Public libraries are powerful social institutions whose services have a positive contribution to civil society. As one of the most important and most visited social institutions, such libraries are responsible to the community. Promoting social responsibility in public libraries requires addressing issues such as librarians’ accountability, professional ethics, and conscientiousness. Accordingly, this study strives to address this research gap by examining the relationship between organizational social responsibility and accountability perceived by staff in public libraries. Based on theoretical foundations, librarians’ professional ethics and conscientiousness were considered as mediating variables. Quantitative research method was used for this study and six hypothesized relationships were formulated to develop a conceptual model. Study data were collected through a questionnaire. Data obtained from 362 librarians of Iranian public libraries were analyzed running SPSS software and Smart PLS 3.0. The results revealed that perceived social responsibility of public libraries directly contributes to their perceived responsiveness. Furthermore, the implementation of social responsibility by public libraries reinforces the professional ethics and conscientiousness of librarians. As a result, the professional ethics and conscientiousness will lead to improving the accountability of public libraries. Accordingly, this study can help public library administrators, policymakers, and librarians to develop more comprehensive strategies for providing services to citizens by focusing on their social responsibilities, thereby establishing their place in society.

公共图书馆是强大的社会机构，其服务对公民社会有积极的贡献。作为最重要和访问量最大的社会机构之一，此类图书馆对社区负责。提升公共图书馆的社会责任感需要解决馆员的问责制，职业道德和责任感等问题。因此，本研究通过检查组织社会责任与公共图书馆工作人员认为的问责制之间的关系，努力解决这一研究空白。在理论基础上，图书馆员的职业道德和责任感被视为中介变量。本研究采用定量研究方法，并建立了六个假设关系以建立概念模型。通过问卷调查收集研究数据。使用SPSS软件和Smart PLS 3.0，分析了从362名伊朗公共图书馆馆员获得的数据。结果表明，公共图书馆的感知社会责任直接有助于其感知响应。此外，公共图书馆履行社会责任增强了图书馆员的职业道德和责任感。结果，职业道德和尽职调查将导致改善公共图书馆的问责制。因此，这项研究可以帮助公共图书馆管理者，政策制定者和图书馆员通过专注于公民的社会责任，制定更全面的战略，为公民提供服务，从而树立其在社会中的地位。