Participation of librarians in online social networks to provide services during the covid-19 pandemic (case study: librarians of Tehran public libraries). (English)

Purpose: The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the level of participation of public library librarians in Tehran in online social networks to provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This research is applied in terms of purpose and was conducted using a survey method. The research population at the time of the research (July and August 2023) included all the librarians of public libraries in Tehran (152 people) from whom a sample of 109 people was selected according to Morgan's table, and 105 questionnaires were analyzed in the final analysis. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data analysis was done at two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS (version 26). In order to check the average difference between the main research variables, one-way analysis of variance parametric test was used. Findings: The results showed that the librarians had the greatest knowledge about "Bale" messenger and the lowest knowledge about "SoroushPlus". The level of knowledge of librarians regarding social networking tools and the level of influence of the organization on their knowledge of tools has been lower than the average level. The level of necessity and acceptance of social networking tools is "high" and the level of use of these tools by librarians is "moderate". There was a significant difference between the average opinions of librarians about knowledge and acceptance as well as acceptance and use of these networks, while no significant difference was observed between the average opinions of participants about the two variables of knowledge and use of online social networks. Originality/value: Although according to the results of this research, the level of influence of the organization in the librarians' knowledge of social networking tools is reported to be lower than average, and the level of influence of the organization in the knowledge of content production tools in these sites is reported to be small, the role of the organization in the librarians' knowledge cannot be ignored. Therefore, the results of this research, by determining the attitude of the research population towards social networking sites, the extent of acceptance and use of these sites by them and identifying the weaknesses and strengths of public libraries in using social networking sites, can be applied by managers and planners of public libraries in order to provide a suitable platform for using the social networking sites, remove barriers to using them, and improve information service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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