Readiness Level of Librarians and Public Libraries Affiliated to Abadan University of Medical Sciences for Providing Health Information

 The origin and status of public libraries as public institutions in providing services appropriate to the society are very important. This study aims to measure the public libraries affiliated to Abadan University of Medical Sciences in terms of health information sources and the readiness of librarians in these libraries to provide health information.

 This is a descriptive survey study. The study population consists of all librarians and public libraries affiliated to Abadan University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Samples were 20 librarians and 10 public libraries. Data were collected using a questionnaire and a checklist, and were described using descriptive statistics and analyzed using chi-square test in SPSS software, Version 26.

 In the public libraries, only 1.32% of the total sources were related to health. In 65% of public libraries, no educational courses in the field of health had been held. Moreover, 15% of librarians were very familiar with health-related topics, 65% were moderately familiar, and 20% were not familiar at all.

 There is a need for planning in public libraries affiliated to Abadan University of Medical Sciences to improve the status of health sources and for teaching the necessary skills to librarians to provide health information services.