Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Ali Biranvand ¹
• Ali Akbar Khasseh ²

¹ Instructor of Knowledge and Information Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

² Assistant Professor of Knowledge and Information Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Purpose: Nowadays, the digital libraries’ web sites act as new communication bridge between libraries and users. This study aimed to assess the structure and content of the Payame Noor University’s digital library website and determine its strengths and weaknesses in comparison with the digital libraries of the top universities in Iran.
Methodology: The research method is content analysis. Data gathering tool is a researcher-made checklist that contains structural and content features available in digital libraries. It was developed through studying texts and seeking experts’ viewpoint. The study population includes digital library websites of top universities in Iran. Bibliometric methodology and social network analysis are used as the research methods. The research population comprises 11202 records in the field of Rural Geography during 1980-2015, which have been retrieved from Web of Science.
Findings: Results showed that based on structural and content features, the digital library of Payame Noor University is not in a relatively good situation; it allocated a total of 32 points in comparison with other universities’ digital libraries is located at a low rank.
Conclusions: According to the findings of this study, it seems that the designers of Payame Noor University’s digital library have not sufficiently paid attention to the capabilities and needs of users as well as the basic principles of user interface design. Finally, the need to redesign the user interface of Pyame Noor University’s digital library is obvious.

Keywords

• Digital library
• Web site
• Content elements
• Structural elements
• Payame Noor University

Main Subjects

• Information Management
• Digital Knowledge Management