An Agreement Between the National Library of Iran and Khatam University to Exchange and Donate Books

According to the public relations and website of Khatam University, with the aim of expanding and strengthening the relations and cooperation between the Organization of Records, the National Library of Iran and the library of Khatam University, a meeting was held in the National Library of Iran on Sunday, November 26, 2023.

In this meeting, Dr. Esmat Momeni; the Deputy Director of the National Library and Documents Organization of Iran, Shahrazad Fardakbari; the Director of Khatam University’s library and Melika Khorram Shokouh; the librarian of this university were present. This meeting was held in line with the optimal use of the capacities and abilities of the National Library, the establishment of effective academic and cultural relations, scientific and educational cooperation and the sharing of information resources (donations and exchanges).

Dr. Esmat Momeni, while expressing her satisfaction with the holding of this meeting, said: “We welcome communication with scientific and academic centers and establishing such communication and cooperation is necessary for the scientific progress of universities.”

She went on to introduce the specialized services of the National Library and Documents Organization of Iran (such as Shabak, FIPA, FAPA, ISO, metadata, standards, etc.) and the way this organization works and the existing potentials, in order to have further cooperation in various fields with Khatam University.

Shahrazad Fardakbari; the director of the library of Khatam University emphasized the necessity of cooperation between the library of this university, the Organization of Documents and the National Library of Iran and said: "Khatam University is a comprehensive university with more than a thousand students in 58 fields, who are at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. They study in the fields of psychology, English language, industry and electronics which were established at this university many years ago. Currently, there are fields of business management (strategy orientation), financial sciences (financial orientation and risk management), architecture (art, project and construction research subfields, interior design and etc.), materials, energies and technologies of quantum and nano materials which have been added to Khatam University. Besides, Khatam University has had more than 2 thousand students in various fields.

Fardakbari further added: “Khatam University’s library has 17,000 copies of Persian and Latin sources and 1,668 digital theses that are available to those interested in knowledge. In addition, the library of this university has authentic articles from domestic and foreign databases, which has made it possible for university users to access 26 international databases this year.”

The Director of Khatam University’s library also stated: “Khatam University’s library has donated many books to the National Library on three occasions. Considering the cooperation made by Khatam University, we request that the National Library also accelerate the process of book exchange to further enrich the library of Khatam University. If a defined planning is done, it is possible to take steps in the direction of expanding communication, intellectual and scientific exchanges, as well as the exchange of resources, and in this way, more effective knowledge growth will happen.”

In addition, Melika Khorram Shokouh, the librarian of Khatam University’s library, pointed out: “Donating books to the National Library, in addition to enriching the National Library of Iran, provides the possibility of donating books to different regions of the country, especially the deprived and underprivileged villages, which leads to the development and institutionalization of the culture of reading among different sections of the society.”

She also added: “Exchange of library resources, sharing of information and experiences, holding seminars, workshops, lectures and joint meetings as well as scientific visits and cooperation between the two organizations can be effective in strengthening friendly relations for mutual benefits and Empowering each other's strengths.”

Based on the discussions with the Deputy of the National Library of Iran, the exchange and donation of books in order to enrich the library resources was agreed upon by the parties and it was also decided to take advantage of the scientific, research and specialized abilities of both parties, in order to hold and implement courses and joint research projects with the cooperation between the two centers.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. Momeni expressed that by using the existing capacity and potentials, the further cooperation and constructive interactions between the library of Khatam University and the Organization of Records and the National Library of Iran will be established in various fields.