Isfahan to Host Book Week with New Approach; One Billion Tomans Subsidy Allocated

According to KhabarOnline from Isfahan, Seyed Mehdi Seyedin Nia, in a press conference with media members, described Book Week as one of the important cultural events of the year and stated: This year, due to the concern of programs not becoming repetitive, meetings were held with cultural institutions, the municipality, education, universities, and art institutes to design programs with a fresh and specialized approach.

He added: The programs will be held from Saturday to Wednesday in various locations across the city, and alongside these events, a book fair featuring national and Isfahani publishers will be held at Abbasi intersection, offering over four thousand book titles with a 20% discount.

The Director General of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Isfahan Province said: 70% of the publishers participating in the fair are from Isfahan. Also, a significant portion of the programs has been dedicated to children and teenagers to cover diverse tastes within the target audience.

Seyedin Nia emphasized the importance of media’s role in promoting reading culture, stating: Media are the information arm and the voice of society, and they can multiply the cultural impact of programs through accurate and professional reporting.

Audiobook Production Is Expanding

He noted that today many reading enthusiasts use audiobooks due to lack of time, and stated: Fortunately, audiobook production is also expanding in Isfahan. However, respecting author and publisher rights in the digital space is essential, and illegal works are not supported.

The Director General of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Isfahan emphasized: This year, approximately one billion Tomans in book purchase subsidies have been allocated to Isfahan Province, and citizens can visit about 90 participating bookstores with their national ID code to receive a 20% discount on book purchases.

In continuation, Sajjad Karam, Head of the Public Libraries Department of Isfahan Province, stated: From November 2024 until this year, the activities of the province’s public libraries in promoting reading have expanded with the cooperation and synergy of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Institute of Libraries, and tangible results have been observed in the growth of visits and book loans in the province.

He stated that nearly three million copies of books are available in Isfahan Province’s public library system; he added: During this period, the number of book loans in the province reached 2.714 million volumes, which is approximately an 80% increase compared to last year; this growth indicates a significant return of people to the cycle of reading and libraries.

Isfahan Ranks First in Book Loans Among National Libraries

Karam stated that Isfahan ranks first in book loans in the country among the Institute of Libraries, and said: This year, Book Week programs for children and teenagers include storytelling, familiarization with the book production process, linking books with cinema, music, and calligraphy.

The Head of the Public Libraries Department of Isfahan Province continued: This year, a cultural benefactor donated over four billion Rials worth of children’s books to the provincial libraries, which has played an important role in strengthening and updating this section.

He stated: In the province’s manuscript repository, 6,000 copies are preserved, of which 2,000 are entirely handwritten and the rest are lithographs.

Continuing the meeting, Mehdi Halakooi, Deputy Director of Public Library Affairs of Isfahan Province, said: Over the past year, more than 16,500 cultural programs have been held in the province’s public libraries. Among these, over 690,000 children’s and young adult books have been registered in loan systems, and approximately nine million volumes of books have been in circulation across the province.

Over One Million Books Donated by People to Libraries

He referred to the holding of the institution’s cultural festivals and added: Festivals such as ‘Paper Garden,’ ‘Spring of Knowledge,’ and ‘Book Vow’ have been met with significant public reception; so much so that over the past few years, more than one million volumes of books have been donated by the people.

Halakooi announced the holding of the ‘Spring of Knowledge and Awakening مهر’ festival and the literary gathering ‘Kind Friend’ during Book Week, and said: In Kashan, a special festival will also be held with the participation of 500 young readers, each of whom has read over 100 book titles.