Analysis of Elderly Services in Tehran Public Libraries affiliated to the Iran Public Libraries Foundation

The aim of this study is to analysis the services provided for the elderly in the public libraries of Tehran city affiliated to the Iran Public Libraries Foundation.

A descriptive survey method was used in this research. Statistical population of the research include 38 administrators or managers of public libraries in Tehran city. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect the data, which was inspired by the guidelines of the American Library Association's for the Elderly Services in Libraries. Data analysis was done at two levels: descriptive statistics analysis including frequency, percentage of frequency and the inferential analysis including single sample t-test using SPSS software.

The results showed that Tehran Public libraries in all components of special services for the elderly including library staff training, communication and library resources, library planning, equipment, developing and sharing the facilities, home services and the budget are not in good standing right now, and the available service in all components is below average.

The majority of librarians in Tehran Public libraries (72 percent) accepted the guidelines of the American Library Association's for the Elderly Services in Libraries as an important indicator for special services for the Elderly in Iranian Libraries, but fewer (27 percent) disagreed with this idea.