Ranking Public Libraries of the West Azerbaijan Province According to Information Services Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

The main aim of this research is to rank the public libraries under Iran Public Libraries Foundation in the West Azerbaijan province using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method according to their information services. This is a survey-descriptive research whose statistical population consists of 67 public libraries in the West Azerbaijan province. Information services of public libraries under investigation were collected by using questionnaires and then ranked based upon the AHP method and Expert Choice software. Findings indicate that among the 67 public libraries in Western Azerbaijan province, Sheikh Shaltoot Mahabad Public Library with 0.060 points ranked first and the Central Library of Urmia with 0.054 points ranked second in terms of the amount of provision of information services. Considering the studies conducted on ranking, ranking public libraries according to information services has a new and different aspect in Iran, and can serve as a basis for other research. The findings also showed that the amount of provision of information services in public libraries has no relationship with the level of libraries nor their being rural or urban, since the provision of good information services is primarily based on the will of librarians and library managers.