Identifying the World Selected School Libraries’ Services in order to Provide a Proposal for Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Knowledge and Information Science, University of Qom, Qom

2 Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom

3 Department of Knowledge and Information Science, University of Qom, Qom,

Abstract

This article aims to examine the services of selected school libraries in the world and to determine and prioritize the services proposed for Iranian school libraries. To identify the world's top school library services, 23 school libraries from G20 member countries were selected and examined to determine the status of service provision. The 27 identified services were examined using the fuzzy Delphi method through a survey of 17 Iranian experts. Based on the absolute average of their opinions, the priority and importance of their use in the service provision model of Iranian school libraries were determined. The libraries studied offered 9 traditional services in the physical library space and 18 virtual services. Book lending and reading promotion programs were among the most emphasized services, indicating their importance to the satisfaction of school library members. The high standard deviation in virtual reference desk services and access to educational databases reflected the diverse opinions and experiences of the statistical population in providing these services. All 27 services offered by the world's selected libraries were approved by 17 Delphi panel members. Members' access to a variety of up-to-date resources in accordance with the curriculum of the Ministry of Education is the most important service offered in Iranian school libraries, with the highest definite average (7.71). The results of this study can help policymakers and educational planners identify and implement areas for improvement in educational libraries by identifying successful global models and ultimately helping increase the quality of education in the country.

Keywords

References

Akande, S. O., & Bamise, O. F. (2017). The role of school library in academic motivation of secondary school students in Osun State, Nigeria.
Asselin, M. (2021, March). Factors of effective school libraries: a survey of perspectives of teachers, teacher-librarians, and principals. In IASL Annual Conference Proceedings (pp. 1-16).
Azhdeh, F., & Sepehr, F. (2011). A study of the infrastructure for providing information services in educational (high school) libraries in Hamadan city. Danesheshani (Library and Information Sciences and Information Technology), 4(14), 1-13. SID. https://sid.ir/paper/193285/fa (in Persian)
Baro, E., & Eze, M. (2016). Enhancing quality learning: The impact of school library services to students in Nigeria. School Libraries Worldwide, 22(1), 8-19. https://doi.org/10.29173/slw6902
Baybordi, A., Bahri Sales, J. Jabarzadeh Kangarloui, S. & Zvari Rezaei, A. (2023). A combined fuzzy Delphi and fuzzy DEMETEL algorithm in designing and explaining banks' relational capital. Government Accounting, 8(2), 81-90. (in Persian)
Bazargan Harandi, A., Hejazi, A. & Sarmad, Z. (2024). Research Methods in Behavioral Sciences, Tehran: Aghe. (in Persian)
Benard, R., & Dulle, F. (2014). Assessment of access and use of school library information resources by secondary schools students in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. Library philosophy and practice, 0_1. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1107?utm_source=digitalcommons.unl.edu%2Flibphilprac%2F1107&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
Bigdeli,  Z, & Zolfaghari Asl, L. (2017). An Investigation and Comparison of High-School Teachers and Students of Ahvaz Viewpoints on the Necessity of School Libraries and Librarians. Research on Information Science and Public Libraries, 23 (1), 71 – 87. (in Persian)
Chow, S. K. Y., & Wong, J. L. K. (2020). Supporting academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, and information literacy for students in tertiary institutions. Education Sciences, 10(12), 361. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10120361
Cohen, R., Katz, I., Aelterman, N., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2023). Understanding shifts in students’ academic motivation across a school year: The role of teachers’ motivating styles and need-based experiences. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 38(3), 963-988. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-022-00635-8
Fagbemi, V. Y., Abdurahaman, F. R., & Ahmedsenior, H. M. (2023). School libraries service delivery through information and communication technologies awareness: A factor for building skills for sustainable development. International Journal of Applied Technologies in Library and Information Management, 9(1), 52-59. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jatlimi/article/view/267611
Fahimnia, F., & Mantegh, H. (2013). Studying the role of quality of services in students trust toward Library: (The case of Central Library and Documents Center of University of Tehran). Academic Librarianship and Information Research, 47(2), 117-137. https://doi.org/ 10.22059/jlib.2013.36415 (In Persian)
Habibi, A., Jahantigh, F. F., & Sarafrazi, A. (2015). Fuzzy Delphi technique for forecasting and screening items. Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management, 5(2), 130-143.
Hannah Shirley, M., & Nair, B. M. (2024). The Role of School Libraries in Supporting Dyslexic Students: An Analysis of Resources and Services. Library Progress International, 44(3), 408-417.
Hariri, N., Noushinfard, F., & Radfar, H. (2014). Selection and evaluation of electronic resources in digital libraries in Iran. Danesheshani (Library and Information Sciences and Information Technology), 7(24), 69-83. SID. https://sid.ir/paper/193438/fa (in Persian)
Heath, M. A., Smith, K., & Young, E. L. (2017). Using children’s literature to strengthen social and emotional learning. School Psychology International, 38(5), 541-561. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034317710070
Houri, A., & Afshar, A. (2006). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, under Educational Libraries, Vol. 2. Tehran: National Library and Archives Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (in Persian)
Ifeyinwa, I. B., UMOH, G. G., Osuua, I., & Ekpene, I. (2024). Roles of Librarians and School Counselors in establishment of Students Centered Libraries in The 21st Century: The Innovative Technological Settings. Information Science, 6(1), 69-85.
Iremeka, F. U., Ezenwaji, I. O., & Ezenwaji, C. O. (2021). Roles of parent-teacher association in the management of school library. Library Philosophy and Practice, 5693.
Jafari Baghiabadi, S. & Farshid, R. (2021). Tracking the mission and position of the school library in the upstream documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Library and Information Science Research, 11(1), 127-150. https://doi.org/ 10.22067/infosci.2021.24164.0(in Persian)
Jafari Baghiabadi, S., Ramezanzadeh, M., Amini, Y., & Norouzi, A. (2023). Information organization in primary school children's and school libraries. Library and Information Organization Studies, 33(3), 3-24. doi: 10.30484/nastinfo.2022.3258.2165(in Persian)
Keshav, M., Julien, L., & Miezel, J. (2022). The role of technology in era 5.0 in the development of Arabic language in the world of education. JILTECH: Journal International of Lingua & Technology, 1(2).
Khosravi, M. & Abdolmajid, A. (2007). A study of the status of interlibrary loan services. Journal of Information Processing and Management, 23(1), 125-149. (in Persian)
Lee, V. R., Tzou, C., Bang, M., Bell, P., Stromholt, S., Price, N., & Barron, B. (2017). Libraries as emerging spaces for computer-supported collaborative learning in schools and communities. Philadelphia, PA: International Society of the Learning Sciences. https://repository.isls.org/handle/1/dx.doi.org/10.22318/cscl2017.117
Merga, M. K. (2021). Libraries as wellbeing supportive spaces in contemporary schools. Journal of Library Administration, 61(6), 659-675. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2021.1947056
Neshat, N. and Houri, A. (2007). Educational library in the library-centered school, Tehran: Book Network: Chapar. (in Persian)
Nikou, S. A. (2024). Student motivation and engagement in maker activities under the lens of the Activity Theory: A case study in a primary school. Journal of Computers in Education, 11(2), 347-365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-023-00258-y
Nwankwo, F. A., Akanwa, P. C., & Okorie, O. N. (2022). Management of School Libraries and Utilization of Library Resources by Secondary School Students in Rivers State. Library Philosophy & Practice.
Ogbonna, J., & Eze, J. U. (2015). Reviving the reading culture: School library programmes in promoting voluntary reading amongst students: The case of Imo State, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1241(1), 1-28.
Rahjou A, Noruzi A, Keramaty M, Salehi K. (2024). Engaging Students: The Power of School Libraries in the Digital Age. Research on Information Science and Public Libraries, 30 (1), 82-98. http://publij.ir/article-1-2503-en.html (in Persian)
Saif, A. (2022). Educational Measurement, Assessment and Evaluation. Doran.  (in Persian)
Sedghgoo, S. (2025). Examining the services of school libraries in the world in order to provide a model for Iran [Master’s Thesis, University of Qom]. (in Persian)
Shonhe, L., & Marambe, E. M. (2019). Strategic framework for service delivery improvement in school libraries. Information Impact: Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 10(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.4314/iijikm.v10i2.1
Shrauger, K., & Scharf, M. (2017). Exploring the value of interlibrary loan.
Simard, M. A., Priem, J., & Piwowar, H. (2020). How much does an interlibrary loan request cost? A review of the literature. arXiv preprint arXiv:2009.04281. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2009.04281
Thompson, H. H., Munson, K., & Harper, J. B. (2021). Reinforcing each other: strategies to advance international interlibrary loan. Information Discovery and Delivery, 49(1), 36-44. https://doi.org/10.1108/IDD-03-2020-0028
Williams, J. A., & Woolwine, D. E. (2011). Interlibrary loan in the United States: an analysis of academic libraries in a digital age. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve, 21(4), 165-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1072303X.2011.602945
Willis, J., Hughes, H., & Bland, D. (2019). Students reimagining school libraries as spaces of learning and wellbeing. School spaces for student wellbeing and learning: Insights from research and practice, 121-137. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6092-3_7
Ziaei, S., Salami, M. & Motaghy Dadgar, A. (2016). Status of school libraries in Qom. Sciences and Techniques of Information Management, 2(3), 141-165. doi: 10.22091/stim.2016.770 (in Persian)
 
Research In Instructional Methods
Volume 3, Issue 3 - Serial Number 11
October 2025
Pages 105-124

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 15 January 2025
  • Revise Date: 13 February 2025
  • Accept Date: 11 March 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics