Perceptions of the Faculty Members of Social Science Groups about the Challenges of Using Digital Information Resources and Libraries: A Case Study of Islamic Azad University

This present article aimed to study the difficulties and obstacles for using digital information resources and libraries in the social science groups of Islamic Azad University, and to study the status of faculty members’ skills at these departments. The 40 individuals working in the social science departments of Islamic Azad University in Iran were surveyed by a questionnaire consisting of 34 questions and the collected data has been analyzed using SPSS software (version 16). It was also found that the most important difficulties are the lack of suitable equipment and insufficient training programs. In other words, the multimedia nature of digital information resources requires researchers and faculty members with the ability of combining the services of both traditional and digital skills. Service integration is a required characteristic of such environments. It is expected that with improving of the skills and the solving of the problems highlighted, through suitable training programs, faculty members and researches will contribute more actively and effectively in using digital information resources in the surveyed groups.