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Application of information technologies in academic libraries

Faranak Mohsenzadeh
Islamic Azad University, Sirjan, Iran, and

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Received 23 July 2008 Revised 28 August 2008 Accepted 25 September 2008

Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam
Department of Library and Information Studies, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran
Abstract
Purpose The main purpose of this investigation is to dene the status of the application of information technology in academic libraries located in Kerman, the center and largest city of Kerman Province, Iran, and to understand the problems and difculties in using information technology in these libraries. Design/methodology/approach The survey has covered 17 libraries belonging to Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman Medical University and Islamic Azad University. Two kinds of questionnaires were distributed to libraries one for librarians and the other for library staff. The ndings of the survey have been analyzed using SPSS software. Findings Results show that the level of application of information technology in Kerman academic libraries is acceptable but they should improve their status to match with ever increasing demand for better librarian services at universities; the most important problem and serious difculty is the lack of educated librarians, which needs a suitable investment and planning; and, although about 70 percent of librarians in Kerman academic libraries have participated in related training courses, the most serious difculty in using information technology is still the lack of educated librarians. Practical implications Based on the research ndings, several suggestions for improvements can be made, for example: recruitment of multi-skilled librarians familiar with information technologies related to the mechanism of work in academic libraries; planning and designing ongoing courses of information technology and related skills; promotion and introduction of various academic library services through compiling and publishing manuals and guides; equipping academic libraries with more information technology facilities; having a special budget for development of information technology infrastructure; overcoming telecommunication barriers and shortcomings to better use of information technology; and mechanization of all academic library departments to provide information services more optimally and speedily. Originality/value The research studies the rate of using information technologies in Iran as a developing country. Hopefully, uncovering and understanding some unknowns based on such investigations can help to address the digital divide within universities and countries governing them. Keywords Academic libraries, Communication technologies, Internet, Librarians, Iran Paper type Research paper

The Electronic Library Vol. 27 No. 6, 2009 pp. 986-998 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0264-0473 DOI 10.1108/02640470911004075

Introduction and background Rapid developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) and their wide applications in all aspects of everyday life have led to dramatic changes which have not been observed before. These changes are so forcible that it is not realistic to expect stability of the mankind life conditions (Webster, 2001). Information technologies (IT) entered into libraries, especially academic and research libraries, during the 1960 s. Libraries, at the beginning, employed information technologies to

speed up their daily activities and reduce their operation costs. At that stage many repetitive activities, organizing of activities, and loan systems were upgraded by information technology (Igwe, 1986). Afterwards, traditional materials and sources were replaced by digital equivalents and libraries were undergoing fundamental changes in all aspects. Accordingly, Reid (2000) classies these aspects into material and sources, librarians and users, services, and library building. According to Nyamboga and Kemparaju (2002), p. 257):
[. . .] the famous line from Thomas Carlyle, that the true university is a collection of books may have been true in his days, but it is not true today. This is an electronic age where universities and their libraries are expected to be much more than collections of books. In addition, the creation of knowledge is unstoppable and it is being communicated at expanding rates. Indeed, this is causing profound changes in both the economics and the technology of libraries. As we have entered the 21st century, information technology is now a buzzword with incredible tness and strength that has changed the very nature of how we share, store and disseminate information. The application and accessibility of information technology facilitates the free ow of information, creative expression and effective management. The use of information technology in libraries has tremendously increased due to its enhanced user satisfaction, cost effectiveness, faster and simpler programs, rapid communicative interaction (resource sharing) and easier operational procedures.

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Based on Bazillions (2001) viewpoint, academic libraries as a component of education systems with the use of information technology which has appeared effectively in libraries contribute to education processes in different ways. This includes better accessibility to electronic information sources, helping academic staff in using information technology in their teaching and researching activities, helping university staff to increase their skills for using sophisticated information systems and nally helping students for their search in electronic sources and web pages. In the case of academic libraries in Iran, it is very essential and important to make use of information technology and its various manifestations. Increased library users, the need for library materials inside and outside of libraries, growing of published materials, basic changing of the studying materials i.e. use of CDs, e-journals and online databases and the emergence of new and cheaper computers are only a part of the reasons for using information technology, automation and related issues (Nakhoda, 2005). In this regard, Alidousti and Sheykh-Shoaee (2006) declare that:
[. . .] it is expected that the inevitable inuence of information technology will affect libraries especially academic ones in Iran and also will change the librarians working in them. It will denitely upgrade library environments and will develop service capabilities. Information technology has changed the performance, skills and information needs of librarians. Traditional role and methods have been replaced by new skills and ways.

From what has been indicated above, it is self-evident that due to a variety of benets information technology has, for libraries as a whole and here academic libraries, enabled university authorities in all corners of the world to approach making high exploitation from such great human achievement. In relation to this movement, Lynch (2000) believes that:
[. . .] information technology has affected librarians in three stages of rebuilding, innovation and transformation. The rst effect of information technology was automation

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and rebuilding. The important characteristic of this stage is reduction of costs and speeding up of activities. In the second stage, libraries realized the new capabilities of information technology. In addition to above advantages, they used it for new services. The third stage began at late 1980 s and library environments were changed due to the application of information technology.

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Hence, it may be useful to study the rate of take-up and use of information technologies in developing countries. Hopefully, uncovering and understanding some unknowns based on such investigations can help to address the digital divide within universities and the countries governing them. Consequently, the present research aims to investigate as well as determine the use rate and also the level of the application of information technology in academic libraries of Kerman city (Iran) and nd related difculties. Information technology denition Information technology is the collective [umbrella] term for various technologies involved in processing and transmitting information that may include computing, telecommunications and microelectronics (Nyamboga and Kemparaju, 2002). According to the American Library Association (1983, p. 183), it has been dened as the application of computers and other technologies to the acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information. Additionally, the use of hardware and software for efcient management of information i.e. storage, retrieval, processing, communication, diffusion and sharing of information has been dened by Pandey and Chakraborty (2002, p. 11). In this respect, Emojorho and Adomi (2006) believe in information technology as a great booster to this era and dene it as a range of new technologies and their application, including all aspects of the use of computers, micro electronic devices, satellite, internet and communication technology. It should be noted that in the present research, information technology encompasses computers, databases whether off-line or on-line, information networks like internet, intranet and Rosenet[1], e-resources including e-books, e-journals, e-dissertations, software and hardware equipments (i.e. information infrastructure), and information special services (e.g. selective dissemination of information, current awareness services, table of content services, bulletin board services, e-reference desk and so on). Related studies Ramzan (2004, p. 274) declares that the utilization of information technology has become an indicator of a countrys wealth level. As a result, it has been discussed in many areas for many years. Admittedly, based on library and information science literature, it is obvious that libraries and especially academic ones are no exception to this. Farajpahlou (1994) mentioned that until 1991 many Iranian libraries were in the process of using CD-ROM, and other information technologies; however, a majority of the libraries were encountering problems due to lack of networked databases, lack of strategic automation plans, and ineffectiveness of library education to deal with modern technologies. On the other hand, most of literature about Iran is books and articles dealing with the environment or the nations history. Thus, it was difcult to nd general information about libraries and information technology. It is worth saying that our search led us to one notable Iranian work done by Davarpanah (2001a, 2001b). He has done a research project in the eld of fundamental difculties and problems in

using information technology in academic libraries in Iran. As a result of this survey, he reported that academic libraries in Iran have several difculties in successful utilization of information technology. Accordingly, the problems identied based on their importance are: governmental, economic, social, cultural, human resources, technical and management factors. He believes that to overcome those difculties, short and long-term solutions should be considered. National guidelines for information technology, invention of suitable laws for information services, foundation of nation organization for information services are to be responsibilities of government. He also emphasizes that the design and development of internal databases should be included in automation and technological programs of academic libraries of Iran. Engstrom (2001) has done a study about the use and development of information technology at two different university libraries in Costa Rica. The two universities are among the most important universities in the country, but the development processes at each of them have quite different patterns. One of them has developed over a quite long period of time, while the other has developed very fast through the employment of information technologies. Both libraries are now considered developed and well-functioning libraries with a good level of equipment and service performance. Databases, OPACs and internet are being used and both the librarians and students have adapted to the use of information technology very well. However, nancial difculties are big problems for universities in Costa Rica. As a result of doing a research in six university libraries in Karnataka (India), Nyamboga and Kemparaju (2002) concluded that these libraries still lag behind some other Indian universities in the application of information technology, but the introduction of internet access is an important step forward. Regardless of a not very good picture of information technology application in Karnataka, nally, they suggested that with basic information technology literacy, library users and staff are able to retrieve more up-to-date information that supplements what they get from printed information sources, thereby increasing the efciency and effectiveness of the academic libraries as well as helping to bring the whole institution into the information age. Ramana and Rao (2003) have made a useful study about the use of information technology in central libraries in India. The survey has provided a useful summary of current state of the art of using information technology in libraries in India. The surveyed conrmed that information technology has deeply embedded itself in the management of information in university libraries. It has become a powerful tool in the handling of routine library operations and services. The analysis has shown that the use of information technology in libraries is increasing steadily and signicantly. Moreover, the study revealed an awareness of current developments concerned with end users. Hewitson (2002), in an investigation undertaken at Leeds Metropolitan University, studied the awareness and extent to which university academic staff use and assimilate electronic information services into their work. The research was conducted via a quantitative study involving a questionnaire mailed to a random stratied sample of 200 university staff (of which 101 were returned); and a qualitative study. In fact, his survey addressed four specic areas: the characteristics of the respondents (age, gender, faculty); the perceived level of the information technology literacy of staff;

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the frequency of use by academic staff of different electronic information services offered by the university; and academic staffs perception of student use. The study also investigated a number of further areas, including: how academic staff at the university obtain information for their work; what they do with the information they obtain; how aware are university staff of electronic information services; how condent are academic staff in using electronic information services and the barriers that exist to their use; the extent to which academic staff are integrating the use of electronic information services into students educational experience; and what the university can do to support staff better in their use of electronic information services. Finally, it was concluded from the results that the internet is the most popular information source but the factors affecting use at the expense of subscription-based services are complex. University staff, especially those with low level information technology skills, frequently use the internet because it is easy to access and provides instant results. However, users who are aware and are condent in using subscription-based services still prefer to use the internet. Raza and Nath (2007) measured the use of information technology the use of hardware and software facilities in the university libraries of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh (India) with an ulterior objective to establish some co-relation between quality in libraries and use of information technology. They also highlighted the access of networks, information services and barriers in information technology applications. They conducted their survey with the help of questionnaires, interview and observation methods. Ultimately, it was emphasized that although quality depends on merging print culture with digital culture, the results conrm that print culture is still dominating in university libraries of this region. Haneefa (2007) conducted a study to investigate the application of information and communication technologies in special libraries in Kerala, India. The analyzes revealed that though the libraries had hardware, software, and communication facilities to some extent, ICT-based resources and services were not reaching the users to the expected extent. Library automation in special libraries in Kerala was largely commenced during the period 1990-2000. CDS/ISIS was used more in the libraries than any other software. The library catalogue was found to be the most popular area for automation. The ICT-based resource used by the largest percentage of the users was e-mail. Most of the libraries were hampered by lack of funds, lack of infrastructure, and lack of skilled professionals to embark on automation of all library management activities and application of ICT. A good number of the library users were not satised with the application of ICT in their libraries and indicated inadequate ICT infrastructure as their major reason for dissatisfaction. They proposed a variety of measures of formal orientation and training on ICT to become more effective users. Research objectives and methodology Building on the previous works mentioned above, the present research has been designed to study the rate of application of information technological tools as mentioned earlier in university libraries located in Kerman the centre and largest city in Kerman Province, Iran. It is anticipated that the results of the study may help to achieve the following objectives: . To dene related problems as well as dilemmas so that authorities will get familiar with the weakness and capabilities of academic libraries in the eld of

information technology. It also helps them to solve the problems and increase the abilities and capacities of these libraries. To identify the status of the application of information technology including hardware and software facilities, databases, electronic sources, and information networks. These will lead to increasing the performance of the library staffs and reduction of costs. To determine how Kerman academic libraries have performed in obtaining and using of information technology in their activities and services. Additionally, it may shed light on the reasons for lack of information technology in the mentioned libraries.

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As noted, the main purpose of the investigation is to dene the status of the application of information technology in Kerman academic libraries and to understand the problems and difculties in using information technology in the above mentioned libraries. Specically, this means: . determining the use of electronic sources in Kerman academic libraries; . determining the use of databases in Kerman academic libraries; . determining the use of information networks in Kerman academic libraries; . clarication and internalization of training courses for librarians staff in relation to information technology in Kerman academic libraries; . determining the use of different information technologies in Kerman academic libraries; and . identifying the difculties, challenges and problems related to the use of IT in Kerman academic libraries. And it is on these specics that the formulation of the research questions were based. In order to achieve valid results and meet the objectives of the research, two questionnaires have been used. One with 24 questions was designed for librarians and the other with 13 questions was prepared for staff working in Kerman academic libraries. The collected data are presented in tables and diagrams and SPSS software has been employed to analyze and discuss the results. The surveyed community includes college libraries belong to Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman Medicine University and Islamic Azad University. A total of 17 libraries (3 central libraries and 14 college libraries) with a population of 69 subjects as librarian and librarian staff participated in this study. Since most of the libraries looked at in the present survey are college ones, it is expected that the number of individuals questioned is low (69), though it can be considered as a limitation for the research. Research results In response to the rst question about the status of using databases in Kerman academic libraries the collected data are presented in Table I. As can be seen, it is clear that Medical databases have the highest application with 41.2 percent. Also, Engineering databases with 17.6 percent have the second most use with the least use being made of databases in the Humanities and Basic Sciences with 5.9 percent.

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The data related to the information networks (question 2) are shown in Table II. It reveals that more than half of the libraries (58.8 percent) are connected to the internet, over one third (35.3 percent) of them are connected to intranets, while almost a quarter (23.5 percent) of the academic libraries in Kerman have access to Rosenet. Among Kerman universities, the University of Shahid Bahonar is ranked rst in using information networks. The data extracted in response to the third question about electronic sources are presented in Table III. As can be observed, e- journals and e-books in the form of CDs are available in less than 50 percent of Kerman academic libraries. Electronic journals in the form of CDs have the highest accessibility (47.1 percent) and online dissertations have the least (5.9 percent) in Kerman academic libraries. The Kerman Medicine University makes the maximum use of e-sources, with second place belonging to Shahid Bahonar University.

Databases Table I. The distribution of use of databases in the surveyed libraries (n number of libraries) Basic sciences Engineering and technology Medical sciences Humanities General

Medicine n 11 n % 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 63/6 0 9/1

Behonar n5 n % 1 3 0 1 1 20 60 0 20 20

Azad n1 n 0 0 0 0 0 % 0 0 0 0 0

Total n 17 n % 1 3 7 1 2 5/9 17/6 1/2 5/9 11/8

Medicine n 11 Yes No Information networks n % n % Table II. The distribution of use of information networks in the surveyed libraries Internet network Rosenet network Intranet network 6 2 2 54/5 5 45/5 18/2 9 81/8 18/2 9 1/8

Behonar Azad n5 n1 Yes No Yes No n % n % n % n % 3 60 2 2 40 3 3 60 2 40 1 100 60 0 0 40 1 100

Total n 17 n Yes % n No %

0 0 10 58/8 7 41/2 1 100 4 23/5 13 76/5 0 0 6 35/3 11 64/7

E-sources E-book on CD E-book online E-journal on CD E-journal online Databases on CD Databases online Dissertation on CD Dissertation online Total

Medicine n 11 n % 5 2 8 3 1 3 2 0 7 45/5 18/2 72/7 27/3 9/1 27/3 18/2 0

Behonar n5 n % 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 5 20 0 0 20 20 20 0 20

Azad n1 n 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 % 100 0 0 0 0 0 100 0

Total n 17 n % 7 2 8 4 2 4 3 1 8 41/2 11/8 47/1 23/5 11/8 23/5 17/6 5/9

Table III. The distribution of use of e-sources in the surveyed libraries

Table IV presents collected information related to librarian training courses along with answers offered to the fourth question. As can be seen, 69.2 percent of librarians have participated in training courses related to information technology. Table V indicates that over half (53.8 percent) of librarians have passed training courses relating to the internet, around a third (34.6 percent) have passed a course on systems operation, and another third (30.8 percent) on introduction to databases, and quite a high 11.5 percent have passed programming training courses. Figure 1 shows the response to the fth question how information technology as a whole is being used in Kerman academic libraries? As can be seen, the majority of the study community replied that the use of information technologies is high in the surveyed libraries. The answers to question six, namely difculties and problems in using information technologies, are presented in Table VI. As it is apparent, at Kerman Medicine University, lack of educated personnel is the most serious problem. A negative attitude and lack of enthusiasm for work has the least importance from the point of view of researched population. At Shahid Bahonar University, lack of planning for training is the biggest difculty and negative attitude of staff is the lowest they mentioned. Furthermore, at Islamic Azad University, uneducated staff is the biggest challenge and the lack of support for software and hardware is the weakest problem. Discussion of ndings Information and communication technology facilities have profound effects on academic libraries. The wide variety of services in academic libraries has increased the expectations of academic librarians. Therefore, they need to attend special training courses to increase their skills on a continuous basis during their work periods (Samson, 2005). As seen in Figure 1, the majority of staff have quoted that the demand for information technology is high. Under such circumstance, according to Bhattacharya (2004), the success of librarian and information scientists depends on their skills in using information and communication technology facilities together with
Medicine n 11 n % 13 5 18 72/2 27/8 100 Behonar n5 n % 20 5 25 80 20 100 Azad n1 n 3 6 9 % 33/3 66/7 100 n 36 16 52 Total n 17 % 69/2 30/8 100

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Databases Yes No Total

Table IV. The rate of participation of librarians in training courses

Title of training courses Operation system Programming Internet Databases

Medicine n 11 n % 6 1 9 9 33/3 5/6 50 50

Behonar n5 n % 7 5 13 7 28 20 52 28

Azad n1 n 5 0 6 0 % 55/6 0 66/7 0

Total n 17 n % 18 6 28 16 34/6 11/5 53/8 30/8 Table V. The distribution of training courses passed in the surveyed libraries

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Figure 1. Level of application of information technologies in Kerman academic libraries

Databases Table VI. The distribution of difculties faced by using IT in the surveyed libraries Lack of educated personnel Inefciency in English Lack of training Expensive cost Negative attitude of librarians The lack of support for software and hardware

Medicine Behonar Azad n 11 n5 n1 Mean Priority Mean Priority Mean Priority 2/26 2/69 2/43 3/38 5/5 4/53 1 3 2 4 6 5 2/81 2/86 2/28 2/59 5/1 3/95 3 4 1 2 6 5 2/22 3/11 3/22 2/66 4/77 5 1 3 4 2 5 6

their professional knowledge in the eld of librarianship. These help them to perform effectively as information scientists and information managers. The ndings of the present survey reveal that among the libraries studied, the difculties in using information technologies are the most important problems. The difculties are mainly untrained library staff in Kerman Medicine University, and Azad University of Kerman, and lack of planning and training courses in Shahid Bahonar University. It is notable that these ndings are not the same as those of Igwe (1986) and Ojedokun and Lumande (2003) who reported about difculties in African countries in using information technology. In African countries, the most serious problems are the lack of nancial resources. However, the present ndings show more similarities with those reported by Mookoh and Meadows (1998), who concluded that the most serious difculty in using information technology is the lack of suitable training of staff for applications of information and communication technology. It should be also reminded that as ndings of Hewitson (2002) who did an investigation

at Leeds Metropolitan University show, the internet has high application in libraries surveyed in the present research. As mentioned in previous sections, the majority of librarians (69.2 percent) have participated in related training courses in the eld of information technology (Table IV). So, it raises an important question: why did they say that the most serious problem is the lack of training courses on information technology for librarians? It may be attributed to the quality of training courses or to the lack of desire in staff for learning of the presented materials. It has to be emphasized that all librarians and information scientists have to engage with information technology and as time goes on, their engagement will increase. Therefore, to keep their performance acceptable, they have to learn continuously and update themselves with new skills and related information as well as knowledge. As Isfandyari-Moghaddam (in press) says as a result of emergence of digital environment and necessity of navigation in such a sphere, librarians traditional skills have changed and so librarians are faced by new functions, Travica (1999) posits that nowadays, librarians must have the ability to design web pages and application software. They must be able to update information of academic staff in their elds of teaching and research by designing suitable websites for them. In this respect, Chowdhury and Chowdhury (2003) add that information technology is a threat for traditional methods of library practice. These technologies have attracted the attentions of librarians from traditional ways into big compilation of materials and innovative sources which are subjected to continuous changes. With changing the environment of libraries those can remain in their positions and continue to perform their roles who adopt the new changes of the conditions. Therefore, as noted earlier, it is essential for academic librarians to learn new technologies to continue their activities as specialists of information technology. Recommendations and future work Based on the research ndings, observations, and respondents standpoints, some suggestions and recommendations for improving the situation are made: . multi-skilled librarians familiar with information technologies related to mechanism of work in academic libraries should be recruited; . ongoing courses of information technology and related skills should be planned and designed; . promotion and introduction of various academic library services through compiling and publishing manuals and guides should be practiced; . academic libraries should be equipped with more information technology facilities; . the provision of a special budget for development of information technology infrastructure should be considered; . telecommunication barriers and shortcomings should be tackled and overcome in order to better use the fruits of information technology; and . mechanization of all academic library departments should be carried out so that the provision of information services can be effected more optimally and speedily.

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Having concluded the present study and following on from the ndings and recommendations, it is proposed that future research work should take into consideration the study of: the application rate of information technology by university faculty members in different scientic disciplines; the level of application of information technology among graduated students of different scientic disciplines; the comparative status of the application of information technology by academic libraries located in other provinces of Iran; and the impact of information technology application on quality of education at universities and higher education institutions. Conclusions The main purpose of this investigation has been to dene the status of the application of information technology in academic libraries located in Kerman, the center and largest city of Kerman Province, Iran and to understand the problems and difculties in using information technology in these libraries. The present research may conclude the following points: that the level of application of information technology in Kerman academic libraries is acceptable but they should improve their status to match the everincreasing demand for better librarian services at universities; that the most important problem and serious difculty is the lack of educated librarians, which needs a suitable investment and planning; and that although about 70 percent of librarians in Kerman academic libraries have participated in related training courses, the most serious difculty in using information technology is still the lack of uneducated librarians which suggests that the quality of training courses should be revised.
Note 1. Rose-Net is the name of an information center operational at Rose System. It was launched ofcially in January 1999 by Rose System. It is a multi-vendor center which has enabled the company to reach parts of the information market which were inaccessible through traditional methods. Rose-Net hosts products from some of the largest producers and distributors of information in the world. It is the single source of electronic information for the majority of Iranian universities. This has been accomplished with strong support from many publishers of information (Davarpanah, 2003). References Alidousti, S. and Sheykh-Shoaee, F. (2006), Information Technology and Libraries, IRANDOC, Tehran. American Library Association (1983), The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, ALA, Chicago, IL, p. 183. Bazillion, R.J. (2001), Academic libraries in the digital revolution, Educause Quarterly, Vol. 1, available at: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0119.pdf (accessed 20 July 2008). Bhattacharya, P. (2004), Advances in digital library initiatives: a developing country perspective, The International Information and Library Review, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 165-75. Chowdhury, G. and Chowdhury, S. (2003), Introduction to Digital Libraries, Facet, London. Davarpanah, M.R. (2001a), Fundamental difculties and problems in using IT in academic libraries in Iran, Iranian Journal of Library and Information Science, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 107-23. Davarpanah, M.R. (2001b), Level of information technology application in Iranian university libraries, Library Review, Vol. 50 No. 9, pp. 444-50.

Davarpanah, M.R. (2003), University libraries in Iran: a study based on published sources, Library Review, Vol. 52 No. 5, pp. 218-27. Emojorho, D. and Adomi, A. (2006), An assessment of the use of information technology facilities for academic pursuit, The Electronic Library, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 706-13. Engstrom, M. (2001), Use and development of information technology at two university libraries in Costa Rica, available at: www.abm.uu.se/publikationer/2/2001/86.pdf (accessed 20 July 2008). Farajpahlou, A.H. (1994), Status of library automation in Iranian academic libraries, The International Information & Library Review, Vol. 26 No. 20, pp. 107-37. Haneefa, M. (2007), Application of information and communication technologies in special libraries in Kerala (India), Library Review, Vol. 56 No. 7, pp. 603-20. Hewitson, A. (2002), Use and awareness of electronic information services by academic staff at Leeds Metropolitan University: a qualitative study, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 43-52. Igwe, P.O. (1986), The electronic age libraries: present and future prospects, International Library Review, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 75-84. Isfandyari-Moghaddam, A. (in press), Managing digital libraries in the light of staff and users: an approach, International Journal of Information Science and Technology. Lynch, C. (2000), From automation to transformation: 40 years of librarian and information technology in higher education, Education Review, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 60-8. Mookoh, K. and Meadows, J. (1998), Use of communication technology in South Korean universities, Journal of Information Science, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 33-8. Nakhoda, M. (2005), Application of information technology with emphasis on university libraries in Iran, Iranian Journal of Library, Vol. 39, Spring-Summer, pp. 57-76. Nyamboga, C.M. and Kemparaju, T.D. (2002), Information technology in university libraries in Karnataka, Information Development, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 257-65. Ojedokun, A.A. and Lumande, E. (2003), Cooperative electronic network of academic libraries in Southern Africa, Information Development, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 66-73. Pandey, G.P. and Chakraborty, J. (2002), Role of information technology in higher education in the 21st century, University News, Vol. 40 No. 8, p. 11. Ramana, P.V. (2003), Use of information technology in central university libraries of India, Bulletin of Information Technology, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 25-42. Ramzan, M. (2004), Levels of information technology (IT) applications in Muslim world libraries, The Electronic Library, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 274-80. Reid, B.J. (2000), Organizational models for managing academic information, in Reid, B.J. and Foster, W. (Eds), Achieving Cultural Change in Networked Libraries, Gower, London. Raza, M.M. and Nath, A. (2007), Use of IT in university libraries of Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh: a comparative study, The International Information & Library Review, Vol. 39, pp. 211-27. Samson, S. (2005), The academic library as a full-service information center, Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 347-51. Travica, B. (1999), Organizational aspects of the virtual library: a survey of academic libraries, Library and Information Science Research, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 173-203. Webster, F. (2001), A new politics?, in Webster, F. (Ed.), Culture and Politics in the Information Age, Routledge, London, pp. 1-13.

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Further reading Mulimila, R.T. (2000), Information technology applications in East Africa government-owned university libraries, Library Review, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 186-92. Vespry, H.A. and Kitiyadisai, K. (1999), Information technology in Thai academic libraries: report on a survey, Information Development, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 164-71. About the authors Faranak Mohsenzadeh received a BA degree in Library and Information Science from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 1996 and an MA degree in Library and Information Science from Islamic Azad University, Sciences and Research Campus, Tehran in 2006. Previously, she was the director of the central library at Islamic Azad University, Sirjan Branch for a period of nine years. Currently, she is manager of research and lecturer at Islamic Azad university, Sirjan Branch. Her major research experiences and interests include the role of IT at academic libraries and digital libraries. Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam received the BA and MA degrees in Library and Information Science from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (Iran) in 2001 and 2004, respectively. He is currently writing his PhD dissertation on quality assessment of academic libraries at Islamic Azad University, Sciences and Research Campus, Tehran. In addition to being a faculty member of Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch (Department of Library and Information Studies), he is currently head of Hamedan Library Association and vice-president of School of Literature and Humanities at Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch. Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: ali.isfandyari@gmail.com

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