Purpose: The widespread and surprising spread of the Covid-19 led to an unprecedented closure of public libraries, and this closure showed
that public libraries have little preparation and anticipation to deal with and adapt to the special situation caused by the spread of the Covid-19
virus. The aim of this study is to determine the level of readiness of librarians and public libraries in Isfahan province in the face of COVID-19
disease.
Method: The current research is a cross-sectional, descriptive-survey study with an applied purpose that was carried out using the field
method. The statistical population included all the librarians of the public libraries of Isfahan province in the year 1400 SH, numbering 357
people, from whom 185 librarians were selected as the research sample using a simple random sampling method. In order to collect people’s
views, a researcher-made questionnaire was used; The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by several experts in information and
Knowledge science, and the construct validity was measured and confirmed by second-order factor analysis using Smart-PLS3 software; The
questionnaire’s reliability was measured using Cronbach’s alpha, which was found to be 0.95. For data analysis, SPSS software (version 22) and
descriptive statistics methods such as mean, and standard deviation, and inferential statistics tests such as variance analysis, one-way t-test, oneway variance analysis test, Duncan’s post-hoc test and factor analysis were used.
Findings: The results showed that the level of preparedness of librarians and public libraries of Isfahan province in facing the COVID-19
disease with an average of 3.81 is significantly higher than the average, which is at an acceptable level and close to optimal. Preparedness for
remote work with an average of 4.19 was the highest, and preparedness for job performance in cyberspace with an average of 3.36 was the lowest
component of the readiness of librarians and public libraries of Isfahan province; There is no significant difference between respondents’ perceptions in terms of gender, age, work experience, field of study, and organizational position. Furthermore, there is a significant difference between
the perceptions of the respondents regarding the readiness of public libraries in Isfahan province in facing the COVID-19 disease according to
their educational qualifications and marital status. Respondents with associate degrees, as well as married respondents, have evaluated the level of
preparation of libraries at a higher level than other groups. It is suggested that administrators train librarians and strengthen information technology infrastructure to strengthen the performance of cyberspace. Libraries need to formulate appropriate policies in order to increase the level of
preparedness while facing crisis and infectious diseases, these policies and rules should be determined in the form of general principles before the
occurrence of the crisis and at the time of the beginning of the crisis, and in crucial times, they should be used by adding minor items.
Originality/value: The results of the current research are important due to the emergence of the COVID-19 virus and the small number of
researches conducted in this field, and it can lead to a greater understanding of the level of preparedness of public libraries and librarians and help
library managers to get the necessary preparations against the risks affecting the optimal service to the audience through making appropriate policies and plans