Identification and Prioritization of the State-of-the-Art Technologies in the Management of Iranian Public Libraries

Purpose: State-of-the-art technology refers to the best and latest technological advancement possible at a particular time. Today, public libraries play a key role in the various cultural and social spheres of society. Although various technologies can help to fulfill the basic roles of public libraries correctly and completely, their application in the context of these libraries undoubtedly faces many complexities and difficulties. This study aims to identify the state-of-the-art technologies that can be used in the management of public libraries, as well as to determine the priority of their use in public libraries in Iran. Method: In the first step, based on the library study method and literature review, a preliminary list of state-of-the-art technologies applicable to public library management, as well as a list of their evaluation criteria was extracted. In order to validate the initial lists, two qualitative methods based on the consensus of stakeholders (Delphi panel and nominal group) were used with the presence of the main stakeholders in public libraries in the areas of 1) finance, 2) management and administration, 3) technology, 4) librarianship, and 5) user. In the second step, in order to evaluate technologies based on evaluation criteria, Shannon entropy method was used to weight the evaluation criteria, and group TOPSIS method was employed to prioritize state-of-the-art technologies based on the extracted criteria. Findings: In the first step, a valid list was obtained, which includes 28 state-of-the-art technologies applicable in the management of public libraries and 27 evaluation criteria classified into three levels: strategic (7 criteria), technical and operational (11 criteria) and user (9 criteria). In the second step, the priority of the extracted state-of-the-art technologies was obtained based on the evaluation criteria. Based on these results, social network/messenger, high speed internet on fiber optic platform, universal library membership system (linked library), public library mobile application and digital library system were in the first to fifth priorities of state-of-the-art technologies. Originality/value: According to these 28 categories of state-of-the-art technologies, as well as the development and application of high-priority technologies, it is possible to improve the quality of performance of public libraries in various fields. Therefore, based on the research results, it is suggested that in addition to creating soft and hard infrastructures for the identified technologies, Iran Public Libraries Foundation evaluate the feasibility of designing and implementing or using the priority technologies.