Library
About the SACWD Library
Established in 1968, the library of the Society for the Appreciation of Cultural Works and Dignitaries (SACWD) began with a book collection of 106 volumes which reached 9849 volumes in 1978. Following several years of stagnation, in 1993 the library recruited professional librarians and resumed operation housing a collection of over 13,000 volumes. The library has expanded its scope since after and enriched its collection covering great variety of subjects on Iran`s culture and civilization including Iranology, history, geography, language and literature, philosophy, religion, art and architecture which amounts to 44,000 books today.
The SACWD library features rich repositories of significant historic and cultural collections donated by generous donors. In 1969, the library received a noteworthy collection consisting of 3,000 rare Persian language manuscripts, lithographic books and early imprints, as well as printed books in different languages of English, French, Arabic, etc. belonging to the late Abdul Hossein Bayat. The holding known as ‘Bayat Collection’ donated by the heirs of Abdul Hossein Bayat, served as the foundation for the library.
Mohammad Taghi Mostafavi's Collection was another rare holding encompassing 3000 photos, slides, plans, articles, etc. of different subjects with a multitude of strengths donated by his heirs to the library in 2002. Mohammad Taghi Mostafavi was one of the SACWD founders who made significant contribution to the preservation and maintenance of artifacts, religious sites, monuments, mosques, shrines, and palaces in Iran. The collection offers a unique and rich resource of scholarly documentation about Iranian life and traditions.
In 1969, the library bought the private library of Professor Ahmad Afshar Shirazi which contained 307 rare volumes of old printings of Hakim Omar Khayyam's quatrains translated into French, Russian, Arabic, German, Hebrew, Assyrian etc., from Edward Fitzgerald`s English translation. This collection, which is very precious and unique in its kind, is housed in a glass case in the library.
The manuscripts and archival records exist to support, supplement, and complement programs of instruction and research required by researchers and members of the SACWD library. The manuscript collection in the library includes 192 items, 141 of which are in Persian and 51 in Arabic. The list of manuscript materials provided in a book titled ‘Persian and Arabic manuscripts of the library of the Society for the Appreciation of Cultural Works and Dignitaries’ which was published in 2001 under the supervision of Professor Abdullah Anwar.
Call: +98(21)55394852
E-mail: Library@anjom.ir