Determining the factors affecting the acceptance of social cataloging application and its adoption rate based on Rogersʼ diffusion of innovation theory at the public libraries of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province

Considering the proliferation of technologies in all aspects of the library, its development in the field of organization and cataloging should not be neglected. Social catalogs and their software are integrated into all user-oriented and advanced libraries in the world. Social cataloging software enables users to contribute to the promotion of library service quality through their comments. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the rate and the factors affecting the acceptance of social cataloging software by librarians of public libraries in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province based on Rogersʼs theory of diffusion of innovation.

This research is a descriptive applied survey. The statistical population of the study includes all librarians working in public libraries of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province under the auspices of the Public Libraries Foundation, whose number was 130 people. The required number of samples for this study was 97 and these people were randomly selected. The method of data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire based on a questionnaire presented by Afshin Hamdipour in 2013. The questionnaireʼs validity was confirmed by 4 professors in the fields of knowledge and information science and education (educational technology orientation). The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed via Cronbachʼs Alpha, which was 0.824. The collected data were analyzed using Excel, SPSS23, and Amos23.

The results of the Social List Innovation Acceptance Rate showed that the majority of librarians were among the early majority. Women, people in the age group of 31-40 years, those having PhD or masterʼs degree, and individuals with 6-10, and 11-15-years working experience were the most members of this group. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that among all the perceptual features, including "relative advantage", "trialability", "compatibility", "complexity", and "objectivity", only "complexity" and "trialability" had a positive and significant relationship with the rate of acceptance of social cataloging software, but other features had no significant relationship. The relationship with different types of innovation decisions showed that the only relationship between optional innovation decisions and the rate of acceptance is negative and significant. The studying of the effect of demographic characteristics on acceptance rate indicated that there is no significant difference between librarians based on the two variables of "gender" and "work experience", but there is a significant difference in terms of age, education, skills in the rules of cataloging, English language, and up-to-date technologies and applications. Therefore, managers and authorities of public libraries can increase the rate of acceptance among librarians by holding workshops in the field of cataloging, the English language, and up-to-date technologies.

Originality/value: 

Social catalogs are being used in many libraries worldwide. Assessing the librariansʼ acceptance of this technology may facilitate the acceptance process in the future. Furthermore, the results of this research are helpful for library software developers and the authorities of public libraries in Iran.