Investigating the Use of Virtual Social Networks by Librarians and Users of Public Libraries.

Purpose: The purpose of this survey research was to investigate the use of virtual social networks by librarians and users of public libraries located in Iran. Method: The current research is applied in terms of its purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of its type and methodology. The statistical population of this research are librarians and users of social networks (Instagram and Bale platforms) used in public libraries. According to the statistics of the managers of the Instagram page and Bale page, 80% of the users of these pages are librarians of public libraries across the country, and 20% of them are regular or usual users. Therefore, out of 5000 people following these pages in June 2022, nearly 4000 people were librarians and the rest were normal users. Based on Morgan's table, the number of research samples was estimated to be 357, which were selected according to the population of each group. According to the overall response rate, which was about 80.15%, finally 204 samples from the librarian community and 81 samples from the user community were selected using convenience sampling method. Findings: The findings of the research showed that there is a significantly positive relationship between the information format (how to display information) and the level of interaction of users and librarians (liking, commenting, etc.). In terms of the level of interaction of librarians and users with social network pages, it was found that librarians have more communication and interaction with the studied platforms than users due to the employment relationship and the need to produce content on these pages as part of librarians assigned tasks and duties. Also, according to librarians, the use of relevant information available on social media pages is effective in their organizational performance. Also, considering that foreign platforms such as Instagram sometimes face some legal restrictions in the country, it is suggested that domestic platforms increase the tendency of users by upgrading their services from a technical point of view in order to use them. Based on this, the most important result of the current research is that public libraries started to operate in social networks and this action is currently at the level of an organizational task and they still could not attract users and interact properly with them in these social networks. Therefore, it is necessary for Iran's public libraries to take action and plan for more interaction with users in these networks. Originality/Value: The most important result of the current research is that public libraries started to operate in social networks and this action is currently at the level of an organizational task and they still could not attract users and interact properly with them in these social networks. Therefore, it is necessary for Iran's public libraries to take action and plan for more interaction with users active in these networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]