I have just returned\nfrom a four day visit to Iran which included: three cities (Tehran, Shiraz and\nMashhad); 14 library visits; two presentations; and the opening of the fabulous\nnew Mashhad Central Library. All this and the chance to meet with so many\nwonderful colleagues. What an opportunity! \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During my visit I was\noften asked how public libraries in Iran compare to those in other countries.\nThis is only natural, we all like to compare ourselves to others. I responded\nthat it would be disrespectful of me to comment on this as, despite everything\nthan was crammed in, my visit was so brief and the libraries I was able to\nvisit limited. More importantly when we are comparing ourselves to others it is\nimportant to remember that we are all different. Our culture, history and\neconomic situation make it difficult. As we would say in Australia \u2018you can\u2019t\ncompare apples with oranges\u2019 \u2013 they are two different fruits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What we do all have in\ncommon is the enthusiasm, dedication and professionalism of our staff. I was\nhumbled to be met with such hospitality and generosity of spirit and was deeply\ninterested in the programs that have been developed to meet the needs of the\ncommunities that each specific library serves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my role with IFLA I\nam part of a group currently reviewing the IFLA\/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto<\/a> which was ratified in 1994. The Manifesto<\/em> is important as it proclaims\nUNESCO’s belief in the public library as a living force for education, culture\nand information, and as an essential agent for the fostering of peace and\nspiritual welfare through the minds of men and women. It identifies the public\nlibrary as being central to freedom and equity of access to knowledge and\ninformation for all people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the next few\nmonths IFLA\u2019s Public Libraries Standing Committee will be curating stories from\naround the world that demonstrate one or more of the Manifesto\u2019s key missions\nat work. During my time in Iran I was mentally reflecting on how public\nlibraries in your country deliver on some of these and how we could share this\nstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In almost every\nlibrary I visited there was a strong focus on services to children and young\npeople, reflecting the importance of creating a nation of readers with the\nresultant benefits that this brings to the individual and to society. This\nranged from inviting children\u2019s spaces with storytime programs within the\nlarger library, to the libraries which are only for children in Shiraz. I was\nhonoured to be part of an awards ceremony at one of these libraries where the\nchildren and young people were recognized for many achievements. The pride and\ndelight on their faces showed how they valued reading. Creating and\nstrengthening reading habits in children from an early age and stimulating the\nimagination and creativity of children and young people are core to public\nlibrary provision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In several libraries I\nvisited there was a strong focus on collections of cultural significance,\nnewspapers, manuscripts and archival materials and the digitized collections at\nthe Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi in Mashhad was breathtaking (as was\nthe building!). In Shiraz I was able to witness Mission 8 \u2018supporting the oral\ntradition\u2019 first hand when a storyteller held a group of teenage boys rapt with\nhis recitation of a traditional tale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While these examples\nthat can be liked back to the Manifesto<\/em>\nprovide a starting point for talking about public libraries in Iran what struck\nme most was the genuine interest in what others are doing and how we can learn\nfrom one another. This sharing of knowledge is a two way street. I returned to\nAustralia with many ideas in my head of how we, the international library\ncommunity, can work more effectively together and share our experience and\nexpertise. I don\u2019t necessarily have any answers \u2013 yet! I will however be\ndiscussing it further with my fellow IFLA Standing committee members in Finland\nthis March. As we say \u2018watch this space\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you again for\nhaving me in your beautiful country. I hope to return soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms Jan Richards I have just returned from a four day visit to Iran which included: three cities (Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad); 14 library visits; two presentations; and the opening of the fabulous new Mashhad Central Library. All this and the chance to meet with so many wonderful colleagues. What an opportunity! During my visit I was often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":962,"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960\/revisions\/962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibulletin.ilisa.ir\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nChair IFLA Public Libraries Section
\ne ifla@orange.nsw.gov.au<\/a> |\nw http:\/\/www.ifla.org\/public-libraries<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"