Purpose

As the human race moved from the Paleolithic to the current phases of the Neolithic period, the learning process developed from inscriptions on stones to clay tablets, from papyrus to papers and, ultimately, to digital technology. From ancient times to the present, public libraries have become open universities that are more democratic in the provision of educational and information services and the preservation of cultural heritage, regardless of gender and belief. This study attempts to understand reading trends and the use of citizens’ resources in public libraries in the age of technology as an open university.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this study on regular visitors, permanent library members, and information on the library inventory was collected from each public library administration through personal visits and interviews. In addition, data on regional population and literacy rates were collected from the Government of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Bureau of Statistics. The authors used descriptive statistics to analyze data for comparative studies.

Findings

The results show that daily visitors, regular library members and their use of library resources are decreasing compared to the literacy rate in each district. It was also concluded that, due to a lack of education and training in the area of information and digital literacy, the accessed database resources are not used properly. Moreover, each densely populated district relies on a single public library to meet general education and information needs.

Practical implications

The results of this study will help the government expand the network of public libraries at the union council level with competent working staff to increase general motivation to improve reading and resource usage trends. Given the current literacy and population growth in each district, the law on the public library can also be amended and implemented to support the existing library system better and create more libraries in the public interest.

Originality/value

This study was conducted for the first time to determine the current state of public libraries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to help public library authorities improve their existing public library service status based on the results.

中文翻译：

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阅读趋势的增加或减少：巴基斯坦开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省公共图书馆的现状概述

目的

随着人类从旧石器时代过渡到新石器时代的当前阶段，学习过程从石头上的铭文发展到泥板，从纸莎草纸到纸张，最终发展到数字技术。从远古时代到现在，公共图书馆已成为开放型大学，无论性别和信仰如何，公共图书馆在提供教育和信息服务以及保护文化遗产方面更加民主。这项研究试图了解开放时代的科技时代的阅读趋势和公共图书馆公民资源的使用情况。

设计/方法/方法

该研究的数据包括定期访问者，常任图书馆成员以及图书馆目录信息，这些信息是通过每个人的访问和访谈从每个公共图书馆管理部门收集的。此外，还从开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省统计局政府那里收集了有关区域人口和识字率的数据。作者使用描述性统计数据来分析数据以进行比较研究。

发现

结果表明，与每个地区的识字率相比，每日访客，常规图书馆成员及其对图书馆资源的使用量正在减少。还得出结论，由于缺乏信息和数字素养领域的教育和培训，所访问的数据库资源未得到适当利用。此外，每个人口稠密的地区都依赖一个公共图书馆来满足一般教育和信息需求。

实际影响

这项研究的结果将有助于政府在有能力的工作人员的帮助下，在工会理事会一级扩大公共图书馆的网络，从而提高改善阅读和资源使用趋势的总体动力。鉴于每个地区当前的识字率和人口增长情况，还可以修订和实施有关公共图书馆的法律，以更好地支持现有图书馆系统，并为公共利益创建更多的图书馆。

创意/价值

这项研究是首次进行的，目的是确定开伯尔－普赫图赫瓦省的公共图书馆的现状，并根据结果帮助公共图书馆当局改善其现有的公共图书馆服务状况。