College and Research Libraries H . VAIL DEALE Librarianship in Iran Iranian library development is of recent origin, and the establish- ment of a national library association is now being attempted. Trained people are badly needed to effect modern library administrative prac- tices. Library materials are also needed to support curricular pro- grams and to stimulate research, and the status of librarians needs improvement. Career opportunities in Iran are unlimited. pERHAPS TYPICAL of many developing countries, Iran has a limited history of li- brary development and no concept of modern librarianship. In recent months, in the attempt to organize an Iranian Li- brary Association, it was found that there were no more than a half dozen Iranian-born librarians with professional degrees; all of these held positions in the capital, Tehran. The improvement and development of libraries throughout the country has only recently begun, largely through the advice and assist- ance of foreign librarians on short-term assignments. Since such assistance is temporary and limited, it is obvious that Iran's crucial need is a "crash" program for the training of those who can become the nucleus of a new profession of librar- ianship. At the present time, because of long-standing traditions and the attached prestige, most of the academically prom- ising young people go into medicine, engineering, or careers growing out of a major in economics. Such professions have status, provide security, and offer the best promise of employment. While there have been provincial colleges in Iran for some years, university education as we know it is a relatively recent de- velopment.1 1 Not until 1934 were the separate "colleges" of the present University of Tehran consolidated; Pahlavi Uni- versity, Shiraz, succeeded the provincial University of Shiraz, founded in 1952. Mr. Deale is Director of Libraries, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin . The desperate need for trained per- sonnel can best be illustrated by the ex- ample of Pahlavi University in Shiraz which has no permanent director of li- braries, no centralized book collection, no centralized library budget, and no professional Iranian staff. Five libraries, operating more or less independently, have little control over either book funds or the purchase of periodical subscrip- tions. The deans of the various faculties (agriculture, arts and sciences, engineer- ings, and medicine), allocate book and periodical funds by departments. The situation is not much brighter at the University of Tehran, where, in spite of a central library, there are some thirty- odd departmental collections with little over-all supervision or control. Univer- sity administrators, with many problems demanding their attention and time, can- not be wholly blamed. With little con- cept of the meaning of library service to students and faculty, and with no one to point out the basic and significant role of libraries and librarians in the academ- ic community, it is understandable that the profession has been ignored or neg- lected for so long. In tentative reports presented at a midwinter Fulbright conference con- cerned with the problems of Iranian higher education, 2 Ma!garet L. Hopkins, Fulbright consultant to the University :a Fulbright Conference, Tehran, January 19-20, 1966; sponsored by the United States Commission for Cultural Exchange with Iran. I 461 462 I College & Research Libraries • November, 1966 of Tehran, and the author emphasized the crucial need for the training of pro- fessional Iranian librarians. The alterna- tives (which should be pursued simul- taneously during the next few years ) are: ( 1) study abroad for the best qual- ified university graduates interested in a career in . librarianship; and ( 2) estab- lishment of a four-year and a five-year program in library education. Both con- sultants have outlined and recommended proposals for the establishment of such programs. While it is not likely that the Ministry of Education (Tehran) will ap- prove two programs, there is no reason why Iran could not support both. There are medical and dental faculties in Teh- ran, Shiraz, and Meshed; why not more than one school of library service? In the proposals recommended to the administration of Pahlavi University, the report of Lester Asheim, director, ALA International Relations Office, was fol- lowed. Dr. Asheim spent a week in Shi- raz during October 1965, talking with li- brarians, administrators, and others. In his carefully written memorandum to the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, 3 he urged a program of library education in three stages. The first stage, currently in operation, is the conducting of library science classes for present library per- sonnel. The second stage, which has the approval of the Pahlavi University ad- ministration, will be to institute a de- partment of library science within the college of arts and sciences next year ( 1966-67), and offer a major subject concentration. "The third step-and we are agreed that this is the ultimate ob- jective towards which present plans and commitments should be directed-will be the establishment of _a professional school of library service, which will offer its own degree, and provide course work at the fifth-year level for full pro- fessional qualification beyond the under- 8 Memorandum to Chancellor A. Alam and Dr. Z. Ghorban, Vice-Chancellor, Pahlavi University, Shiraz, Iran (October 20, 1965), mimeographed. graduate major."4 Since the development of a library science program of such scope is not accomplished overnight, and gradual evolvement assures the best chances for success, there is no time to delay in implementing the recommenda- tions. Both programs are needed now- the four-year BA program will prepare students for beginning-level professional positions and will act as an avenue lead- ing to the fifth year which will be de- signed to prepare top-level administra- tors, specialists, and instructors for the library science program itself. In keeping with the present organization of the College of Arts & Sciences, it is recom- mended that librarianship be defined as a Social Science for purposes of identifying "peripheral" and "cross-cultural" course content. The identification with the Social Sciences places the emphasis upon the role of libraries and the service to readers which is their goal. It recognizes not only the li- brary which serves the academic commu- nity, but also the library which serves the general public, the child and adolescent, the subject specialist and the technician. It places the library beside the school, college, and university as an agency of education and enlightenment; it places the librarian along side the educator, journalist, broad- caster, film-maker and writer as a conveyor of information and an active agent in the process of communication at all levels. This is the social role of the library which is al- ready recognized, not only in the United States, but also notably in Russia, the Scan- dinavian countries, Britain, France and many of the more rapidly developing new nations in Africa and Asia. 5 Pahlavi University, patterned after American-type universities, is a rapidly growing and expanding institution. Next Fall, it plans to double the enrollment of its entering class. This past year it has built new classroom buildings for the biological and physical sciences; a tem- porary undergraduate library is being completed. It receives adequate financial support from the government, and from 4 Asheim Report, p. 3. 5 Ibid. outside sources. Its student body is bi- lingual, with courses being taught in English. Simultaneous with the develop- ment of a program of library education, the university must give serious attention to the condition of its various libraries. While well-trained personnel are needed to increase the effectiveness of library service and physical needs cannot be overlooked, good libraries consist of books and related materials that imple- . ment the curriculum and stimulate re- search. Good libraries do not just grow; they must be carefully built and given thoughtful direction by trained experts (both librarians and teaching faculty) if the cumulative results are to be sig- nificant. Students and faculty deserve a strongly supported library program if they are not to be deprived of one of the basic, essential ingredients of an academic community. The challenge and opportunity for li- brarianship in Iran is unlimited. There are no hide-bound traditions to over- come, except within the field of educa- tion itself; there is evidence of interest Librarianship in Iran I 463 by the Iranian government in all forms of educational advancement (including libraries ) ; and there is a variety of op- portunities waiting for the graduate looking for a new adventure and a satis- fying career. With the acceleration of Mohammad Reza Shah's program for the elimination of illiteracy, there will be increasing need for books, libraries, and librarians at all levels. If, at both the secondary and university level, Iranian students are given the chance to learn about career opportunities in li- brarianship and if they can be assured that it will have status and remuneration comparable to other developing profes- sions in their progressive country, there is little reason to believe that many young men and women would not choose to contribute to the progress of their country by preparing themselves for a future in librarianshipl Of course, these are rather big "ifs" that will re- quire the dedicated efforts of Iranian educators and administrators, with the guidance and assistance of foreign con- sultants. • •