Research on Information Science and Public Libraries

The Role of Rural Public Libraries in Empowering and Developing the Rural Community

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Shiva Yari 1
Mohammad Amin Bahrami 2

1 Kermanshah Province Public Libraries, Kermanshah, Iran

2 Kermanshah Province Public Libraries, Kermanshah, Iran.

10.61186/publij.30.2.140
Abstract
Purpose: Despite being mostly small institutions, rural public libraries provide a wide range of services and
programs in very different areas of life, including personal education, development of individual and civic skills of
all citizens and filling their free times. Rural public libraries are of the factors of development in rural communities
and they are also an ideal place to support the development of society and help intellectual and social growth at
the individual and social levels. In this regard, the present research identified the role of rural public libraries in the
empowerment and development of rural communities in Kermanshah province, Iran.
Method: The current research was conducted with a qualitative approach and the research method was the
qualitative content analysis. The participants included the officials of rural public libraries under the general administration of the General Administration of the Public libraries of Kermanshah province in the fall of 2023. The
purposive sampling was used to select participants and data collection process was continued until data saturation.
A total of 14 interviews were conducted and their duration varied between 40 and 75 minutes. The qualitative
content analysis method was used to analyze data. In order to validate the research, the criteria of credibility and
reliability were used.
Findings: The analysis of the interview data led to the formation of two categories including the actions of
rural public libraries in empowering villagers and village development and the challenges of rural public libraries
in empowering villagers and village development. In the former category, 4 concepts including cultural development, economic development, social development and sustainable development and environmental protection were
identified, which show the different aspects of role-playing of rural public libraries of Kermanshah province in
empowering villagers and developing their villages. In the latter, i.e. the category of challenges, there are 8 concepts
including human resources, information resources, facilities, the quality level of programs and services, measuring
the effectiveness of programs and services, factors related to villagers, the level of cooperation and participation
and how to inform and advertisement were detected. In general, the rural public libraries of Kermanshah province
empowered their local communities and contributed to the development of their villages through their services,
activities and programs. By implementing their various programs and services, which mostly continued throughout
the week, the aforementioned libraries have been able to raise the cultural, social and economic awareness and insight of the village, showing the colorful and influential role of the book compared to the Internet and establishing
the role of the library as a socio-cultural base of the village and taking an effective step.
Originality/Value: There has been no research on the role of rural public libraries in the development of their
communities in Iran. The findings of this research can be used as a roadmap for rural public libraries in the comprehensive development of their services and programs and their greater impact on the development of their villages.

Keywords

Rural public libraries
Empowerment of villagers
Rural community development
Actions and challenges
Kermanshah province
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Research on Information Science and Public Libraries
Volume 30, Issue 2
Summer 2024
Pages 156-140

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