Identifying Platform-Based Services in Iran’s Public Libraries

The purpose of this study is to identify platform-based services and their priorities in order to apply them in Iran’s public libraries.

This research is an applied study in terms of purpose, including a mixed approach in terms of the research framework. First, the platform-based services were identified through using the meta-synthesis method. Then, after searching through the literature and selecting the appropriate sources by meta-synthesis, 9 articles were eventually investigated as the final selected resources. Then, after the key codes were extracted from the sources and the concepts were categorized, platform-based services were identified. In the second stage of the research, a researcher-made questionnaire was used in order to determine the importance of the services extracted by 38 experts and professionals of public libraries. In order to identify the most important services based on the professionals’ views, data was analyzed by SPSS using the Binomial test.

Through the meta-synthesis applied, 28 services were extracted under 3 categories: education-oriented services (11 services), accessibility and information services (9 services), cultural and leisure services (8 services). According to the experts, the most important services to be applied in the Iranian public libraries include: three education-oriented services (teaching children how to interact, lifelong learning education, and health literacy education), five services related to accessibility and information (establishing a digital library, information consultation for entrepreneurs, access to local information, access to health information, and interlibrary loan) and seven cultural and leisure services (allocating space to groups and associations, creating space for public gatherings, providing equipment and facilities for studying or doing homework, setting up an attendance program for entrepreneurs and producers, creating space for public participation, creating space for scientific conferences, and interaction between suppliers and demanders).

Originality/value: 

From a platform perspective, Iran’s public libraries, should be not only a conduit for access to information and information resources, but also an interface between users and local organizations. In the area of education, public libraries should be a platform for providing education by various organizations to people; In the area of ​​accessibility, they should provide access to government, local and commercial information; In the field of cultural services and leisure, which was more important for the experts under study, in addition to being a place of communication for people, they should also use the physical space of the library as a venue for providing services. Iran’s public libraries should provide a platform for local users, organizations, companies or any other type of body to use the physical space of public libraries for official ceremonies, festivals, traditional markets and exhibitions.