Identification and Analysis of Technical Threats Affecting the Copyright Protection of Information Resources in the Information Systems of Libraries: Case Study of the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI)

The purpose of current research is to identify technical risks and threats to copyright protection of information resources in the systems examined in order to prevent the infringement of the rights of creators of information resources by identifying technical risks.

Current research is applied, and a qualitative approach was used to collect needed data. In the qualitative approach, according to the purpose and problem of the research, methods of documentary analysis, thematic analysis and Fuzzy Delphi were used. 11 specialists and experts participated in the Delphi panel and 6 experts for interview; and 7 information systems in the National Library were selected as research community. In data analysis, MAXQDA and Tableau software were used.

Using the thematic analysis method, 17 indicators were obtained in 8 components related to technological threats to copyright protection in the systems studied. Following confirmation and finalization of the checklist using the Fuzzy Delphi method, 16 indicators in 7 components related to technical risks were approved by experts.Deliberate employee sabotage, weak server resources, miscellaneous malware such as viruses, worms, etc., not having back up the main program, not having a mirror website (network security); Loss of equipment and infrastructure support (such as inability to develop software or loss of software support team); The weakness of DRM in duplication and long-term protection of works, the lack of DRM software in the systems, Lack of updated systems and problems in the construction of storage space (technical infrastructure); Use of clear watermark (copy control); URL tampering (digital protection); Not using authentication for all content sections and pages (authentication); Not define the copyright policy in the digitization process (rights metadata); Lack of quality control of digital content and lack of attention to the stages of digital object preparation (digitalization process) are among the effective technical threats in the studied systems. After identifying the indicators, in May 2023, the systems were evaluated from the perspective of technical risks to protect the copyright of information sources. The studied systems were placed in two groups, digital and bibliographic, according to the type of activity, their structure and function. The Digital Library system, Iranian Newspaper System (SANA) and Iranian Scientific Publications System are included in the digital category. Other systems, i.e., National libraries network, National document center network, Iran Publications database, Manuscript database are included in the bibliographic category. Bibliographic systems only provide bibliographic information and are considered a type of database. In general, the findings showed that none of the 16 technical risk indicators have been observed in the studied systems.

Paying attention to technical considerations to protect the copyright of information sources in the systems can be described as the basis of the development and expansion of the systems in the libraries.