Telework in the National Library and Archives of I.R. of Iran

Purpose: The aim of this research was firstly to review literature about telework and the measures taken in this area around the world and in Iran, especially in the field of Library and Information Science; then to analyze the implementation of this type of working in the National Library and Archives of Iran.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This research used literature review and interviews with officials of the Administrative Office of the National Library and Archives of the I.R. Iran.
Findings: Library and Information Science jobs and other professions dealing with information require minimum physical presence of the employee in the workplace and therefore they seem appropriate for telework. Some of these activities include cataloguing, indexing and abstracting resources; digital libraries; e-publishing, e-education, documentation, editing databases, digital reference services, translation, and research. The National Library and Archives of Iran is one of the organizations in which some staff have (since January 2012) started telework in different phases. Telework in this organization has been in the form of work-from-home and part-time work. Some requirements of implementing this type of working in an organization are identifying jobs and individuals, information security systems, providing online access for telework staff, hardware and software facilities, financial support, technical support, tools for communicating with managers and other staff, training tele-staff and the periodic evaluation of telework.
Conclusion: Apparently this type of work has been successful in some parts of the organization, especially the Department of Processing and Organizing. However, further research is required to assure its validity and especially to evaluate the efficiency of this method or working.