Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors underlying the non-use of public libraries by housewives in rural areas of Kurdistan.

Method: The study was conducted using qualitative approach and grounded theory method. The research data were obtained through interviews with 25 housewives of rural areas of Kurdistan province. Data were analyzed using coding methods in three stages: open, axial, and selective.

Results: From the analysis of interviews, 5 main categories and 19 sub-categories were identified. The main category “physical conditions” includes subcategories of positions, number of libraries, internal space, facilities; the main category “staff” includes knowledge and skills, public relations and scarcity; the main category “resources” include scarcity, ordering and organization; the main category “public services” includes the library network, opening hours, borrowing, special services; and the main categories “personal issues” included lack of time, creating the cultural context, motivation, economics, and lack of awareness.

Conclusion: Improving the performance of libraries and providing better and more comprehensive services to housewives can transform their understanding and appreciation of the information and services provided by the library, resulting in improved library status in public opinion. Therefore, managers in public libraries should consider the service map of this influential community to be very important

Conclusion: Improving the performance of libraries and providing better and more comprehensive services to housewives can transform their understanding and appreciation of the information and services provided by the library, resulting in improved library status in public opinion. Therefore, managers in public libraries should consider the service map of this influential community to be very important

Conclusion: Improving the performance of libraries and providing better and more comprehensive services to housewives can transform their understanding and appreciation of the information and services provided by the library, resulting in improved library status in public opinion. Therefore, managers in public libraries should consider the service map of this influential community to be very important