Online Voluntary Activities at Public Libraries: Identification and Classification

Developments in information and communication technologies have created a new type of voluntary activity called online volunteering, in which volunteers fulfill their duties from outside the workplace. Therefore, this study aims to identify and categorize online voluntary activities available to public libraries and information centers. This applied research was conducted using the survey method. Data collection was performed using observation and Delphi method. The participants in the Delphi survey rounds included 15 experts in the field of information and knowledge science (faculty members, library managers, and library sections’ directors) who were interviewed in two rounds, and their opinions were used to conclude. The present study’s findings suggest that 33 different voluntary activities can be performed as virtual volunteering in public libraries. These services can be divided into three general categories: content development, training/counseling, and promoting/informing. Among these, content development with 22 different activities has the most possibility of online volunteering activities, training/counseling with six activities, and promoting/informing with five activities are the following categories, respectively. In addition, for each of these three categories, relevant general competencies are presented separately, while for 33 voluntary activities, specialized goals and competencies are suggested by experts. Considering the variety of activities that public libraries can perform virtually through their volunteers, it seems necessary to identify the capacities and capabilities of libraries and volunteers so that the maximum efficiency of volunteers is achieved in reaching the library’s goals. No study on identifying and categorizing voluntary activities in public libraries and information centers is available. While identifying and categorizing these activities, the present research mentions the goals for each activity and specifies general and specialized conditions for volunteers to perform the same activity.