The historical foundation of this Library goes back to the time when
Grand Ayatollah Mar`ashi Najafi was studying in the Islamic Seminary of Najaf. That was a
time when the importance and value of old manuscripts - Islamic educational and cultural
heritage - were not realized. Through great efforts of warding off hunger (after cutting
back on food), and working hard in a rice-cleaning factory in Najaf, Ayatollah Mar`ashi
saved money to buy old manuscripts and rare books. After coming to Iran, he continued this
effort to gather up the precious books, till he had collected an abundant amount of
manuscripts and rare books. Thereupon, he founded a small library in a seminary school
that he established - The Mar`ashiyyah Seminary School. Later he bought the present
building of the library and transferred the books to the newly established library. His
great efforts led to the formation of the well-known and precious library of Mar`ashi
Najafi.
At the moment, recent renovations on the library have been completed. The substructure of
the library is 21000 square meters stretching across two separate buildings. One of the
buildings is a five floor complex, and the other is a seven floor building. The library
has the capacity to hold more than 3,000,000 books and 120,000 manuscripts; currently is
has over 500,000 published books and about 30,000 manuscripts under more than 60,000
various titles. The books in the library are written in different languages such as
Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Sanskrit, Ethiopic, French, German, English, Russian,
Italian, and more.
The number of published books in - thirty different
- European languages is over 30,000 volumes. The number of published books in Arabic,
Turkish, Urdu, and Persian exceeds 450,000 volumes. The library is currently holding more
than 30,000 rare books, some of them being published 400 years ago and others dating back
to Islam's appearance. At present, the library also has more than 3000 books on
microfiche.
Today, the Najafi Mar`ashi Library is in direct contact with more than 400 scientific
research centers, cultural institutions, universities, and great libraries around the
world. The newly installed computer equipment in the library has made considerable
improvement its’ organizing and transferring of information. New technology has also
made it possible to connect the library to the Internet.
Aside from gathering books, films, microfiches, and
photos of old and rare books, the library is a study center for many university and
theology students, both Iranian and foreigner. The number of both male and female students
taking advantage of the library’s facilities is increasing every day.
The library is made up of different departments:
1.Department for obtaining important books
& manuscripts, and distribution.
2.Department for book indexing.
3 Department of book restoration and preservation.
4. Department for bookbinding.
5.Department for compiling an encyclopedia of outstanding Libraries around the
world (especially those having Islamic manuscripts).
In addition, the Library’s publication
department is one of the most active and dynamic branches of the library. The department
is responsible for publishing more than 130 books (310 volumes). The publication
department was chosen as the publisher of the year in the 1991 International Book Fair in
Tehran. One of the library’s publications is The
Shahab Quarterly, which has reached its’ 13th
issue.
The elder son of Ayatollah Najafi Mar`ashi, Hujjatul Islam Dr. Sayyid Mahmoud Najafi
Mar`ashi, began his management of the Library 30 years ago and is still the present
manager. He is one of the most outstanding bibliographers in Iran.
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