Content Analysis of Library and Information Science Weblogs in Iran: 2008-2010

Knowledge Sharing is one of the most important achievements provided by the information and communication technology. Blogs are one of the most common communication medium in the library community in Iran. The aim of the present research was to investigate the state of the art of Library and Information Science (LIS) Weblogs in Iran. Data collection was based on a Checklist designed by researchers. The population of the study included 46 Weblogs that were active from 2008 to 2010. A content analysis approach was used for collecting data. Research findings show that most blogs focused on IT-related topics. Indexing and abstracting were not the main concern of these knowledge sharing platforms. The subject-specific weblogs were categorized under 8 topics. The Weblogs which are focused on educational issues are less than those which are devoted to scientific matters. However, it can be concluded that the Weblogs which deal with LIS specific topics are few. The results also reveals that a reasonable amount of citations have been used in these Weblogs. In terms of structure, it can be claimed that the structure and interface of LIS Weblogs in Iran are relatively good. The researchers hope that the checklist designed by them can be useful for other similar research as a data collection instrument.