Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
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Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of Data
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The National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI; Persian: سازمان اسناد و کتابخانه ملی ایران, romanized: Sazman-e Asnad va Ketabkhaneh-ye Melli-ye Iran) is the central national library and archival institution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, located in Tehran. It is authorized by the Islamic Consultative Assembly and is the largest library in the Middle East, housing over fifteen million items in its collections. The NLAI serves as Iran's legal deposit library, national bibliographic authority, and primary custodian of the country's documentary heritage.
The National Library of Iran was officially opened on September 14, 1937, following a proposal by Mehdi Bayani to Minister of Science Ali Asghar Hekmat, who obtained approval from Reza Shah. The founding collection consisted of books transferred from the Ma'arif Library, the Royal Library, the Aziz Khan Library, and the Russian Credit Bank, totaling approximately 30,000 volumes. The National Archives of Iran was established separately under parliamentary law in 1970. In 2002, the National Library and the National Archives merged under a single organization — the NLAI — by resolution of the Supreme Administrative Council. The NLAI maintains branches in twelve provinces across Iran.
The NLAI's collections include approximately 4.3 million physical items — books, journals, non-book materials, manuscripts, and maps — alongside over 5.7 million digitized resources. The collections encompass a national union catalogue of manuscripts with approximately 700,000 records, periodicals, dissertations, and historical archives. The NLAI also houses the Book and Documentary Heritage Museum of Iran, which showcases rare manuscripts including copies of the Holy Quran and the Shahnameh. An Islamic Studies collection alone contains over 8.2 million books, magazines, and tapes. The NLAI publishes the Iranian National Bibliography (Ketab-shenasi-e Melli-e Iran).
Reading rooms are open to members daily from 8:00 to 21:00, closing only four days a year. The Archives Research Hall operates Saturday through Wednesday, 08:00–17:00. The NLAI's main building is located on Shahid Haghani Highway in Tehran near the Mirdamad Metro station. Online access is available through the NLAI digital library portal at portals.nlai.ir.