East Azarbaijan Official Urges Municipalities to Fund Public Libraries

TABRIZ – Recent discussions among provincial officials highlight a renewed focus on cultural infrastructure and reading habits, beginning with a firm stance by regional leadership on municipal funding for public libraries.

The Political and Social Deputy of the Governor-General of East Azerbaijan emphasized the enforcement of the legal obligation of municipalities to pay half a percent of their revenues to public libraries.

According to Mehr News Agency, speaking on Saturday evening at the meeting of the East Azerbaijan Public Libraries Association and referring to Article 6 of the Law on the Establishment and Administration of Public Libraries of the Country, Morteza Mohammadzadeh stated that municipalities are obligated to fulfill their legal commitments toward public libraries.

He added that mayors who, in addition to paying their legal share in full, have contributed more than the stipulated amount to public libraries will be commended as culture-loving mayors.

Referring to the possibility of pursuing unpaid commitments through legal channels, the Political and Social Deputy of the Governor-General of East Azerbaijan continued: “In cases where municipalities refuse to implement their legal obligation, the matter will be pursued through legal pathways.”

Pointing to Article 64 of the Law on the Establishment and Administration of Public Libraries of the Country and the mechanism for withdrawing the libraries’ share from the municipalities’ accounts, Mohammadzadeh clarified that the funds deducted from the accounts of the province’s municipalities in accordance with the law must be spent within the same province for the development and strengthening of public library infrastructure.

He also emphasized the necessity of revising reading promotion methods in alignment with societal changes, stating that library development and reading promotion programs must be coordinated with technological developments, innovations, lifestyle changes, and new methods of content access and consumption in society.

The Political and Social Deputy of East Azarbaijan Governor-General’s Office highlighted the relationship between behavioral patterns, social environment, and the rate of reading, adding that improving the reading culture is possible only when awareness, knowledge, and learning become a significant part of social values and virtues.

Later in the meeting, with the presence of Reza Akbarnezhad, Assistant Professor of Information Science and Knowledge Studies, the social dimensions of reading culture and the challenges facing the promotion of reading were examined, and specialized solutions in this regard were proposed.

Furthermore, members of the East Azarbaijan Public Libraries Association presented their views and suggestions regarding strengthening reading promotion programs and developing the activities of public libraries.

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In conclusion, the comprehensive session successfully aligned financial enforcement with modern cultural strategies to foster a more robust reading environment across the province.

منبع: Mehr News (FA)

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