بررسي وضعيت فراهم آوري و مجموعه سازي كتابخانه هاي عمومي كشور

A Study on the Status of Acquisition and Collection Development in Public Libraries of Iran

The present research has been carried out as a sideline project for the Comprehensive Project for Expanding Public Libraries. It aims to get to know the existing conditions of collection development and acquisition by studying the existing inconveniencies, and to indicate the desired conditions by preparing bylaws and sample instructions and presenting appropriate patterns for the community of public libraries in Iran for the confirmation and improvement of the process for collection expansion in this community. Survey and library research methods were employed in this study and questionnaires and interviews were the tools for collecting data. Microsoft Excel was used for data registration and analysis. General findings indicate that due to the low number of library members around the country, the number of library books per capita for each member is very high. In 13 provinces, the number of library books is more than the standard number of books per capita. On the other hand, in one province which had more library members than international standards, the books per capita for each member was more than 5.5 books. The average books per capita for each library member in Iran are more than 14.68 books. Presently, more than 30 percent of books of the collection are not used. Further quantitative evaluation of libraries in short periods of time could indicate the status of collection in accommodating with community needs. Deselection is vital in public libraries and the number of members is more important than the number of books.