Suggestion of a Thematic Digital Library of Iranian Traditional Medicine (TDLITM);Using and analyzing the Indian Traditional Medicine knowledge digital library and knowledge organization tools

The main purpose of this study is to present a "Thematic Digital Library of Iranian Traditional Medicine" using Medicine Ontology.

Documentary analysis method was used in this research. The Website builder portal was selected as the prototype implementation environment for the system shell to test and execute various components and analyses.

Analysis of the Indian Digital Library system and knowledge organization tools showed that use of medical ontology is more applied and practical. Suggested components in the TDLITM system as the only example of a thematic digital library of its kind include: Origin and Mizaj, search engine (simple, advanced and based on ontology tools), ontology, Iranian medicine resources, about the system, Copyright, Contact us, System guide and system language. Indeed, menus of plant name, drug name and source name are provided for better navigation at the bottom of the page. In this research, attempt has been made to obtain various concepts for the proposed system shell by analyzing TKDL.

Considering the extensive concepts and aspects of Iranian Traditional Medicine, a digital library system can be proposed as a theoretical support for this field and documentation of its rich knowledge. TDLITM can also be considered as a pattern for other fields, as it will be useful in meeting the specialized needs of the user and better retrieval. Using organizational tools such as medical ontology in the form of a digital library, can help these efforts take on a more scientific and systematic aspect. In addition, efforts should be made to internationalize the concepts and issues of Iranian medicine in consultation with international patent offices. Creating a digital library, a topic similar to what is provided by the traditional knowledge digital library of India may be able to internationalize this ancient and valuable heritage of Iranian medicine.