Comparing the Marketing between the Libraries of Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Medical Sciences Universities based on 7Ps Marketing Model in 2017

Libraries need strategies, such as marketing, to provide services to patrons. The purpose of this research is to compare the components of marketing in academic libraries of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBUMS) based on the 7ps Marketing Mix Model. This is a cross-sectional, comparative study with an applied approach. The population members are 77 librarians working in 20 academic libraries at TUMS and SBUMS. A census sampling was performed for data collection. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that was completed through interview. The data were analyzed by SPSS (ver. 20) using Chi-square analysis, independent samples t-test, and Mann-Whitney test. There was no significant difference in gender, work experience, and level of education between the librarians of the two universities. Mean scores for people, physical evidence, promotion, and process in the libraries of SBUMS were higher than those of TUMS. Only the price factor (the fee paid by users for goods and services) in libraries of TUMS was significantly higher than those of SBUMS. Besides, for product factor (lending books and returning services, audio-visual resources, and access to databases, etc.) and place (library website or building and user interface), there was no significant difference between the studied libraries of the two universities, as well (p>0.05). Overall, the marketing scores of TUMS libraries were lower than those of SBUMS. Nevertheless, SBUMS must also pay attention to marketing for library services, especially for product factor