Urban-Rural Disparities in Public Library Collections and User Services (A Regional Comparative Study of Azerbaijan (2014-2024)

Abstract

This article provides a comparative analysis of the differences between urban and rural public libraries in Azerbaijan in terms of the volume of the fund, the number of readers and the intensity of reader services for 2014–2024. Based on official statistical data, the study covers key indicators such as the number of libraries, book fund, the number of books per 1,000 population, the number of readers, annual literature circulation and the structure of human resources. In addition to descriptive statistics, paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis test, correlation and regression analyses were used from a methodological point of view, and the results were supplemented with effect sizes. At the same time, urban-rural differences were revealed in the quality of human resources, especially in the distribution of highly qualified personnel. The study was originally conducted in Azerbaijani and subsequently translated into English. In this process, artificial intelligence–based tools were used specifically to address grammatical and linguistic accuracy.