14,000 Children Are Members of Lorestan Public Libraries
According to the correspondent of Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) in Khorramabad, Elham Borna said on Saturday morning at the press conference for the 33rd Book Week of the Lorestan General Directorate of Public Libraries: The country’s public libraries institution, entering its third decade of independent activity, has adopted a new approach to enhance and diversify services; an approach that goes beyond increasing the number of libraries, emphasizing the expansion of ‘service points’ and transforming libraries into social cultural clubs.
The head of the Lorestan General Directorate of Public Libraries, referring to the fourth generation of libraries, said: A library is no longer merely a place for borrowing books or a reading room; rather, it is a social institution that, in interaction with people, can untangle some of society’s problems.
Focus on Children, Teenagers, and Special Groups
Borna stated that Lorestan province has 38,500 active library members, of whom approximately 14,000 are children, and added: Extensive activities have been carried out in the children’s sector, and now the institution has seriously entered the field of providing services to teenagers. Given the specific characteristics of this group, training librarians to offer specialized services to them is on the agenda.
She also announced the design of special services for the visually impaired, deaf, and elderly, and emphasized: Given that society is moving towards an aging population, libraries must have specialized programs for this segment of society.
The head of the Lorestan General Directorate of Public Libraries considered the book-reading family a cultural value and said: Libraries that can attract families and librarians who offer special services to families will be worthy of receiving the ‘Hamkhon Award’.
Borna referred to the development projects of the Lorestan General Directorate of Public Libraries and said: Currently, nine projects are underway in the province.
She added: In the field of information technology, the software infrastructures of over 95% of the province’s libraries have been updated in the last two months. All libraries now benefit from an integrated lending and membership management system and are equipped with the latest security software in the world.
Borna, referring to the role of benefactors and cultural institutions, said: Last week, over 10,000 copies of books and 800 intellectual games and puzzles worth 1.5 billion Tomans were donated to the province’s libraries. These works were mainly for children, educational aids, novels, and psychology, all newly printed after the year 1400.
She added: Currently, 780,000 copies of books are available in the province’s libraries, and in the past year alone, 33,000 new copies have been added to the collections.
Human Resources Shortage in Lorestan Public Libraries
Borna considered human resources to be the main capital of libraries and said: In public libraries, we have 123 active personnel who, despite the shortage of staff, each work several times their capacity. Our colleagues also provide services in two shifts on Thursdays.
She added: In the first half of the year 1404 (Persian calendar), about 1150 cultural programs were implemented, and from Aban 1403 (Oct-Nov 2024) until now, over 3100 programs have been held, averaging 255 cultural activities per month, including book-reading sessions, book reviews and introductions, literary gatherings, workshops, reading competitions, Shahnameh reading, and play reading.
Borna named accelerating the operation of development projects in cooperation with the provincial Management and Planning Organization, launching mobile libraries for deprived areas and implementing the ‘Kouleh Ketab’ (Book Backpack) project for nomads, developing book clubs in schools with a capacity of 350,000 students and 40,000 teachers, creating a platform for benefactors’ participation in library development, establishing a ‘Lorestanology’ section using works by local writers and existing valuable resources, strengthening library resources, and developing smart service hardware as some of the future plans of this General Directorate.
She said: In the past year, a new library was opened in Pol-e Dokhtar city, the Ghadir and Imam Jafar Sadiq libraries were redesigned, the children’s section was equipped in several libraries, and a special section for researchers was also launched in the Abu Reyhan library.
The head of the Lorestan General Directorate of Public Libraries also elaborated on the programs of this General Directorate during Book Week at this meeting, including various book-reading sessions, book unveiling, the ‘Hero Event’, and the implementation of 330 cultural programs in the province.
