Interaction of blind and partially sighted users with public libraries in Iran (Goals, motivation and satisfacation)

The purpose of the research is to investigate the interaction blind and partially sighted users with the public libraries of the country and their goals and motivations for visiting libraries and to determine their level of satisfaction with these services.

The current research is conducted with a survey method and a descriptive approach. The statistical population includes 365 active members who were selected by random sampling. A total of 233 questionnaires were completed by the participants with telephone and face-to-face follow-ups. The data collection tool was a questionnaire.  Statistical techniques and SPSS22 software were used to analyze the research data.

According to the research findings, most of the sections for the blind (29 sections) are in the central library or urban libraries in the center of the province and the rest of the cities do not have this section. In terms of gender, 54.1% of the users in the blind sector are women, and in terms of qualifications, most users (44.6%) have a bachelor's degree. 51.5% of users are completely blind and 48.5% are blind. In general, users' satisfaction with the current situation is above average (3.95 out of 5 on the Likert scale) and the highest level of satisfaction with the attitude, guidance, knowledge and expertise of library librarians and the level of satisfaction with the quality, quantity and up-to-dateness of library resources in It was moderate. Also, the lowest level of users' satisfaction was with the signs and guidelines for their guidance and the design and architecture of the blind section.

It seems that due to the significant deficiencies and shortcomings that can be seen in the research findings, it is necessary for the Iran's public libraries to improve services at different levels so that blind and visually impaired users can more easily and satisfactorily use the facilities and resources of libraries.

Originality: 

Numerous research have been done in the field of the blind section of public libraries and each of them has studied the blind section of a specific library, but this research covers all the blind sections of public libraries in the country.