Critical Success Factors of Digital Libraries in Iran: A Qualitative Research

Authors
Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Myriad of IT projects failed in recent years. Digital libraries (DLs) as the product of the usage of IT in the library organization followed a similar trend. This paper studies the critical success factors (CSFs) of DLs in the context of Iran, with special focus on the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. CSFs, in this paper, are those factors that if followed on a daily basis will result in the success of the DL.

Methods: The research approach in this paper is qualitative and the methodology is grounded theory. A non-probability snowball and theoretical sampling method was used for selection of eight DLs with their subsequent parent organizations and 29 interviewees. In addition to semi-structured deep interviews tool, direct observation by residing in the field, and field note taking were among other research tools for data gathering and analysis.

Results: Six CSFs "good leadership and management practice", "having suitable change plan", "recruiting and safeguarding expert manpower", "selecting suitable DL software", "correct selection of digital objects", and "correct organization of digital objects".

Conclusion: This research can be of value to the stakeholders who seek insights on the factors which would influence the success of digital libraries.
Keywords

Alidousti, S. (2005). Designing and Explaining the Model of Key Factors Affecting the Application of Information Technology in Head Offices of Governmental Organizations in Industrial Provinces of Iran (The Case of Fars Province). A Dissertation to the Graduate Studies Office in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of PhD in Management. Faculty of Management. University of Tehran. Tehran. (Persian)
Alipour-Hafezi, M., & Amanollahi Nick, H. (2015). Evaluation of digital libraries of Iranian research institutions based on the DigiQUAL protocol. The Electronic Library, 33(4), 824–841.
Baker, D., Evans, W., & Rikowski, R. (2013). A Handbook of Digital Library Economics: Operations, Collections and Services. (D. Baker & W. Evans, Eds.), Information Professional (1st ed.). UK: Chandos Publishing.
Balog, A. (2011). Testing a multidimensional and hierarchical quality assessment model for digital libraries. Studies in Informatics and Control, 20(3), 233–246.
Bagnasco, A., Ghirotto, L., & Sasso, L. (2014). Theoretical sampling. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(11), e6–e7. http://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12450
Blythe, E., & Chachra, V. (2005). The Value Proposition in Institutional Repositories. Educause Review, 40(5), 76–77.
Borgman, C. L. (1999). What are digital libraries? Competing visions. Information Processing and Management, 35(3), 227–243.
Borgman, C. L., Solvberg, I., & Kovács, L. (2002). Fourth DELOS workshop. Evaluation of digital libraries: Testbeds, measurements, and metrics. Budapest: Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Bullen, C. V., & Rockart, J. F. (1981). A primer on critical success factors. Working Papers, (69), 1–64. Retrieved from http://ideas.repec.org/p/mit/sloanp/1988.html
Candela, L., Castelli, D., Fox, E. A., & Ioannidis, Y. (2010). On Digital Library foundations. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 11(1), 37–39. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-011-0063-y
Charette, R. N. (2013). BBC Blows £98 Million on Digital Media Initiative. IEEE Spectrum. IEEE. Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/bbc-blows-984m-on-digital-media-initiative-project
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory : a practical guide through qualitative analysis. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Sage Publications.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory. Sage.
Chavez, R., Crane, G., Sauer, A., Babeu, A., Packel, A., & Weaver, G. (2007). Services make the repository. Journal of Digital Information, 8(2).
Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to great : why some companies make the leap ... and others don’t. New York, NY: HarperBusiness.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquirey and research design: choosing among five approaches. New York, NY: Sage Publications Ltd.
Darnton, R. (2011). Six Reasons Google Books Failed. Retrieved from http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/mar/28/six-reasons-google-books-failed/
Davis, F. D. (1985). A technology acceptance model for empirically testing new end-user information systems: Theory and results. Management, Ph.D., 291. http://doi.org/oclc/56932490
Delone, W. H. (2003). The DeLone and McLean model of information systems success: a ten-year update. Journal of Management Information Systems, 19(4), 9–30.
DeLone, W. H., & McLean, E. R. (1992). Information systems success: the quest for the dependent variable. Information Systems Research, 3(1), 60–95.
Fox, E. A., Gonçalves, M. A., & Shen, R. (2012). Theoretical Foundations for Digital Libraries: The 5S (Societies, Scenarios, Spaces, Structures, Streams) Approach. Synthesis Lectures on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services, 4(2), 1–180. http://doi.org/10.2200/S00434ED1V01Y201207ICR022
Fuhr, N., Tsakonas, G., Aalberg, T., Agosti, M., Hansen, P., Kapidakis, S., … Sølvberg, I. (2007). Evaluation of digital libraries. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 8(1), 21–38. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-007-0011-z
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research - Barney G. Glaser, Anselm L. Strauss - Google Books. Retrieved from https://books.google.ca/books?id=rtiNK68Xt08C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Glaser,+BG.,+&+Strauss,+A.+(1967).+The+discovery+of+grounded+theory.+Chicago:+Aldine.&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiegsyV6MbPAhVr6YMKHZToC9kQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Gonçalves, M. A., Moreira, B. L., Fox, E. A., & Watson, L. T. (2007). “What is a good digital library?” - A quality model for digital libraries. Information Processing and Management, 43(5), 1416–1437. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2006.11.010
Hariri, N., & Norouzi, Y. (2011). Determining evaluation criteria for digital libraries’ user interface: a review. The Electronic Library, 29(5), 698–722.
Jahangard, N. (2005). Abstract report of key projects: application development of information and communication technology (TAKFA). Supreme Secretary of Information Committee, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. (Persian)
Khoo, M., & MacDonald, C. (2011). An organizational model for digital library evaluation. In Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries (pp. 329–340). Springer.
Lagzian, F., Abrizah, A., & Wee, M. C. (2013). An identification of a model for digital library critical success factors. Electronic Library, The, 31(1), 5–23.
Lagzian, F., Abrizah, A., & Wee, M. C. (2015). Measuring the gap between perceived importance and actual performance of institutional repositories. Library and Information Science Research, 37(2), 147–155. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2014.06.007
Lagzian, F., Abrizah, A., & Wee, M. C. (2015). Critical success factors for institutional repositories implementation. Electronic Library, 33(2), 196–209. http://doi.org/10.1108/02656710210415703
Marchionini, G. (2000). Evaluating digital libraries: a longitudinal and multifaceted view. Library Trends, 49(2), 304–333.
Marchionini, G., Plaisant, C., & Komlodi, A. (2003). The people in digital libraries: Multifaceted approaches to assessing needs and impact. In Digital library use: Social practice in design and evaluation (pp. 119–160). Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Rahman, F. (2007). An Exploratory Study of Factors that Influence Student User Success in an Academic Digital Library. ProQuest.
Ridder, H.-G., Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2013). Qualitative Data Analysis. A Methods Sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Rockart, J. F. (1979). Chief executives define their own data needs. Harvard Business Review, 57(2), 81.
Samadi, I., & Masrek, M. N. (2014). Evaluating digital library effectiveness: A survey at University of Tehran. In Proceedings - 2013 International Conference on Advanced Computer Science Applications and Technologies, ACSAT 2013 (pp. 80–84). Kuching, Malaysia: IEEE. http://doi.org/10.1109/ACSAT.2013.23
Saracevic, T. (2000). Digital library evaluation: Toward evolution of concepts. Library Trends. Retrieved from https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/LibraryTrends2000.pdf
Saracevic, T. (2004). Evaluation of digital libraries: An overview. Methodology, 26(September), 385–393. Retrieved from http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/DL_evaluation_Delos.pdf
Secker, J. (2004). Electronic resources in the virtual learning environment: a guide for librarians. Translated by Akbr Majidi. Tehran: Ketabdar.(Persian)
Shearer, K. (2003). Institutional Repositories: Towards the Identification of Critical Success Factors. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS / Actes du congrès annuel de l’ACSI (pp. 250–263). Canadian Association of Research Libraries.
Sheikh Shoaii, F. (2017). Designing the maturity model of digital library in Ministry of Health and Medical Education and its measurement tool. A Dissertation to the Graduate Studies Office in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of PhD in Information Sciences and knowledge Studies. Faculty of Management. University of Tehran. Tehran. (Persian)
Shen, R., & Fox, E. A. (2006). Applying the 5S Framework To Integrating Digital Libraries. Computer Science and Applications. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia .
Shen, R., Gonçalves, M. A., & Fox, E. A. (2013). Key Issues Regarding Digital Libraries: Evaluation and Integration. (G. Marchionini, Ed.), Synthesis Lectures on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services (Vol. 5). Morgan & Claypool. http://doi.org/10.2200/S00474ED1V01Y201301ICR026
Shen, R., Vemuri, N. S., Fan, W., & Fox, E. A. (2006). What is a successful digital library? In Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries (pp. 208–219). Springer-Verlag.
Tedd, L. A., & Large, J. A. (2004). Digital libraries: principles and practice in a global environment. Walter de Gruyter.
Thibodeau, K. (2007). If you build it, will it fly? Criteria for success in a digital repository. JoDI: Journal of Digital Information, 8(2), 2. Retrieved from https://journals.tdl.org/jodi/index.php/jodi/article/view/197/174
Waters, D. J. (1998). What are digital libraries. CLIR Issues, 4(1), 5–6.
Westell, M. (2006). Institutional repositories: proposed indicators of success. Library Hi Tech, 24(2), 211–226.
Yakel, E., Rieh, S. Y., Markey, K., St Jean, B., & Yao, X. (2009). Secrets of success: identifying success factors in institutional repositories. In 4th International Conference on Open Repositories . Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved from https://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/28419
Zhang, Y. (2010). Developing a holistic model for digital library evaluation. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(1), 88–110.