The Role of Academic Libraries in the Development of Knowledge-based Economy, A Case Study: Islamic Azad University in Tehran

Purpose: This research tries to study the role of Tehran’s Islamic Azad University libraries in knowledge-based economic development.
Research method: The research uses a descriptive survey-type methodology. The population of the study is composed of 400 university scholars and instructors of 6 Technical-Engineering Faculties and 6 libraries of 6 Islamic Azad university branches, located in the city of Tehran. Data collection tool was questionnaires while descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were employed to analyze the data through SPSS 20 software. A number of 400 questionnaires were handed out among the population and were later examined. The questionnaire was a researcher-made one with 25 questions, designed to measure the data. Its reliability was acceptable, estimated to be 0.960 by Chronbach alpha coefficient.
Findings: “knowledge creation” factor was surveyed in this study by means of t-test (t=-17/144) while two other factors were studied by Binomial test. Namely, the answers to “Knowledge Dissemination” factor were less than 3 (Very Low, Low and Medium) while the answers to “Knowledge Application” factor was less than 3 as well (Very Low, Low and MediumIt was concluded that the factors of “Knowledge Dissemination” and “Knowledge Application” were achieved in low levels in Tehran’s Islamic Azad University libraries. Therefore, university libraries play little role in knowledge-based economic development.