نشریه تحقیقات اطلاع رسانی و کتابخانه های عمومی
پیاپی 106 (پاییز 1400)

The purpose of this study is to identify the features of e-reader applications through a systematic review of texts, and also to evaluate four widely used Iranian e-reader applications (Fidibo, Taghche, Ketabrah, ketab sabz) in terms of identified features.

The present redearch is an applied study in terms of purpose that was conducted on the basis of a systematic review framework. To collect related research texts, 247 works were identified in national and foreign databases. After the initial review (review of keywords, titles, and review of the abstracts), finally 46 related works were extracted and reviewed. Then, in order to determine the extent to which each of the four Iranian e-reader applications had the extracted features, a survey study was carried out using this list and through the observation tool.

Among 46 works studied, first 139 components were identified, which were then classified into 18 criteria. Attempts were made to use specialized thesaurus, subject dictionaries, or the views of experts to label each category. The list was evaluated by five experts, including designers and managers of e-reader applications, as well as researchers, experts and professionals in the field to remove or add items if necessary. By announcing the opinion of the board of experts, 7 components and 2 criteria were removed, and thus, a list of the most common features of e-reader applications was prepared, which included 132 components and was classified into 16 criteria. In the survey study section, the results showed that out of four widely used Iranian e-reader applications, ‘Taghche’ and ‘Fidibo’, with a slight difference from each other, have a higher status than other Iranian e-reader applications in terms of service provision and features considered in the evaluation of e-reader applications, and seem to be in an intense competition in the customer market. Furthermore, although ‘ketab sabz’ is one of the most widely used Iranian reading applications, it has less than half (49.24%) of the features and is not in a good state.

In this research, a systematic review of texts has led to the identification of comprehensive features for e-reader applications. Moreover, evaluating and comparing Iranian reading applications help the designers and producers of them to realize the shortcomings of their products, thus make more efforts to achieve the status desired by the user.

The purpose of this study is to assess the instructional needs of Iranian public libraries’ users.

In order to conduct the assessment of instructional needs, the agreement-based needs assessment model and Internet survey method were used, the data were collected through distribution of electronic questionnaires among public library users across the country. The research population consisted of all public libraries’ users in Iran in 1399 SH, whose number was 1842858 according to the staticstics of Iran Public Libraries Foundation. According to the Krejcie-Morgan table, 775 cases were selected as the research sample using the stratified sampling method. A researcher-made closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data, and the content validity of the questionnaire was verified by 5 people including project supervisor, education and research experts of Iran Public Libraries Foundation, faculy members of education sciences and knowledge and information science, and the reliability of the questionnaire was equal to 0.92 according to Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, such as mean and standard deviation, and statistical tests including sample t-test and Friedman test.

The results showed that out of 75 instructional courses, 38 instructional courses are required by users of public libraries in Iran, and in particular life skills courses, mental health promotion, learning and study skills, couples communication skills, media literacy, physical health promotion, Internet skills, information literacy, camera and mobile photography, Internet-based business, parenting, Word processing, entrepreneurship and business skills, PowerPoint presentation, resume writing, and installing Windows, respectively, are 16 prioritized instructional courses and the most important training courses required by the users of public libraries in Iran. By implementing these nationwide instructional courses, Iranian public libraries will be able to obviate the personal and professional instructional needs of target users.

 In spite of the emphasis on instruction as one of the main missions of the Iran Public Libraries Foundation, research evidences show that Iranian public libraries have not considered the instructional needs assessment of target users, which is necessary for designing and implementing nationwide instructional courses. dentification of the instructional needs of Iranian public library users is theis reseach contribution. The results of this study help the instructional officials of Iran Public Libraries Foundation to design instructional courses which fit the instructional needs of target users, and to take effective steps to achieve the strategic goal of instruction as well.

The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic review of research texts in the field of locating Iranian public libraries using GIS. Accordingly, the considerable components in locating public libraries in Iran were examined based on the relevant research texts.

The present research is an applied study in terms of purpose that was conducted based on a systematic analysis using Prisma model. To collect data, relevant keywords were searched in reliable databases and 372 research articles were retrieved. By studying and reviewing the abstracts of these articles and, if necessary, their results, duplicate and irrelevant articles were omitted. Finally, by conducting a preliminary survey in accordance with the input and output criteria, these studies were controlled by researchers, and 29 articles remained. The research tool was a checklist.

Findings show that most of the investigated studies were conducted in 2014 (17.24 percent). The survey-descriptive research method (27/48 percent) was applied more than other methods and using operational and cartographic-based research methods were neglected. In terms of geographical area, most of the studied were carried out in Tehran (17.24 percent) and then in Kerman (34/10 percent), and the geographical distribution of studies is not commensurate with the distribution of cities in Iran. Since the research tools of these studies were mostly questionnaires, it is made clear that the focus was on the response-based method, and testing the hypotheses has significantly helped to validate the results of studies. The main problems were: non-use of GIS in building libraries, lack of geographical distribution of libraries and weakness in the optimal use of components of compatibility, comfort and centrality in building libraries. The most frequent research topic in the studies was location in terms of geographical location (86.20 percent). The most frequent component in locating libraries using GIS system is comfort (32.81 percent), followed by compatibility (31.25 percent).

 By reviewing the studies in the field of location of public libraries, the findings of this field were identified in terms of the distribution status of libraries, the desirability of accessing them and the influential components in location. This research provides an overview of what has been done and what should be considered in determining the location of public libraries for future researchers.

The aim of this study is to assess the media literacy status of cross-border citizens of West Azerbaijan province in terms of the status of their media literacy, and their ability to receive, evaluate, influence, and analyze media messages (as one of the influential factors)

This is an applied study in terms of purpose that was conducted using a descriptive-survey method. The research statistical population included all border residents of West Azerbaijan province, from whom 384 people were selected as the sample size using Cochran's formula and multi-stage cluster sampling and then simple random sampling. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire based on the index UNESCO World Literacy Media and localized scientific texts which were presented to 10 experts. Given that the minimum value required to achieve content validity based on the opinions of 10 experts is 0/62 according to the CVR index and 0/79 according to the CVI index, all items with a value lower than 0/62 and 0/79 were omitted from the questionnaire. The research data were processed using SPSS software version 26.

The level of media literacy of men was higher than that of women. In the married and single groups, the difference between the two groups is not significant. The level of media literacy of people living in the city was higher than that of villagers. As citizens’ monthly incomes increased, their level of media literacy increased.

The results showed that the status of media literacy of the cross-border citizens of West Azerbaijan province is at a weak level. Considering the results of this research, public libraries can provide library services and training courses required to improve the level of media literacy of the cross-border citizens of West Azerbaijan province.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between psychological well-being and work overload with the moderating role of perceived organizational support among librarians of public libraries in Isfahan province during 2020-2021.

This study is a descriptive correlational study with a sample of 202 librarians of public libraries in Isfahan province, who were selected by simple random sampling. In order to collect data, the questionnaires of Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being (1995), Spector & Jex Work Overload (1998), and Eisenberger and others’ Perceived Organizational Support (1986) were used. The reliability coefficients of these questionnaires through Cronbach's alpha were 0.92, 0.94 and 0.95, respectively. To analyze the findings, descriptive and inferential statistics, and Smart-PLS3 and SPSS software version 22 were used.

The results of correlation coefficient showed that the components of psychological well-being have a significant negative relationship with work overload (p < 0/05). The moderating role of perceived organizational support between these two variables was also confirmed. Findings also showed that the moderating variable of perceived organizational support has a significant effect on the intensity of the relationship between psychological well-being and work overload, as when there is high organizational support among librarians, their psychological well-being is higher and their work overload decreases.

 Examining the relationship between psychological well-being and work overload with the moderating role of perceived organizational support among librarians in public libraries in Iran and abroad has been very innovative, and so far, little research has been done on this issue. In addition, in the present study, the moderating role of perceived organizational support has also been considered. On the other hand, addressing this issue in the population of public libraries in Isfahan province makes the subject of this research novel. The findings of this study can pave the way for librarians and library managers to improve the desired work environment.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of transformational leadership, with the mediating role of individual motivation and knowledge sharing, on the innovative work behavior of public library staff of Fars province.

The present research is an applied study that was conducted using the descriptive-survey method. The statistical population of this study included the staff of public libraries in Fars province, whom at the time of the study numbered 350. 184 people were selected as the research sample using simple random sampling method using Cochran’s formula. In order to collect data, the questionnaire of the officer and others (2019) was used. For data analysis, partial least squares method and structural equation modeling in Smart PLS software were applied.

The results show that transformational leadership has a direct positive and significant effect on innovative work behavior (t = 3.450) transformational leadership directly has a significant positive effect on individual motivation (t = 7.201). Furthermore, individual motivation has a direct and significant positive effect on innovative work behavior (t = 3.847). Transformational leadership has an indirect and significant effect on innovative work behavior due to individual motivation (t = 3.775). Moreover, transformational leadership, considering the moderating role of knowledge sharing, has a significant positive effect on innovative work behavior (t = 7.703), and knowledge sharing reinforces innovative work behavior.

Transformational leadership improves the innovative work behavior of public library staff by influencing their individual motivation. Furthermore, knowledge sharing strengthens the impact of transformational leadership on innovative work behavior. The innovation of this research is in that it has studied the role of transformational leadership in innovative work behavior in the public libraries of Fars province for the first time.