Background and Objectives: People with disabilities face various challenges in their daily lives, and one of these challenges is limited access to information. Libraries, as one of the most important sources of information, should be accessible to all members of society. However, many libraries are not usable by people with disabilities due to the lack of appropriate facilities. This deprives these people of the right to access information and, as a result, limits their opportunities for growth and development. The purpose of this study is to examine the problems and obstacles in accessing library information by people with disabilities and to provide a suitable model for their access to information through public libraries. People with disabilities face various challenges in their daily lives, and one of these challenges is limited access to information. Libraries, as one of the most important sources of information, should be accessible to all members of society. However, many libraries are not usable by people with disabilities due to the lack of appropriate facilities. This causes these people to be deprived of the right to access information and, as a result, their opportunities for growth and development are limited. The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the existing barriers to access by people with disabilities to library services and providing solutions to improve this access. Since libraries are considered gateways to knowledge and information, providing suitable conditions for use by all people, including people with disabilities, is of particular importance. To achieve this goal, researchers identified the factors affecting access to libraries by the disabled by interviewing experts and people with disabilities. Then, more data was collected by designing a questionnaire and distributing it among the disabled.
Methodology: This study was conducted with a quantitative approach. In this study, first, various factors affecting access to libraries by the disabled were addressed by interviewing 8 expert experts, including library librarians and researchers in the field of rehabilitation and disability, designers, and a group of people with disabilities at different levels of disability (including physical-motor, visual, and hearing). In this study, the desired information was extracted using a semi-structured interview method and the influential factors were obtained by examining and coding them. In the final stage, a questionnaire was prepared based on the factors extracted from the semi-structured interviews and distributed electronically among the disabled, and finally 159 questionnaires were completed and received. Analysis and evaluation were also performed using SPSS and Smart PLS software.
Findings: The research findings show that the respondents consider the three parameters of accessibility, librarians, and equipment to be very important in the access of the disabled to libraries, so that in the analytical results in the Smart PLS software in the standard mode for the model variables, namely accessibility, the value of 0.849, the role of librarians was 0.709, and the equipment was 0.53. Also, the goodness-of-fit index (GOF), which represents the final and overall evaluation of the model, was 0.41. Since the appropriate value of this factor is 0.36 and higher, the research model is evaluated as good in terms of fit. In addition to these factors, library rules and regulations and the lack of appropriate resources also affect this issue
Discussion: The results of the study confirm five variables that affect the access of people with disabilities to library information. The factors revealed in order of importance from most to least are: 1- Library accessibility, 2- Role of librarians, 3- Equipment, 4- Laws, and 5- Resources. Therefore, by considering these variables, the problems of access of people with disabilities to library information in the country can be largely resolved. By making changes in infrastructure, training staff, providing appropriate resources, and changing attitudes, the access of people with disabilities to library services can be significantly improved. This not only respects the rights of these people but also helps in the development of the information society. The proposal in this study shows that by considering these five factors, the access of people with disabilities to library information can be significantly improved. This study emphasizes that libraries, as important centers of access to information, must consider the special needs of people with disabilities and, by making the necessary changes, provide an equal and accessible space for all members of society