Semnan Province Has 80 Public Libraries / 49 Thousand People Are Library Members

According to the correspondent of the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) in Semnan, Saeed Dehghanloo stated on Wednesday afternoon at a press conference hosted by the General Directorate of Public Libraries of Semnan Province, with media presence, that 80 libraries are active in this province: 56 of these libraries are institutional and operate directly under the supervision of the province’s General Directorate of Libraries.

He added that Semnan Province also has one mobile library and 20 cooperative libraries with other organizations and agencies. He also mentioned that there are three independent libraries in this province, whose licenses are solely issued by the public libraries of Semnan Province.

The Director General of Public Libraries of Semnan Province stated: This statistic, of course, excludes university libraries and scientific and research centers, etc. Also, the standard per capita library in our country is one library for every 25,000 people, whereas in Semnan Province, there is one public library for every 10,000 people.

Dehghanloo stated that the per capita public library space in the country is 1.1 square meters per person, while in Semnan Province, this per capita is estimated at two and a half square meters. He added that the balanced and appropriate standard for each citizen is more than four square meters, and “we in Semnan Province are still far from the desirable situation.”

He added that 48,746 people are members of Semnan Province’s libraries, of whom 7,032 are members of the province’s cooperative libraries. He further stated that the per capita membership is 2.94 people per 100 people nationwide, but in Semnan Province, this index is 6.12 people per 100 people, which is double the national average.

The Director General of Public Libraries of Semnan Province stated that the total area of institutional libraries is 26,361 square meters. He added that the area of cooperative libraries in the province is estimated at 3,099 square meters, bringing the total area of all libraries in Semnan Province to approximately 30,000 square meters.

Dehghanloo said that the per capita library infrastructure area per 100 people in the country is 1.65 square meters, and in our province, this index is 3.7, which is more than double the national average. He added: “These statistics might indicate growth and increase compared to the national situation, but overall, one should not be too optimistic about the numbers, as there is still a significant distance to the optimal point in many indicators.”