Identifying and Analyzing the Roles of Public Libraries in the Community:A Systematic Review

 The role of public libraries has changed and expanded compared to the past. Since the beginning of the new century, we have seen fundamental changes in the roles and services of public libraries, especially with emphasis on their social roles. Therefore, considering the expansion of the range of services of these libraries and their impact on society, this research aims to identify and analyze the community roles of public libraries.

 This research is practical in terms of its purpose, and the nature of the data is a qualitative type, performed with the systematic review technique and the application of the four-stage model of Okoli and Shabram (2010). To select the articles correctly in the second stage of the mentioned model, the process of selecting the articles of Silva (2015) was used. The statistical population was the texts were published in the Persian language between 1381 and 1401, and in English between 2002 and 2022. After searching the databases and retrieving 1819 articles, the articles were cleaned and screened. Finally, 201 articles related to the social roles of public libraries were selected.

 Studies related to the social roles of public libraries in the country, despite their importance, are nascent and have only been paid attention to in the last decade, so the lack of research in this field is evident. But this research abroad has met with more success among researchers, they have had a long history and much research has been carried out. The findings showed that public libraries have seven roles including 1. Promoting social justice, 2. Developing social capital, 3. Increasing social participation, 4. Promoting social resilience, 5. Community building, 6. Managing natural crises, and 7. Reducing deprivations and injuries. Social, they play in the community.

  The primary condition for success in fulfilling these roles is a complete and comprehensive understanding of the position of public libraries in the local social network. To achieve this goal, public libraries need to be aware of their societal conditions above all. By organizing activities that lead to creating a space for meeting, developing personal relationships, and communicating with members and different strata of society, public libraries present their new community roles and strengthen the position of the library as a reliable institution worthy of trust at the community level. They help by performing the roles mentioned in this research, public libraries can contribute to social development and be a positive factor in the change and evolution of society. In this way, libraries and their facilities, activities, and programs must take steps in line with the social, cultural, political, and economic needs of the communities to become a part of the community in the real sense. Therefore, they should play their role in this field and overcome the difficulties, with comprehensive measures and proper awareness and knowledge enhancement of the audience, as well as the use of human and educational resources to improve the quality of the citizens 'lives.