Site Selection of Rasht Public Libraries Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

This research is an attempt to examine the spatial distribution and physical placement of public libraries in Rasht through a descriptive-analytical method using GIS. The work is an applied research with a descriptive-analysis approach which has been performed in GIS Software environment based on criteria taken from City hall services authorized by mayoralty of Rasht city. the research indicates that the public libraries in Rasht city are not distributed in accordance to the residents’ needs. Additionally, the Research approves the lack of enough libraries in Rasht city. Total population of Rasht equals 639957 peoples that per these population, only 12 libraries exist. Also, for giving useful recommendations for the place of libraries, fourteen information layers were prepared and analyzed by ARCGIS software, GIS Application, and AHP model to catch appropriate locations for building libraries in five different regions in Rasht city. Originality/Value: This work gets useful information to policy makers of Iran Public Libraries Foundation about Physical Distribution of public libraries of Rasht city and helps them to select better sites for establishing new libraries.