Interaction of blind and partially sighted users with public libraries in Iran: Goals, motives, and satisfaction

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the interaction of blind and partially sighted users with the public libraries of the country and to study their goals and motives for visiting the public library and to determine their level of satisfaction with the services received. Method: The current research is conducted using a survey method and a descriptive approach. The statistical population includes 365 active members who were selected by random sampling. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. A total of 233 questionnaires were completed by the participants with telephone and face-to-face follow-ups. Statistical techniques and SPSS22 software were used to analyze the research data. Findings: According to the research findings, most of the sections for the blind (29 sections) are located 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, usersʼ 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 was at a moderate level. Furthermore, the lowest level of usersʼ 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 Iranian 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/value: 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.