جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « Public Libraries of Iran » در نشریات گروه « کتابداری و مدیریت اطلاعات »

The purpose of this research is to identify and extract the professional competencies of the librarians of Iran’s public libraries, and to determine the importance of each of them in order to prioritize and rank them.

This research is an applied study employing a mixed research methodology. The study divided in two distinct stage. In the initial phase, a purposive selection of 61 Persian and English articles was analyzed using the meta-synthesis method. Then 104 codes were extracted using experts’ opinions, and the validity of these codes was confirmed through their content validity and their reliability was measured and confirmed with Cohen’s Kappa test. During the quantitative stage, each factor was ranked by distributing the questionnaire among 62 experts and using Shannon’s entropy method.

This research reveals a pioneering exploration into the professional competencies of librarians in Iran’s public libraries, resulting in the identification of four crucial factors, 10 main components, and an extensive 72 sub-components that categorize these competencies. The ‘Ability’ factor, consisting of specialized ability and thinking ability, emerges as a cornerstone with conceptualizations across 9 sub-components. The ‘Feature’ factor, consisting of occupational and behavioral characteristics, was conceptualized by 19 sub-components. The ‘Skills’ factor, including managerial, social, occupational, and technological skills, was conceptualized by 32 sub-components. Lastly, the ‘Knowledge’ factor, comprising knowledge related to society and specialized knowledge, was conceptualized by 12 sub-components. Quantitative analysis, using the innovative Shannon entropy method, provides a nuanced understanding of the significance attached to each competency. The results of this analysis shows that ‘knowledge’ holds the highest weight (0/2575), establishing it as the most critical competency for librarians in Iran’s public libraries. Following closely, the ‘Skill’ factor secures the second position with a weight of 0/2545. ‘Ability’ and ‘Characteristics’ factors, with weights of 0.2498 and 0.2382, respectively, are ranked third and fourth.

Originality/value: 

This research stands out in its original contribution to the field of library science by systematically identifying and prioritizing the professional competencies of librarians in Iran’s public libraries. The comprehensive validation process, including content validity and reliability assessments, ensures the robustness of the identified competencies. The emphasis on specialized ability, thinking ability, occupational and behavioral characteristics, managerial, social, occupational, and technological skills, as well as knowledge related to society and specialized knowledge, shows a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted nature of librarianship. In summary, this research breaks new ground in the systematic exploration, categorization, and prioritization of professional competencies, offering a valuable framework for improving the competencies of librarians in the unique context of Iranian public libraries. These findings not only contribute to the academic understanding of librarianship but also offer practical insights for enhancing the proficiency of librarians in this context. Furthermore, the nuanced categorization and prioritization presented in this research provide a valuable framework for the ongoing development of professional competencies and qualifications in this field.

Utilizing the experience of leading countries in the field of public libraries can create beneficial developments in the field of public libraries in Iran. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of implementing European Union programs related to public libraries in Iran from the perspective of Iranian public library professionals. This research is part of the commitments related to the Jean Monnet International Joint Project conducted by Allameh Tabataba'i University. The project titled “European Union Plans and Experiences for Public Libraries: Applicability for Iran." The proposal of the project was submitted by Allameh Tabataba’i University to the European Union’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in the form of a Jean Monnet Programmed grant proposal.  In September 2019 it was judged and announced as the sole grant winner from Iran. This project was the first joint project with the European Union in the Knowledge and Information Science disciplines in Iran. The topics studied in this research, which are based on the review of specialized texts that were identified and compiled, include changes in public library structure, organization, policies and management, library collections and selection of resources, as well as clientele and needs assessment and training.

In this survey study, 378 librarians in public libraries across the country were selected through stratified random sampling and were asked to respond to a researcher-designed questionnaire after confirming the content validity and reliability.  The dimensions of the questionnaire, which was identified and compiled based on a review of specialized texts, include five areas: 1. Structure, organization, policies and management, 2. Collection and selection of resources, 3. Clientel and needs assessment, 4. Services and dissemination of information, and 5. was training. First, the questionnaire was distributed among 25 librarians and professors of Knowledge and Information Science and who were familiar with the issues of public libraries in Iran and amendments were made to it.In order to identify the main factors or structures of the questionnaire, the components related to the use of EU programs were identified using exploratory factor analysis methods. The Varimax rotation method has also been used to ensure the independence of the agents. To confirm the adequacy of the sample, KMO index (Kaiser-Mir-Olkin test) and Bartlett test were used to identify the correlation between items.  In order to evaluate the fitness of the measurement model, three criteria of Cronbach's alpha coefficients, combined reliability and explained mean variance were used. In this study, the Fornell-Locker index was used to evaluate the divergent validity.

In this study, 60.7% of the respondents were women and 39.3% were men. Up to (.96 %) of the respondents had a postgraduate education and were at least 31 years old. The distribution of participants in terms of work experience was in the categories of 5-10 years and 25-16 years.  Iranian librarians believed that to a large extent it was possible to implement programs similar to those of the EU public libraries. Findings showed that the greatest possibility of implementing new programs related to services and information dissemination, and training. Multiple analysis of variance test showed that there was no significant difference in the scores of different domains according to age, sex and education.

It can be concluded that changes to such matters as public library collection and selection of resources, as well as clientele and needs assessment and training, services and dissemination of information are applicable in Iran. In this study, services and information dissemination obtained the highest average scores related to public libraries, which shows the growing importance of information and the need to save cost and time for users.

This research aims to prioritize the actions of public libraries in Iran to increase the overall satisfaction of users based on the Kano model and the asymmetric performance effect. The research method is descriptive in terms of data collection and practical in terms of purpose. The statistical population of this research is the number of 10,000 public library users in Iran, of which 400 people were selected as a sample according to Morgan's table by random cluster sampling. The research tool is a questionnaire that was created and validated by the researcher. Data were analyzed with SPSS software. 23 versions were analyzed. The results showed that the three features of public library services, social and cultural programs, promotion, and introduction of the library are among the basic services with low performance, and the feature of library costs is among the basic services with high performance. The characteristic of the library's fame and popularity is among the functional services with low performance, and the characteristics of librarians, equipment, and collections are among the group of functional services with high performance. The characteristics of ancillary services and social participation are among motivational services with low performance, and the characteristics of activity time, space, place, the feeling of comfort and security, and library system and software are among motivational services with high performance. Basic and low-performance functional services cause dissatisfaction with public libraries, which should be the first priority to increase user satisfaction. In the second priority, low-performance motivational services should be upgraded to high-performance, and in the last priority, the level of basic, functional, and high-performance motivational services should be maintained at the current level. This type of prioritization of actions in public libraries has been done by considering the two principles of highlighting negative performance compared to positive performance and also the ability to remember positive events against negative events.

The purpose of the research is to investigate the interaction blind and partially sighted users with the public libraries of the country and their goals and motivations for visiting libraries and to determine their level of satisfaction with these services.

The current research is conducted with a survey method and a descriptive approach. The statistical population includes 365 active members who were selected by random sampling. A total of 233 questionnaires were completed by the participants with telephone and face-to-face follow-ups. The data collection tool was a questionnaire.  Statistical techniques and SPSS22 software were used to analyze the research data.

According to the research findings, most of the sections for the blind (29 sections) are in the central library or urban libraries in the center of the province and the rest of the cities do not have this section. In terms of gender, 54.1% of the users in the blind sector are women, and in terms of qualifications, most users (44.6%) have a bachelor's degree. 51.5% of users are completely blind and 48.5% are blind. In general, users' satisfaction with the current situation is above average (3.95 out of 5 on the Likert scale) and the highest level of satisfaction with the attitude, guidance, knowledge and expertise of library librarians and the level of satisfaction with the quality, quantity and up-to-dateness of library resources in It was moderate. Also, the lowest level of users' satisfaction was with the signs and guidelines for their guidance and the design and architecture of the blind section.

It seems that due to the significant deficiencies and shortcomings that can be seen in the research findings, it is necessary for the Iran's public libraries to improve services at different levels so that blind and visually impaired users can more easily and satisfactorily use the facilities and resources of libraries.

Originality: 

Numerous research have been done in the field of the blind section of public libraries and each of them has studied the blind section of a specific library, but this research covers all the blind sections of public libraries in the country.

The purpose of this study is to assess the organizational entrepreneurial behavior of librarians in public libraries in Khuzestan province. The present research is of applied type and survey method. Its statistical population is all librarians of public libraries in Khuzestan province. The research tool is the standard questionnaire of Zampatkis and Mustakis version 2007. Finally, 114 completed questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS software. Findings showed that librarians of public libraries in Khuzestan province have entrepreneurial behavior. There is a significant relationship between the characteristics of entrepreneurial behavior of librarians in public libraries of Khuzestan province and their field of major. The existence of a significant key relationship between the field of major and entrepreneurial behavior of librarians is of added value for the librarianship profession and its professionals. Public libraries contribute to the advancement of technology-driven perspectives and the knowledge-based economy by providing programs to promote entrepreneurship and innovation and to become technology centers and create opportunities to encourage creative production. By embracing these roles and functions, libraries not only enable their users to participate in a knowledge-based society and economy, but also provide their services as a clear representation of the image of intelligence, creativity and competition. Attention to public libraries as one of the components of society and knowledge-based economy in the analysis and results of the present study, as well as the study of variables affecting entrepreneurial behavior are the innovations of this study.

The Web 2.0 creates a collaborative and interactive space that can be achieved by launching its features and capabilities in a software environment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the priorities of using Web 2.0 features in the Iran's Public Library Management System (Saman) from the perspective of librarians working in the public libraries of Tehran Province.

The present study is a descriptive-survey study which is practical in terms of purpose. The statistical population of this research included 559 librarians in Tehran public libraries from whom 240 persons were selected based on the Morgan’s table. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire consisting of 103 items, i.e. features, which were categorized into seven main criteria. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by several experts in the area of knowledge and information science (KIS) and its reliability was calculated by the Cronbach's alpha at at 0.98. The questionnaire had questions with a range of five Likert values ​​from 1 to 5. Finally, the Friedman's statistical test was used to analyze the research hypotheses.

The results show that the ability to have a personal profile (included in the criterion of “user's profile”), providing full bibliographic information and the details of documents production (included in the criterion of “full view of souces”), providing guidance (included in the criterion of “content”), and asking the librarian (included in the criterion of “user participation”) have the highest priority from the librarians' viewpoint, and the features of other criteria have equal priority. Furthermore, in the criteria surveyed, those features having characteristics related to social platforms received had lower mean ranks than than other features, and it seems that the main concern of librarians is to search for resources and providing more services in order to identify the resources needed by users in whatever way they will using Web 2.0 features.

Since the priorities of using Web 2.0 features in the Iran's Public Library Management System (Saman) have not been examine till now, results of the present research can be useful for upgrade the Saman software. Moreover, according to the findings, the Saman software support the main feature of Web 2.0 such as user's profile, user participation and notification in a lesser degree than the common features of library softwares such as searching and viewing documents. Therefore, the findings of this research can help the decision makers in this area to make the necessary plans for the future of this software.

The main purpose of the present study is to assess the quality of services in the West Azerbaijan public libraries using the gap analysis model, based on the Users' Perspective.

This study is an applied research that was conducted by survey Method. The research population includes the members of West Azerbaijan public libraries from whom 450 people were randomly selected. The data collection tool was the last version of LibQual questionnaire. To analyze the data, T-student and Levine tests were used.

The results indicate that from the viewpoint of the users of the public libraries in West Azerbaijan Province, the quality of services of these public libraries are below the expected level. The comparison of the real status of the components of LibQual model showed that the "effectiveness of services" component lies at the least distance from the expected level and the "library as space" component lies at the greatest distance from the expected level.

Originality/value: 

The great distance between the real status of the users of public libraries for the "library as place" component and their expected status suggests that the public libraries under study have failed to meet the required services and expectations of users in the multicultural society of West Azerbaijan. Thus, it is essential that public libraries reconsider and define their space and services in parallel with this change of approach.

Organizational silence (OS) in any foundation, organization or institution has some bad effect on their service provision or effectiveness. This study aimed to investigate the status of OS among the public librarians of Iran public Libraries Foundation (IPLF) and its affecting and affected factors. By multistage cluster sampling, 350 public librarians of 7 states were selected. 277 librarians have completed questionnaire named “questionnaire of Organizational Silence of public librarians”, face-to-face or via e-mail. The collected data was analyzed using some descriptive and inferential statistic methods in SPSS. From librarians’ viewpoints, organizational silence is in moderate level among public librarians of IPLF. In addition, they think that IPLF’s top management tendency toward silence is a potential factor for the librarians’ OS. Findings Shows that on the basis of public librarians viewpoints, Low communication opportunity is a powerful predictor of the librarians’ OS and low job satisfaction and weak organizational commitment are the outcomes of public librarian’s OS.Originality/Value: awareness about Organizational Silence and its bad effects is one of the basic features of intelligent organization. This research was a starting point for future deep studies about OS of Iranian public librarians and other organizational problems among them.