تأثیر فعالیت‌های کتابخانه‌های کانون پرورش فکری کودکان و نوجوانان بر خلاقیت کودکان (مطالعۀ موردی: شهر همدان)

Purpose: The complex and dynamic nature of the modern life requires us to bring up our children more efficiently through fostering creativity in them so that they might be able to develop our world and to endure, to survive and to face the challenges of the modern life. This starts from the family and is further encouraged by other social institutions such as libraries of the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA). Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of using the services of libraries Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults on children’s creativity. Methodology: The study adopted an Ex Post Facto design and employed Torrance's Visual Creativity Test (VERSION B) to collect the data. The population from which the sample was derived included all the 6484 fifth-graders in the city of Hamedan, among whom 729 people were using the services of IIDCYA libraries. Using Morgan’s table for determining the sample size, 366 students were randomly selected for the study: 65 people from among library members who were assigned as the test group and 301 non-members who made up the control group. The test, with a reported reliability of 0.52, measures such characteristics in subjects as fluency, originality, elaboration, and flexibility. The data thus collected was analyzed through the Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and the effect size was measured through Glass’s formula and was interpreted with reference to Cohen’s Table. Findings: Based on Cohen’s table, the effects of using the library services were significant on all variables of interest which implies a positive effect of such services on both  male and female students’ creativity although such effects were the most significant on originality and least significant on fluency. Finally, total creativity of students was found to be average based on Likert scale. Originality/Value: The approach of this research is interdisciplinary by which important components like libraries of IIDCYA, creativity, and students are studied.