Experiences of librarians of public libraries in COVID-19 Pandemic: A case study of Tehran City Park Central Library

The COVID-19 pandemic, as an unforeseen phenomenon, brought about many changes both in the services and the way service organizations provide services. Public libraries and their services also faced many challenges as a social and service center. The purpose of the current research is to identify the experiences of the librarians of Tehran City Park Central Library during the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, while examining the changes in the activities and services of different departments of the library due to the spread of the coronavirus, the new approaches used, and the necessity of their application and continuation in the post-corona period were investigated from the perspective of the librarians of Tehran City Park Central Library.

This research is applied and was conducted using a qualitative approach and the content analysis method. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview that was conducted face-to-face. The research population included 13 librarians of Tehran City Park Central Library, who worked in different sections of the library during the corona and post-corona periods. The interviews were conducted in the winter of 2023 and the data analysis was done in the spring of 2023. In order to analyze and code the research data (interviews), MAXQDA 2020 software was used.

By coding the interviews, 436 concepts were obtained, which were categorized into a total of 103 categories. Finally, by re-examining, the core categories were identified and shown in the form of models resulting from the analysis. The creation of technological infrastructure, the need to improve the specialized and technological abilities of librarians, the need to mechanize library processes and the continuity of library activities in cyberspace, were 4 categories that were obtained from the analysis of the research data. These four categories are the necessary measures and infrastructure to prepare as much as possible for critical conditions in order to improve the performance of the library. Although the lack of conditions for providing services due to the spread of coronavirus caused the complete closure of Tehran City Park Central Library, the need to provide services in special conditions along with acquiring the necessary capabilities to be present in the virtual space, led to the use of new methods in providing services. Holding virtual cultural events, providing cyber reference services, book courier services, i.e., homebound book delivery, were among the services that had not been specifically addressed before the outbreak of COVID-19. The findings also indicate the need to deal with measures and infrastructures to prepare as much as possible for critical conditions in order to improve the performance of the library. The effectiveness of these measures and methods in the post-corona period from the point of view of librarians and their emphasis on the need to strengthen these methods shows that their continuation has provided an acceptable situation for the provision of services and cultural events and educational programs of the library.

Originality/value:

 The strength of this research is the examination of the changes made in the way of providing services during the outbreak of COVID-19 and their application in the post-corona period, which has shown that the threat of coronavirus has created an opportunity to change and improve some library activities from the point of view of librarians, since according to the special position of this library and its new approaches, it can be a model for other public libraries in Iran.