Information Literacy of Library Users: a Case Study of Mazandaran Public Library Users, Iran

Abstract

This study has investigated: "Information Literacy of Public Library Users in Mazandaran Province and Role of Them in Its Promotion". The research method was descriptive survey. Data was collected by survey questionnaire. The study population was 56 public libraries in Mazandaran province, but we used a cluster sampling of 14 libraries (viewpoints of resources, information technology and library members has higher degree due to other libraries). We selected a total of 17,687 people with university degrees and based on Krejcie and Morgan. Out of these 376 questionnaires, 349 were returned, giving a response rate of 93%. The study was analyzed through Mann– Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test to confirm or reject hypotheses and via single-sample t test and Friedman to answer research questions by SPSS version 17. Hypothesis test using Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal- Wallis test indicated significant differences in respondents view while the role of public libraries in the province is to develop information literacy clients. According to the results significant differences occur across different gender, age and education groups.