Evaluation of selected digital libraries in the field of Islamic sciences

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D Student, Department of Information Science and Knowledge Studies, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

2 Msc, Department of Information Science and Knowledge Studies; Research Expert, University of Mazandaran, Mazandaran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction
Islamic digital libraries play a significant role in providing access to scientific and religious resources. The aim of this study is to conduct a comparative evaluation of eight selected Islamic digital libraries (Noor, Maktabat al-Noor, Ghaemieh, Feghahat, Tebyan, Ahadith Shie, Electronic Shie, and Shie Book) based on four key criteria: resource quality and diversity, information updating, search and retrieval, and user interface.
 
Methodology
 This research was conducted using a survey method and comparative evaluation technique. Data were collected using a researcher-developed checklist based on reputable studies, with its validity and reliability confirmed. Eight Islamic digital libraries were evaluated using this checklist and a five-point Likert scale.
 
Findings
 The results showed varied performance across the libraries. In the resource quality and diversity criterion, "Noor" and "Maktabat al-Noor" libraries jointly achieved the highest score. For information updating, "Maktabat al-Noor" ranked first. In the search and retrieval criterion, "Tebyan" library was the leader with the highest score. "Tebyan" also scored highest in the user interface criterion, followed by "Ghaemieh". The "Electronic Shie" and "Ahadith Shie" libraries had the lowest scores in most criteria.
 
Discussion and Conclusion
 The findings indicate that no single library excels in all criteria. While some libraries perform well, there is a significant quality gap among the evaluated libraries. Regular evaluations and enhancement of technical and content capabilities are necessary to improve overall performance, especially for the lower-scoring libraries.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Al-Khalifa, H. S., & Al-Mansour, N. (2020). Evaluating Islamic digital libraries in the Arab world. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(7), 1563–1581. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2019-0614
Azadi Ahmadabadi, G. (2013). Approaches and models for evaluating digital libraries Library and Information Organization Studies, 24(1), 94–116. (In Persian).
Barifah, M., Landoni, M., & Eddakrouri, A. (2020). Evaluating the user experience in a digital library. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 57(1), e280. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.280
El Ganadi, A., Aftar, S., Gagliardelli, L., & Ruozzi, F. (2025). Generative AI for Islamic texts: The EMAN framework for mitigating GPT hallucinations. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence (ICAART) (Vol. 3, pp. 1221–1228).
Gholami, T. (2024). Evaluation of specialized journals’ websites in the field of information science and knowledge studiesInformation Management Sciences and Techniques, 10(3), 153–172. https://doi.org/10.22091/stim.2024.11239.2152 (In Persian).
Głowacka, E. (2021). Assessment of the quality of digital libraries based on the principles of information architecture: Research plan. Digital Library Perspectives, 37(4), 416–428. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLP-10-2020-0104
Jalali Dizaji, M., & Colleagues. (2020). Evaluation of digital libraries of Allameh Tabataba'i University and Tebyan Cultural Institute based on the Zhao and Chu (2013) model Motale'at-e Daneshshenasi [Knowledge Studies], 13(2), 45–65. (In Persian).
Karimi, M., & Mousavi Chelak, A. (2024). Evaluation of the information architecture of the Astan Quds Razavi digital library website .Research on Digital and Intelligent Libraries, 11(1, Serial 40), 51–70. https://doi.org/10.30473/mrs.2024.69778.1581
Liu, Z., & Huang, X. (2019). A study on digital library services in the age of big data. Information Processing & Management, 56(3), 102–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2019.01.002
Mohammadi, A., & Ebrahimi, S. (2022). Designing an evaluation checklist for Islamic digital libraries. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(2), 102465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102465
Nasajpour, M. R., Ashrafi-Rizi, H., Soleymani, M. R., Shahrzadi, L., & Hassanzadeh, A. (2014). Evaluation of the quality of the college library websites in Iranian medical universities based on the Stover model. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 3(1).
Norouzi, Y., & Babaei, M. (2020). Application of Web 2.0 technologies in information retrieval: A case study of the Iranian digital libraries portal. Information Management Sciences and Techniques, 5(4), 102–128. https://doi.org/10.22091/stim.2020.4893.1346(In Persian).
Rahimi, M., & Hashemi, S. (2021). Evaluation indicators for digital humanities libraries in Iran. Scientometrics, 126(1), 567–589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03746-5
Zhao, Y., & Chu, H. (2013). A comprehensive evaluation model for digital libraries. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 46(4), 715–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2013.02.003
Digital and Smart Libraries Research
Volume 12, Issue 46 - Serial Number 46
September 2025
Pages 59-68

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 08 June 2025
  • Revise Date: 16 February 2026
  • Accept Date: 09 March 2026
  • First Publish Date: 09 March 2026

Share

How to cite

Statistics