Purpose – In recent years, a new form metrics for evaluating research and researchers, called Altimetrics has been developed that seeks to track media attention, viewing, downloading, and so on about academic works. The key institutions that need to be aware of these emerging metrics are academic libraries that provide researchers with research measurement services. The purpose of this research is to find out how well these libraries are prepared to provide these new services.Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the objectives of the study, a survey method was employed. The statistical population of this study was librarians working in central libraries of universities affiliated to MSRT and MOHME in Tehran (105 librarians). Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire including three sections and 20 items.Findings – Findings indicate that librarians' knowledge and use of altmetrics are not sufficient to respond to users' requests and their readiness to serve in this field is low. Also, there is no significant difference between the knowledge and use of librarians in the two ministries. In addition, most librarians need a workshop on learning altmetrics.Originality/value – This is the first study to find out the extent to which librarians in Iranian libraries are familiar with and utilize altmetrics.Practical implications – librarians' knowledge and use of altmetrics are not sufficient. University librarians need new services for users to be viable and relevant to their communities. The findings of this study are an alarm for them to move quickly to new tools and methods.