defined and developed in the country, and if ISS is well-defined, then it can be concluded that real resoluteness in ruling system is already present. Nowadays, all three ruling powers in Iran have decided to be transparent in their ISS. It should be noted that a real and powerful ISS development has two components: employees and public users. Employees must be aware and skillful in information collection, retrieval, and dissemination, and public users should be trained to use the information tools in order to get the accurate information in right time and place as soon as possible. If this takes place, the teachers and graduate students in library and information science can help them, as practitioners or consultants in information projects in at least four parts are as follows: Information management, archive management, scientometrics, and data mining. Majles Library (Library of Iranian Parliament) as well as the National Library of Iran can be a useful aid for decision makers and public libraries can teach people and develop their skills in using the information.

Purpose: A library and information specialist cannot rely only on his academic views. He can perform his job successfully only when he has access to his colleagues' scientific knowledge which is based on their experiences and uses it alongside his own knowledge. Therefore, it is essential and necessary to identify the ways of transferring the tacit knowledge of librarians and the factors affecting this transfer in order to improve the current conditions. Thus, The purpose of the present study is to identify the methods of tacit knowledge transfer and sharing and factors affecting it among the librarians of public libraries in Fars Province. Method: This study is an applied research that was conducted by the survey method. The research population included all 400 librarians of the public libraries in Fars Province, from whom 190 librarians were selected by using simple random sampling. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The validity of this questionnaire was measured by asking for the opinions of information science specialists and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach 's alpha coefficient (D= 0. 82 ). Furthermore, the SPSS (v. 21) and Microsoft Excel (2016) were applied to analyze the data. Prioritization of the methods of tacit knowledge transfer and the factors affecting it were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the multiple linear regression and its coefficients were used to measure the relationships between the influential factors and the demographic characteristics of librarians. Findings: The results indicated that the most important methods of transferring knowledge between librarians of public libraries in Fars Province were verbal communication between library staff and their participation in in-service training courses, respectively. From the perspective of respondents, all three factors, including personal, organizational and technological, affect the tacit knowledge transfer; The need for a proper reward system (among the organizational factors), access to Internet (among the technological factors) and maintaining the job position (among the personal factors) have been the most important factors from the viewpoint of librarians. However, in the overall comparison, organizational factors were assigned the highest score and personal factors were assigned the lowest score by the librarians. Results of the regression equation also confirmed the existence of a significant relationship between the librarians' age and gender and the technological factors. Originality/value: So far, no research has been conducted within the country on the methods of tacit knowledge transfer and the factors affecting it among the librarians of public libraries. Therefore, the current research can pave the way for other studies in this field. In addition, among the studied factors, organizational factors and then technological factors were assigned the highest scores by librarians. Paying attention to these results can be useful in the short and long term planning of Iran Public Libraries Foundation in order to facilitate and reinforce tacit knowledge transfer among librarians. Furthermore, the results of the research showed that the existence of joint agreements and programs between Iran Public Libraries Foundation and universities, educational and research centers in order to hold different training courses can be effective in facilitating knowledge sharing.

Purpose: In order to design user-friendly information retrieval systems, it is important to pay attention to characteristics of users. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the role of demographic variables of users during their search in search engines. Method: This is an applied study in terms of purpose, which was done by the evaluation method. To conduct the research, firstly, 32 subject headings were selected from the "Persian Subject Headings" and simulated work tasks were developed based on the selected subject headings with the cooperation of three experts in knowledge and information science. Then, according to the characteristics of the population, such as gender, grade and field of study, age and residential area of the students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 192 people were selected as sample members. The research form was then given to them, which consisted of three sections: demographic information, simulated work tasks, and a place to record relevant links. They were then asked to study the simulated work tasks that they had developed based on the selected subject headings from the Persian Subject headings, and search in Google, Parsijoo, Rismoon, and Yooz search engines in Persian language, and then to record the relevant URLs in the given form. Finally, based on the recorded URLs, the relevance score of the students' retrieved results was calculated according to the Jaccard index. To determine the validity of the research tools, the opinions of faculty members of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad were asked as well as the relevant literature was reviewed. Pearson test was also used to determine the reliability of the study, which confirmedthe reliability of the study with a correlation coefficient of 0. 725. Findings: The findings indicated that the FUM students’ judgementrelevance scores with a 95% confidence level were about 0/36 to 0/42. Furthermore, there were significant differences between the students'judgement relevance scores in terms of their educational levels, age groupsand their residential areas, while there were no differences between thestudent's judgement relevance scores in terms of gender and academic field. Originality/value: It can be said that paying attention to bothpersonalization and customization in designing information retrieval systemswill satisfy users. Thus, this paper finally directs the attention of informationmanagers and designers of information retrieval systems to this fact that in designing information systems, more attention must be paid to the threedemographic variables, namely education levels, age groups, and residentialareas.

Purpose: Public libraries are places in which people can access information as well as can empower themselves. Public libraries constitute an integral part of modern communities, and this it is necessary to be aware of their service area and of how one can gain access to them. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the level of public libraries in Fars province according to the status of their facilities, services and pattern of their distribution. Method: This research is an applied study in terms of purpose and is descriptive-survey study I terms of the data collection method. To rank the public libraries of Fars Province, first a list of influential factors was identified and extracted by documentary review, and then the main factors were determined by using the Delphi method and finally the importance scores of facilities and services were calculated by applying the AHP technique, based on the views of a group of experts and the managers of these public libraries. The statistical population of this research includes all the public libraries of Fars Province. The research data were gathered from the data related to the members, facilities and personnel of these libraries (such as library area, number of members, number of books and magazines, personnel’ s and hardware and software) based on their address, and then the Geodatabase of Fars public libraries was created by these data. To rank the libraries, their spatial pattern of service was mapped by weighted factors (obtained by applying the AHP technique) and the IDW technique in Geographic information system (GIS). In order to assess the spatial distribution pattern of libraries and their facilities and services, the Nearest Neighbor Analysis and Moran's Index were used. Findings: Based on the main weighted factors (physical area, number of members, number of books and magazines, personnel, and hardware and software), Fars public libraries were classified into three groups: advantaged counties, semi-advantaged counties and disadvantaged counties. Findings showed that the distribution of a large number of facilities, services and resources of public libraries in Fars province was unbalanced. According to the findings, Kazeroon, Sarvestan and Abadeh counties, with scores more than mean of province, are the most advantaged counties. Furthermore, a large part of the province is in a moderate (i. e. semi-advantaged) situation with scores near to the average score of studied indices. The most disadvantaged regions of Fars Province are located in the southern and central parts of the province. The assessment of spatial distribution of libraries and their facilities in Fars by using the Nearest neighbor and Moran’ s Index showed the unbalanced and clustered pattern of the spatial distribution of facilities and services in those areas which mostly are located in the political and administrative center of provinces. Originality/value: The review of relevant literature showed that so far, most of the studies on spatial analysis of libraries have focused on site selection for establishing new libraries, but this research identified the major factors for ranking libraries on the basis of spatial and performance indicators. Furthermore, findings indicated that due attention must be paid to spatial distribution of and hardware and software resources and facilities as well as to skilled and relevant manpower in the public libraries located outside of the capital cities of provinces.

Purpose: Today, with the increase in the number of graduates whose number is increasing every year, unemployment and employment are among the challenges the societies are facing. Graduates of Knowledge and Information Science are not exceptions to this rule and thus often face employment problems. Given this issue as well as the economic crisis throughout the world, identifying and discovering factors affecting entrepreneurial businesses for graduates can be a good alternative for countries and communities for resolving this crisis as well as for their social and economic development. Accordingly, the purpose of the present research is to discover the factors affecting the entrepreneurial business for the graduates of Knowledge and Information Science. Method: The present study is an applied study in terms of purpose and is exploratory in terms of method, in which the Delphi method has been used. In line with the purpose of the research, the components of entrepreneurship for the field of Knowledge and Information Science were first identified by the content analysis method. Then, the Delphi method was used to complete and confirm the desired components. Finally, in order to summarize and categorize the components, the exploratory factor analysis was used and in order to ensure that a factor structure has been achieved, the confirmatory factor analysis was applied. The statistical population used in the Delphi method included 15 experts in the fields of Knowledge and Information Science, and entrepreneurship, who were selected by applying non-probability sampling and a combination of targeted, judgmental, and chain referral sampling methods. In the exploratory analysis section, due to the volume required for factor analysis, 165 experts, including the faculty members in the field of Knowledge and Information Science in public universities across the country were asked to give their opinions. The research instrument was a researchermade questionnaire based on the Delphi steps, the reliability and validity of which were confirmed. To analyze the data, the SPSS software (version 20) and LISREL software (version 8. 8) were used. Findings: The findings show that 32 identified factors affecting entrepreneurial businesses fall into four categories of main factors including entrepreneurial opportunities, entrepreneurial capacities, entrepreneurial framework and future studies, which in total predict more than 62% of total variance in entrepreneurial business in Knowledge and Information Science. Furthermore, considering that the factor load of all items was estimated to be higher than 0. 4 and the fit indices of the model also had the desired value, the research model was also approved. Originality/value: This study is the first to explore the factors influencing the entrepreneurial business of Knowledge and Information Science. In order to provide an entrepreneurial solution to the graduates of the field of Knowledge and Information Science, the four components of opportunities, capacities, frameworks and future studies should be considered based on the model presented in this study.

Purpose: The main purpose of the present research is to recognize the most appropriate type of planning for designing cultural activities of public libraries in Iran, from the perspective of their librarians and experts. Identifying and understanding the views of librarians and experts in selecting the most appropriate type of planning, as well as prioritizing the use of various plans to design the cultural activities are among the other aims of this research. Methodology: This study is an applied research that was conducted by the survey method. A researcher-made questionnaire is selected as the tool for data collection. Content validity was calculated using two coefficients, content validity relative and content validity index. To measure the reliability of the questionnaire, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. The research population consisted of two groups: public library librarians and the provisional and staff experts working in the Cultural affairs division of Iran Public Libraries Foundation. In selecting the librarians group, cluster sampling was used to maintain the distribution of samples. For this purpose, Iran was divided into five parts: east, west, center, north and south. Sampling was performed according to the size and volume of each region. 357 librarians were randomly selected 38 experts were selected by random sampling, from whom 29 individuals completed the questionnaires. To analyze the data, Friedman test was applied using the SPSS 22 platform. Findings: The results showed that among the five types of planning, participatory planning from the viewpoint of librarians, and logical planning from the viewpoint of experts ranks first. Moreover, the results of Friedman test showed that ranking of different types of planning for designing cultural activities are significant from the viewpoint of both groups. From the librarians' viewpoint, logical, strategic, extension, cultural and participatory planning ranked first to fifth respectively, while from the experts' viewpoint, logical, strategic, promotional, cultural and participatory planning ranked first to fifth respectively. Originality/value: The present research is the first research that has reviewed the opinions of experts and librarians in selecting the most appropriate type of planning in public libraries. Identifying and understanding the differences between staff and line experts in the type of planning help to promote convergence between them and also help to strengthen the planning. This research can be used as a basis for designing cultural activities. Applying this basis will assist planners and managers of public libraries in making decisions about cultural activities.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to determine the categories and issues that were considered by national policymakers in the field of public libraries of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This study seeks to identify those issues and problems for which policymakers have been trying to find solutions by analyzing the content of policy documents. Method: This research is a qualitative research that has been conducted by using the content analysis method. The research population includes the text of policies, laws and regulations adopted by public policy makers in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this regard, nine important provisions specifically addressing public libraries are examined and analyzed. These laws and regulations include "the Establishment and Administration of Public Libraries Law", "the Executive Regulations of the Establishment and Administration of Public Libraries Law", "the decision to add the Iran Public Libraries Foundation to the list of institutions subject to paragraph "b" of Article (11) of National Recruitment Law", "Amendment of the Executive Regulations of the Establishment and Administration of Public Libraries Law", " Document of Beneficial Reading Movement", "beneficiary of Iran Public Libraries Foundation from the individual and legal persons as funds subject to article (172) of the Amendment of Direct Taxes Law approved in 1992", "the deduction from the total credits related to municipals revenues and payment to the Iran Public Libraries Foundation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Treasury of the Country)", "article 64 of the Law on Adding Some Articles to Regulation of Part of Government Financial Regulations Law (2)", "the approval of Public Culture Council of the country regarding the promotion of book and book reading culture". MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software was used for coding the research data. Furthermore, in order to ensure the reliability of this study, validity, reliability, transferability and verifiability criteria were used. Findings: The research findings indicated that in the studied documents policies have been made for five issues including "Reading Promotion policies", "Management of Financial and Administrative Affairs of Public Libraries of the Country", "Construction and Development of Public Libraries of the Country", "Management of Library Services" "and "designation of actors in the public libraries in Iran". Examination of the documents showed that the issue of reading promotion policies were taken into consideration in the "Document of Beneficial Reading Movement" and the "Sanctioned regulation of Iran's Public Culture Council regarding the promotion of book and book reading culture" and many actors and stakeholders have been taken into account by policymakers in these documents. The three remained issues have been covered by other Laws and regulation. Furthermore, the role of various actors and stakeholders in public libraries was reviewed and classified in accordance with the provisions of the sanctioned laws and regulation. Based on the analysis, nine groups of actors and stakeholders were identified, including public library administrators, financial resource providers, users, community, employees, government, media, NGOs, and other stakeholders. Originality/value: This research is the first to examine the issues covered in the national policy documents of public libraries in Iran. Furthermore, the value of this study lies in that it explains the issues of interest to policymakers and public library policymaking institutions in the past as well as it helps to identify the gaps of national policymaking on public libraries too.