Identifying the Information Needs and the Level of Satisfaction of the Clients Using the Libraries Affiliated to “the Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documents Center of Astan Quds Razavi”

Purpose: This research aimed to study and identify the information needs and the level of satisfaction of the clients, librarians and library authorities who form the population of users of the libraries affiliated to “the Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documents Center of Astan Quds Razavi” ( 41 libraries in total).
Design/Methodology/Approach: Data were collected through three researcher-made questionnaires. The sample size of the clients was determined by applying the Morgan Table. For the librarians and library authorities, the whole population was studied.
Findings: This study showed that most of the clients of these libraries were women who have high school or university education. They said their most important need was books, especially course books and supplementary reading books. The most preferred topics were respectively: stories and novels, computer and internet, religion, poetry and prose, mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Clients were mainly satisfied with: the quality, quantity (number of copies available) and finally the broad topics of the books, respectively. Moreover this research showed that the authorities of most of these libraries included men with a B.A. degree in Library and Information Science (LIS). The proportion of male and female librarians is approximately similar, half of whom have a B.A. degree in LIS. From the viewpoint of the librarians and library authorities, most of the books requested by the clients were course books and supplementary reading books and also the topics of the books most preferred by the clients were stories and novels, computer and internet, physics and mathematics.
Conclusion: The main clients of these libraries are high school students and university students whose information needs should be made the top priority. A comparison between the clients’ viewpoints with those of the librarians and library authorities shows little difference. This study also showed that each of these libraries had a special feature and population and each needs its own individual policy.