The Necessity of Redesigning Infrastructures and Developing Mobile Libraries in Semnan Province

According to Khabaronline News Agency, Semnan Province, Saeed Dehghanloo, in a press conference with reporters, presented a report on the past year’s performance, stating: Currently, 80 public libraries are active across the province, of which 56 are institutional, one mobile library in Shahrood, 20 are participatory, and three are independent libraries.

Referring to the national library per capita standard, he added: The standard library per capita is defined as one library per 25,000 people, but our province, with a per capita area of 2.5 square meters, is still far from the desired standards; although we are in a better position than the national average of 0.1 square meters.

Dehghanloo stated that the total membership of institutional and participatory libraries reaches 48,746 people, adding: The per capita membership in the province is 6.12, which is almost double the national average.

The Director-General of Public Libraries of the province announced that the total number of available copies is over 1,216,000, and added: The per capita book copies in the province is 151.8 copies per 100 people; meaning it is higher than the national average.

He said: In the first six months of this year, 315,069 books were lent, with a lending per capita of 39.64, which, compared to the national average of 15.5, indicates a favorable situation in the province.

Dehghanloo added: From October 2024 to the end of September 2025, 1,907 copies of books from 413 publishers were purchased, with a total cost exceeding 248 million Tomans. Also, 4,400 copies of newspapers and periodicals were acquired with a budget of 140 million Tomans.

According to him, 27,883 donated books have been organized and made available for use, and libraries have also donated 2,935 books to schools, mosques, and various organizations based on requests.

The Director-General of Public Libraries of Semnan Province said: In the past year, 8,232 cultural programs have been carried out in 56 institutional libraries, averaging 147 programs per library. From the beginning of 2025 until November, 4,649 programs have also been implemented, averaging 83 programs per library.

Dehghanloo announced the implementation of 509 special programs for Book Week and said: Three special projects this year include the first national artificial intelligence content creation festival, the provincial poetry and book festival, and the book donation campaign ‘Give Wings to Your Books’ will be held in the province.

He added: The ‘Book Ambassadors’ project will be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education so that students active in reading can serve as library promoters in schools.

Dehghanloo said: One of the new projects is the presence of authors in schools. Unfortunately, many students do not even know the names of authors from their own city.

Referring to the serious follow-up for establishing the first children’s cinema in the province, he added: This cinema will be located in the central library and will serve as a hub for children, teenagers, and families.

Dehghanloo, referring to the shortage of mobile libraries, said: Until this year, we only had one mobile library; but today, in Miami, Semnan, Shahrood, Garmsar, and Mahdishahr, conditions for vehicle provision have been met, and several vehicles are on the verge of joining the service cycle.

He said: We are seeking to establish the ‘Master Ali Moallem National Award’ in the province, just as other provinces have national literary awards.

Dehghanloo emphasized: Libraries must transform into social engineering workshops and laboratories, not just places for lending books. The new generation desires diverse services: co-working spaces, technology labs, reading clinics, and book consultation. This matter has also been approved by the Governor, and we are mandated to implement it.

He continued: In Damghan, after 40 years, the groundbreaking for a library was done, in Garmsar, this will happen next week, and in Shahrood, the first philanthropic library will be built on three floors. However, in Semnan city, many areas, including Mehr Housing, 25-hectare land, and several other neighborhoods, still lack libraries.

Dehghanloo addressed reporters, saying: Demanding more land and funding from municipalities and organizations must become a public discourse. A library should be the ‘third place’ for people; therefore, it must be planned for.