خدمات کتابخانه

The present research examined the challenges of using public library services among Arabic-speaking communities in Khuzestan province.

The present research employed a mixed-methods approach, with the execution sequence based on a qualitative-quantitative continuum, emphasizing the importance of qualitative findings. Qualitative data were gathered using a concentrated group method (including in-depth interviews and focus groups). Through thematic analysis, the needs and priorities of the target community regarding public libraries were analyzed. The research population was five counties of the province that were selected purposively. In the quantitative section, based on the results obtained from interviews, a questionnaire was designed and implemented for social surveying at the county level in Khuzestan province. Additionally, as a sample, stratified random sampling in the quantitative section and quota sampling in the qualitative section were utilized. Ultimately, a sample of 517 individuals from the Arabic-speaking community of Khuzestan province was selected and participated in the quantitative section.

Research findings in the qualitative section indicated that the main challenges of Arab-speaking communities in Khuzestan province to use public library services and programs can be categorized into 11 main themes, including 1) repository issues, which themselves include three sub-themes: 2) repository fatigue, 3) ideological repository, and 4) entrepreneurial repository, 5) sense of relative deprivation, 6) library architecture and facilities, 7) unbalanced development, 8) lack of motivation, 9) weakness in the reading culture, 10) lack of civil demand, 11) unfamiliarity with indigenous culture. Additionally, in the quantitative step, the most important challenges of public libraries in order of priority are unfamiliarity with public libraries, library location, library repository, access to suitable welfare services, urban/rural development, service hours, alignment with public programs, library building, organization attention to social responsibility, reading competitions, library population alignment, library architecture.

Using the results of this research can serve as an effective and efficient guide for managers and planners of public libraries. By solving the identified issues and problems, it is possible to see an effective improvement in providing services to the communities, especially the Arabic-speaking communities of Khuzestan province. In addition, this research served as a practical tool to improve cultural and social communication and interactions in the Arabic-speaking communities of Khuzestan province, which can help strengthen the cultural and social identity of the people of these groups and facilitate the process of learning and character development through public libraries. Therefore, this research showed a clear path to improve communication and service delivery to ethnic groups.

The current research aims to identify and analyze the awareness and informing needs of the Arab-speaking communities of Khuzestan province in public library services.An exploratory mixed research design has been used. In the current exploratory plan, firstly, with focus groups and through thematic analysis, the intersubjectivity of the members of the target community was analyzed to extract and formulate the awareness and information needs; Then, using the descriptive survey method, the findings from the qualitative part were examined and tested in the form of a questionnaire to achieve the generalizability of the findings. The research sample of the qualitative part included five focal groups from 5 selected cities of Khuzestan province. In the quantitative part, the research community consists of 20,000 Arabic-speaking members of public libraries in Khuzestan province, and 517 questionnaires were collected and participated in the research as a sample.

indicate that four thematic areas, including identity specialization, identity information dissemination, comprehensive repository, and indicative media activities, are central to the information provision and dissemination needs of Arab-speaking communities in Khuzestan Province. Quantitative results also showed that, in the order of priority, the highest average was assigned to identity information dissemination, and indicative media activities, comprehensive repository, and identity specialization were ranked second to fourth. The results indicate a significant difference between the need for identity specialization of age groups and the interaction of gender and age group. There is no significant difference between the indicative media activities of women and men and the interaction between gender and age group. No critical difference was seen between the comprehensive repository needs for women and men and the interaction between gender and age group. Also, a significant difference was observed between entity specialization and age groups.

Public libraries as information centers and dissemination of information can play a crucial role in raising the level of awareness and culture in the Arabic-speaking communities of Khuzestan province and not only as cultural and educational centers but also as reliable and up-to-date information sources for them. By analyzing the information needs, this research identified four critical areas for increasing the services of Arabic language public libraries in Khuzestan. Public library officials can use these findings to manage culturally relevant collections, develop programming in Arabic, and implement targeted outreach strategies to ensure that libraries meet the needs of all members of the Arabic-speaking community.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes of librarians about the degree of compliance of the integrated management system in the libraries of Shahid Chamran University and Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences with the Semantic Web

The present study is applied in terms of purpose and has been done by survey method and with a descriptive approach. The statistical population of the study consists of all librarians of the libraries of Shahid Chamran University and Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences this study a researcher-made checklist was used to collect data. The SPSS software was used to analyze the data.

Findings showed that the level of knowledge of librarians about the semantic web in general and by components was limited. The results also showed that in the opinion of librarians in the study community, the comprehensive software available in the librarians of two universities has limited compatibility with the semantic web. The results showed that there is no significant relationship between demographic variables and librarians familiarity with the semantic web.

The general results of the research showed that from the point of view of librarians the degree of adaptation of the comprehensive software available in the studied libraries to the semantic web has been limited. librarians also have limited knowledge of the semantic web and need to be trained in this area.

The purpose of this study was to explore the barriers to and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the services of central libraries of the first grade Iranian universities.

The research method was qualitative and data collection was done through telephone and online interviews with central library managers or assistants of 13 first grade university libraries. The interview recordings were transcribed with CallX software. The content of the interviews was analyzed and coded using MaxQDA software and led to the extraction of 120 initial codes that discussed the effects and barriers of Covid-19.

Almost all central libraries of the studied universities limited their in-person services during the Covid-19 pandemic and tried to increase digital and remote services. The main problem in the online services of the central libraries was low internet speed and bandwidth that made it difficult to provide online services in libraries. Other important barriers included the issue of intellectual property of Persian resources and the lack of a clear framework for exploiting the digital format of these resources at the national level as well as budget problems and lack of specific protocols for sending physical resources via mail, etc.

Converting Covid-19 as an opportunity, institutionalizing teleworking for organizations, facilitating the bureaucratic process of essential library purchases, and accepting the change are among the cases affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This study was conducted with the aim of understanding the needs of the Visually Impaired in the Visually Impaired Department of the National Library and Archives of Iran.

The present study is qualitative that was conducted by content analysis method with inductive approach. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview. Sampling went so far as to saturate the data and no new data was extracted from the interviews. The interview was saturated with 10 visually impaired who had experience using the services of the visually impaired Department. 132 initial codes (2 main themes and 12 sub-themes) were extracted from the interviews. Guba and Lincoln criteria (Credibility, Dependability, Confirmability and Transferability) were used for data robustness and accuracy. Maxqda software version 20 was used for data analysis.

The analysis of the interviews about the participants' experience in using the services of the visually impaired Department of the National Library of Iran was summarized in two general themes: "Problems and Limitations" and "Suggestions for Improving the Services". The 7 sub-themes related to the “limitations and problems” reported by users with visually impaired were: paths and environmental guides, path insecurity, visually impaired independence, special tools for the visually impaired, facilities, environmental conditions of the visually impaired hall (librarian position and hall environmental conditions), and marketing services. People with visually impaired offered suggestions for improving the the services, which were in 5 sub-themes: education, resources, online services, strengthening special facilities, and strengthening voluntary facilities.

The results showed that visually impaired have several problems and limitations in using the services of the visually impaired Department of the National Library and Archives of Iran. Considering that this library is the mother library in the country, it is better for the library staff to follow-up to remove the current restrictions and by continuously evaluating their information needs, redesigning and arranging facilities, reviewing signs and environmental guides, Special facilities, development programs, equipment procurement and marketing programs, take steps to improve the library services for the visually impaired.

 The disabled like others, need information and information acquisition skills to play a positive role in society. By providing a variety of resources and information services, the public library has an important role in providing services to the community, including the disabled, and can provide the background and opportunity for the presence of the disabled in society. The purpose of this study is to identify the requirements and characteristics of a disability-friendly public library.

 The study was a descriptive applied study using a content analysis method and systematic search, to identify the requirements of public libraries to provide services to the disabled, in Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed. From the search in 4 databases, 738 documents were retrieved. Initially, all bibliographic information of articles and sources found from four databases were examined, extracted, and entered into EndNote X7 software, and duplicates were removed. In the next step, the titles of the remaining articles were examined. After reading the abstract of the remaining articles, if the article was deemed appropriate, their full text was studied. Finally, 40 documents were examined.

The indicators and requirements used in public libraries in providing services to the disabled were divided into seven categories. In the category of policy and budget, the existence of appropriate policies and guidelines in the library to provide services to the disabled, in the category of advertising and development of services, the use of various methods of informing library services, in the category of accessibility and physical condition of the library, Existence of appropriate signs and boards to guide different sections of the library, in the category of services and programs, placing the safe desk in a suitable place and its availability for all groups, in the category of human resources and training, the presence of trained staff in The field of providing services to the disabled, in the category of collections, the existence of books in various formats and the category of equipment and information technology, the existence of assistive technologies (CCTV, Braille printers, screen magnification, etc.) have had the highest frequency.

 Identifying the services needed by the disabled and the characteristics of a library for the disabled can help in making informed decisions to provide appropriate services in libraries, especially public libraries. Public libraries must provide facilities and features for people with disabilities to use the services and access the information they need. Libraries should, in addition to assessing the needs of different groups of people with disabilities and the organizations and associations that support them, have the necessary planning and budget by providing the appropriate collection, accessible building, various services and programs, and the existence of various equipment and technologies.

identification of factors affecting information services in national libraries.

The method of this study was qualitative and used brainstorming and group decision making to collect data. The study population consisted of 21 librarians working at the National Library Service desks of Iran. To increase the validity and accuracy of the data, recordings and audio recordings were collected and returned to librarians for modification and approval. Maxqda software was used for data analysis.

Factors affecting the Information services of National Library of Iran from the perspective of librarians are included in 4 themes (Information Librarian, user, Services and Service Desk). The qualitative analysis of the data resulted in the extraction of 301 primary codes that reported service factors. Multiple revisions and code integration based on similarity over several steps eventually yielded 15 sub-themes.

The results showed that within the theme of information librarian, three sub-themes of information literacy, client relationship and professional ethics of librarian; in client, three sub-themes of client education, user Independence and user membership; within the themes of service desks, 5 sub themes of accessibility, desk location, desk physics, service desks and safety; and within the service theme, 4 sub-themes of marketing, providing value added to the customer, prioritizing matters, and providing a specialized view to departments and services are factors influencing services.